Achdut Am Israel

The Goal: understanding that Am Israel need to stay united and this is   the key for its power. Every individual is unique and special, and has a lot to contribute to the collective. Every individual is important ant crucial for the success of Am Israel.

 1. Split the group into two teams. Hide the two puzzles pieces around the room. Everybody has to find a piece. When everyone has a piece they need to team up according to the color on the back of the piece (two colors- one for each team). Now, every team needs to do the puzzle.

In the two puzzles one piece is missing. There is a contest between the teams who is going to finish first. The chanichim need to find out that one piece is missing.

 Explanation: Even when just one piece is missing the picture is not complete. The individual is very important to the collective. Even when just one is missing, the group can feel it and it damage its complete.

2. The chanichim will stand in a circle, back to front. When the madrich/a will give the sign, everybody needs to sit on the guy behind them knees. If somebody fall- the all circle will brake. Explanation- again, the “achdot” which mean union is crucial for society.  

3. Musical machine:

Every chanich needs to find his/her own musical beat, for example: ling ling, bom bom etc. The first one start with her/his own beat. Then the second continue with his/her beat and so on. Everyone keeps in with his /her unique beat, and together the group create harmony.

4. The madrich/a will tell the next story:

This is a story about a cart and horses. Once upon a time there was a big beautiful cart which was pulled by many hard working horses. Although, they had to go through bumpy roads, they kept on pulling it with passion.

Once in a while a few of the horses let go because of the hard labor, but the others kept on pulling.

One day one of the horses thought that he had done enough and it will be better if he climb up the cart and rest there. And so he did. “Oh it’s so good to be up here” said the horse  “they probably won’t even feel I’m gone”. But he was wrong. His friends did feel he was missing. Actually, it wanted to go back, but it was so good up there, and its friends didn’t complain.

One of the other horses noticed that its friend didn’t come back, and decided to climb up the cart in order to check what happened. “ Just for a few minutes” he cried to its pulling friends. And it also stayed there, for it was so good up there. After a while more and more horses left the group. Some figure out that being up there is more comfort. Some went pulling other carts. And some gathered that they have better things then pulling a cart and so they had to leave. The horses that stayed with the cart couldn’t pull it anymore. They decided to go to all of the horses that left them and ask them for help. One of the horses that sat on the cart answered them “ I would like to help but I can’t. I am too tired”. The second replied “ if the third comes. I will come and help too”. The third said “ why me?”. They went to the circus horse that told them that he can’t leaved because its all cart depends on it, and without it will collapse. It is very essential to the circus. Every horse had it reason why not come back and pull the heavy cart. The bitter end wasn’t late to come – the cart crashed for it heavy weight! Too many horses stayed up and too little were down pulling.

              The idea is obvious!

Or if you're more into the positive reinforcement stories:

An ancient legend tells:  Once upon a time there was an old sick man that knew he is going to pass away soon. So he asked all his sons to gather together in front of his bed. All his 7 sons showed up.

The old man said : “I’m very sick, and before I will die I want to ask you to do something for me”. He gave each one of them a bamboo stick. “ Try to break it” he added. Each son tried and succeed breaking the stick. 

“Now I want you to try break that batch of sticks” and he gave each one of them a pile of bamboo sticks. That task was more complicated for the sons. The oldest tried to break them, bot he failed. The second son tried but he couldn’t do it. So is the third, fourth and so on.

When the father saw his sons’ failures, he asked them to take one step closer and reach the bed. They all gazed each other with fear of the unknown. They got closer to each other and then the father spoke: today you learnt a very important lesson.