TORONTO — I always wanted to gain professional experience in medical research abroad and thus decided to head to Israel. I had wanted to return there since my Birthright trip. Thus, I enrolled in Masa Israel’s Career Israel, a five-month internship program in Tel Aviv.
Having grown up in a small Jewish community in Saskatchewan, I was looking forward to being surrounded by a group of Jewish peers from all over the world. Although Saskatchewan Jews are committed community members, my synagogue’s closing ceremony, in my small town of Battleford, Sask., shortly followed my bat mitzvah celebration.
When I next stepped inside the local synagogue, I was in high school and it was one of my classmates’ homes. I was fortunate to attend Jewish camp during child-hood and once I started McGill University in Montreal, I met people from all over the country who would become lifelong Jewish friends. Since returning to Saskatoon for school, I had become close to the Israeli emissaries, who had encouraged me to spend more time in Israel.
During my five months in Israel, I interned in a genetics lab at Tel Aviv University, whose focus is to understand the molecular basis of hearing loss in Israeli populations, gaining hands-on lab experience that will be crucial in my future career.
Aside from my work, I was able to connect with the other Career Israel interns from all over the world. Sharing apartments in Tel Aviv, we spent hours at the beach, and on our apartment’s rooftop, immersed in interesting discussions about Judaism and Israel from diverse perspectives. On weekends, we travelled the country together and throughout the week, we took part in seminars about Israeli society.
As a Jewish person from a remote location, I became fascinated by other Jewish populations found in small communities all over the world. Once I returned from Israel, I developed my Book Compilation Project concept and was fortunate to partner with Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW). Through this initiative, I am collecting stories from Jewish Canadians, both men and women, about their interactions with other Jews from all over the world. My book is a celebration of modern Jewish life.
I am looking for stories in two categories, from either people who have travelled to remote and distant locations and connected with local Jewish populations, or Jewish travellers who have shared a unique experience with other Jewish travellers in remote pockets of the world while, for example, backpacking in South America or trekking in Nepal. I aim to publish a book with 50 such illuminating stories.
All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to CHW, whose mandate is to support a multitude of programs and projects for children, health care and women in Israel and Canada. All stories are due July 1, 2010.
I am thankful for my Masa Israel experience because it not only allowed me to develop my career, but it also gave me the opportunity to learn more about different global Jewish experiences. I look forward to seeing my book project give voice not just to the Canadian Jewish experience, but also to those all over the world.For more information about my project, see the website: www.chw.ca/ychw/en/page/279. E-mail: [email protected]. Submit stories to: [email protected]
Leila Hesselson lives in Toronto and hopes to soon be enrolled in medical studies.
