Shevet Name Sicha- Achiya - שיחה לשבט אחיה

Goal: This shevet was given this name, davka because it is felt that now is the time in jewish history when division and lack of achdut are the biggest issues, and it is the hope of bnei akiva that the members of this shevet will be the ones to go out to am Israel and be me’ached it.

Trigger: Show the PowerPoint on Israel splitting into 3 states – one religious, one secular and one Arab.  (To show them how serious the situation is in Israel)

• Is this possible? Could this happen in the future? Is the gap between the religious and secular really that big? It seems from the violent protests that it is. What can we do about it? (organizations like Gesher that try and promote dialogue).

• Would it be a bad thing to split? Who cares, if we don’t get along maybe we should split. It happened before – Lot and Avraham, in Melachim, there were 2 kingdoms of Yehudah and Israel!!

• What do we do about it?

• What is sinat chinam? Is sinat chinam a new thing or has it been around for a while? Zealots and Rabbis in the siege on Jerusalem, hassidim and mitnagdim, conservative, reform and orthodox…What are different examples that we see in our own communities?

• What is it that triggers sinat chinam? What are the underlying causes? Is it just disagreeing with people? People fighting? Or maybe also not understanding where people are coming from. It’s very easy to stereotype and not look at where people are coming from.

How do we deal with people that we do not agree with? Can you get along with people you really disagree with? Or is it better to split up and move to different places? It seems from the PowerPoint that the people are happier living apart. Obviously, we want to stay together as a unified nation, and we must. Achdut and ahavat chinam are the only way to get out of galut and to restore geulah. We have to be metaken the sin of sinat chinam that got the temple destroyed in the 1^st place.

BUT is it possible for us as a nation to have achdut with people with whom we don’t agree and still disagree with them? How? This is crucial to figure out, as with what we saw in the PowerPoint – sinat chinam is not just a word we throw around – but the biggest issue facing Am Israel today!!! Does everyone have to agree? No, but we still must be unified. How? How do we balance disagreeing with achdut? Could be in how you disagree, in maintaining respect even when you disagree. 

Read the conservative story. How does it make you feel? What do you think about the actions of the orthodox Jews? Were the conservative people provoking a fight by choosing to daven there? What are other ways we could have protested or disagreed with them?

Main idea is EMPATHY.

Definition: Understanding of another’s feelings: the ability to identify with and understand another person’s feelings or difficulties.

Ladder of inference concept. When you backtrack and realize where Ploni is coming from with his opinion, you can feel for his pain, even if you still disagree. Deeper then respect because now you really feel the other person’s pain, their side, so naturally from this you will respect them and have a sense of achdut, togetherness.

Conclusion: The chanichim should see the power they have to influence the outside world. AND how much it is desperately needed in am Israel!!! Microcosm effect, what we create in machal, the sense of community and unity of different individuals, of 50 different people with different takes on Judaism getting along, we can take this out to the outside world – leadership – responsibility to spread achdut, change the world. Go team!

Not Suitable for Shabbat