Five participants from the Netivot-Azata Region traveled to Philadelphia and to Washington in order to participate in the UJC's YLC Washington 12 Conference. The participants enjoyed an action filled trip to New York City and spent three days in Philadelphia meeting with young professional staff at the Federation, visiting Federation constituent agencies, historical sites such as the Liberty Bell and Franklin Court and spending Shabbat at Mikveh Israel. In addition, they were guests of honor at a Federation reception organized by YLC, P2K and the Committee on Global Judaism which enabled them to get to know a spectrum of local Jewish community leaders and to share their experiences and their feelings about P2K. And the feelings were powerful and penetrating. At the conclusion of the visit, Ron Stern, a YLC participant and member of the Region's Steering Committee, uttered these sentiments, "Whether the community is Philadelphia or Netivot, the message is the same - to bring hearts closer together and all Jewish people together."

Aside from developing connections, another important goal of P2K is to expose residents of the Region to the rich tapestry of the American Jewish Community. This objective, too, was obtained during the visit as one participant eloquently shared these thoughts, "In Israel we knew that men and women were sitting together [in Masorti and Reform congregations] but we didn't realize why. The rabbi's explanation of the genders being equal helped everyone understand Reform Judaism. We have been taught that sitting apart is the right way. This trip has made us reflect on this tradition. We also came to realize that the target is to be a practicing Jew. That is the most important thing. It doesn't matter how you get there.

Perhaps the most exciting development of the YLC visit was the fact that 11 YLCers from the Federation attended the Partnership 2000 Steering Committee meeting that convened directly after the conclusion of the YLC visit. The success of the visit has clearly generated great enthusiasm for future involvement with P2K. Positive connections were not only made during the visit, but the seeds were sown for future ones as well. This may well be the single most important achievement of the YLC visit to Philadelphia.

Nisan 5760 - May 2000