This week we said goodbye to the students and interns of the Spring 2022 semester. After taking their final exams, and completing their last research tasks, the participants spent their last few days saying goodbye and processing in various closing activities.
This semester was once again marked by rising political unrest in the region, forcing our campus community to face these complexities, and discuss how to cooperate in the face of political conflict. Rabbi Michael Cohen, Friends of the Arava Institute Director of Community Relations , and faculty at the Institute this semester, addressed the students in his graduation speech on Monday evening:
“[Moses, Moishe, Musa,] that great political leader is described [in the Bible] as humble. […] That is to say within Moses’ passion for his work, his task, his calling, he was also compassionate. He practiced passion with compassion and humility. We should all be passionate about what we do. We should be sure of what we stand for and think, but we always need to be open to the needs of others, and even with our strong opinions and conclusions we need to be open that we may be wrong, or that to be more effective we may need to modify our approach . Passion wedded to compassion.”
We thank our newest group of alumni for sharing their time, gifts, and passions with us, and wish them much luck in their future endeavors, with the hope that they will not only fulfill themselves, but let their energy become a piece of the puzzle for constructing a better future and more equitable world .
