34 | CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS | CJN.ORG DECEMBER 23, 2016 DECEMBER 23, 2016 CJN.ORG | CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS | 35 Advertisement Advertisement Welcome to ic.news – pages cultural perspecti ves of Jews and Israelis, the akivacleveland.org. writt en by, for, and about realiti es of the Israeli confl ict, and more. There In “more.teen.news” @akiva presents dif- will be photos that document their 10-day ferent teen programs in the community. From Cleveland’s Jewish teens! Mission during the summer of 2016, and those preparing students for the challenges that will In the secti on ti tled “ic.news” israel. that document current events, whether in face them on their future college campus, to cleveland.next (icnext) parti cipants refl ect on Jewish Cleveland or Israel. icnext is a two-year learning Hebrew and how to advocate for Israel; their 10-day Mission to Israel in June, 2016, program that educates Cleveland’s Jewish high from theater (testi mony.theater.cleveland) to and comment on current issues of interest to school students from all denominati ons in the music (HaZamir Cleveland), there are so many Cleveland’s teens. They are creati ng an ongoing core issues of Israeli society and the geopoliti cal opportuniti es for our teens to form a special source of news about the community, Jewish situati on in Israel today. icnext is a project of the community. Most importantly, this program- teens and Israel, inspired by knowledge gained Jewish Federati on of Cleveland, administered ming fosters an incredibly strong connecti on to from the icnext program. They will talk about through @akiva. For informati on about or to Israel, and trains teens to be Jewish leaders. Jewish identi ty, changing politi cal, social, and ic.news apply for icnext, contact Tina Keller at tkeller@ more.teen.news Reconnecti ng with Vadim Blumin in Cleveland!

More recently, Vadim Blumin came to visit @akiva in February, 2017. As part of Hagigat Ivrit, the an- are to be like portkeys, he said, taking people from nual communal celebrati on of Hebrew language and “What does it mean ‘to be?’” A prett y philosophi- one place to another with stories and experiences. culture, we were able to connect with him again as he cal questi on, no? This isn’t the kind of questi on you’d But most importantly, we must be leaders. Our role shared more stories and snacks with icnext Cohort 4 expect from anyone not close to you, yet it was no in the Jewish community is to lead, to bridge gaps, to and 5. Getti ng the experience to hear from him again surprise when Vadim approached me with it. We were incredible fresh fruit juices. Apparently, this working on an acti vity relati ng Israel and the USA in share culture, and, most simply, to be. homemade loti on opens up your sinuses, was incredibly interesti ng, and I hope I am lucky icnext Food Issue various areas (including security, identi ty, peoplehood - David Gold, Cleveland 2017 and boy, it defi nitely did. We then got to try enough to see him in the future. an assortment of spiced nuts, dry fruits, and and more) when he came up to me to ask how I would A Foodie’sTour of Machane Yehuda defi ne this concept of being. I thought about it for a Here in America, we buy our food at the teas. The vendor was a tad pushy but I have Vadim Blumin and Israel’s Culinary Diversity to admit his spices were fabulous! Being while, and eventually decided that being is defi ned by grocery store. We walk through the conve- Half a year ago and half a world away, icnext’s From Israel advocacy, leadership training and niently organized aisles, pick out our food, able to see such a variety in the types of Cohort 4 were treated to an insightf ul lecture accompa- the culture, and how we use it to bridge gaps between and stand in line at check-out where an food, methods of cooking, and enthusiasm nied by some tasty treats with the quirky and hilarious diff erent cultures. This idea came back later in his talk, college prep for Jewish students to HaZamir employee bags our groceries and hands us for connecti ng with customers opened my Vadim Blumin. He off ered us his favorite Russian delica- when he talked about our role in the Jewish communi- Cleveland Choir and original Jewish theatre, eyes to the dynamic culture of Israel and the a receipt. In Israel, there are many outdoor cies and taught us about his dual cultural identi ty while ti es. We are to be like goats, leading boys to the prom- @akiva off ers Hebrew and so much more! shuk! Of course (like many things do) my markets, with sporadically placed stands we noshed. Adam Marcus described the experience in ised land, as Shmuel Yosef Agnon wrote years ago. We @akiva is a benefi ciary agency of the Jewish selling spices, fresh produce, cold smoothies experience at the market left me with even his blog from the trip below. to off er refuge from the hot dry air, halva, more questi ons than it answered. - David Gold, Cleveland 2017 Federati on of Cleveland - Lilly Rothschild, Israel 2016 and every other possible delicacy imaginable. Zachary Nosanchuk - Editor in Chief and a partner agency On our last day together, we took a tour of As I walked into the room, I smelled a tasty Our last day in Israel had its perks. While aroma from the Russian food sitti ng on the table. There David Gold - Executi ve Editor of the Jewish Educati on Machane Yehuda, a market in Jerusalem. visiti ng the highly touristy Machane Yehudah Lilly Rothschild - Creati ve Director Center of Cleveland. – Roz Madorsky, Cleveland 2017 diff erent fl avors which boosted our energy were a few diff erent types of Russian food including Market, we were guided by Asaf, a Jerusalem wasn’t a restaurant! They had every Sep- some rolls fi lled with egg salad and a Russian pancake Ari Sternberg - Managing Editor For more info visit Food – what is traditi onally eaten and how nati ve who promised us the best tasti ng for the rest of the long day. We fi nished by hardic food you could think of and every one Roz Madorsky - Jewish Culture Editor getti ng about twenty minutes of free ti me rolled up and fi lled with cott age cheese, which almost www.akivacleveland.org. it’s prepared – is a way we can commonly experience we would get on our trip. Start- you couldn’t think of. They had Kuba, which tasted like a blintz. Both of these were delicious. Aft er Jessica Linden - Senior Editor group people together. Today however, dur- ing at Asaf’s favorite, we were greeted by to walk around and explore the sides of the tasted like a meat ball inside a matzoh ball Gabrielle Sudilovsky - Associate Editor market that we didn’t get to see. Touring having a litt le nosh, Vadim jumped right into the lec- ing a food tour of Machne Yehuda market, the co-owners of the stand who insisted that and was surprisingly delicious, and a type ture. He then began talking about the ‘1.5 Generati on’, I experienced the disti ncti ve ways people the 25 of us would all squeeze in to their Machane Yehudah in this way made the of fi sh (that I didn’t try) that was doused in experience so fun and diff erent and made and told us his personal example: he was born in Russia and moved to Israel at age from all diff erent backgrounds sell their food. kitchen where they make the “best falafel a red liquid type of spicy sauce. Our hosts 11. The reason that Vadim considers himself part of the 1.5 generati on is because There was an indescribable energy as you in Israel”! Aft er tasti ng the falafel right out for an incredible last day. wanted us to try everything even when I - Shai Paz, Israel 2016 he has one leg in the Russian culture of his parents, but is now living in Israel and entered this shuk with all of the vendors of the burning oil, I would defi nitely have to repeatedly told them that I didn’t like spicy also part of the Israeli culture. A great example of this is how, now that he is a par- loudly bragging about their products. Our agree that the falafel really did exceed my Shabbat Feast in Beit Shean foods; I think their mission was to have us ent, he teaches his four year old daughter both Hebrew and Russian. Inside Vadim’s group began by heading to the “best falafel expectati ons. Our next stop was a pita place For three days, icnext Cohort 4 stayed with eat so much that we couldn’t fi t out the door house his family speaks Russian and outside of the house they speak Hebrew. in the world” where apparently the Cana- that had a very special technique to make host families in Beit Shean, exploring life in and would have to stay there to eat another Back to Vadim at age 11 - upon moving to Israel, Vadim’s parents enrolled dian prime minister had been the week their fl uff y pita bread. They rolled out a big Israel with their host brothers and sisters. day. Even aft er dinner, while playing games him in a Jewish day school. Two weeks went by in the Jewish school when one of before! Next was a litt le bakery where I round price of dough and stuck it right at the Dalia Socher wrote about the feast her host and hanging around with them, there was his teachers suggested that he be given the bible test which is much like a spelling was one of the lucky individuals who got to top of the oven. When it bubbled up and got family presented to her for Shabbat, and food out. There were always various types bee and he did very well. On the day of the test he came to school wearing a suit, go behind the counter and learn to make crispy, it was ready to serve with a sprinkle how welcome it made her feel in their home. of nuts and fruit galore. Even when I ate so bow ti e and unusual looking glasses – as he would have in Russia. Many of the incredibly thin pitas. I was honored that I of olive oil, zaatar and sesame seeds. Our - David Gold, Cleveland 2017 much I thought I would burst they would of- students thought that what he was wearing was weird and one of the kids came up got to help but a litt le thrown off by the fact next stops included a spice stand, halva shop fer me more, complaining that I hadn’t eaten to him and said “Israelis don’t dress like that”. Vadim’s response was, “now I am an with over one hundred diff erent fl avors, a I’m no foreigner to having a lot of food on enough. These families were so friendly and that I wasn’t asked to wash my hands. In Shabbat, but the amount of food that my Israeli and this is how I dress”. Although Vadim lived in Israel and had become an another interesti ng encounter that day, I was Georgian restaurant where we tasted a dish this was their way of genuinely making us Israeli, he sti ll followed Russian culture in the way that he dressed. And today he sti ll called khachapuri, and a gelato stand. We Israeli host family made during my Shabbat feel welcomed and a part of the interna- pressured to snort something that looked visit in Beit Shean was surreal. I’ve never dresses much the same as he did at age 11. like loti on from a guy who let us taste his concluded our taste tour with a juice place ti onal Jewish family. -Adam Marcus, Israel 2016 that made healthy (non-alcoholic) shots in seen so many main dishes in one place that - Dalia Socher, Israel 2016