Breidge Gadd speaking at the 2006 School for Leadership Conference

July 2008 Israel Trip

This article is written by Nancy Juda

Photo: July 2008 Israel Trip

The Mastery Foundation returned to Israel In July 2008 to take the next steps in the five-year plan that was created with a group of core participants in the summer of 2007. Though we were clear about the vision, the plan, and even the next steps to take, the connections, progress, inspiration, and pleasure were beyond anything we had imagined. As always with Mastery, the work is fun and the fun is the work.

Ann Overton, Allan Cohen, Debbie Frieze, Michael Johnston, Jens Brasch, and I represented the Mastery Foundation on this trip. The tone of the two weeks was established the day we arrived. That evening we met old Mastery friends for dinner at a restaurant at the Harbor. This is a neighborhood of old warehouses that have been converted into restaurants, clubs, and shops framed by the Mediterranean, promenades, and skateboard ramps. It was Friday evening, the Sabbath, and the place was filled with extended families, young couples, and groups of friends. Over wonderful food and conversation, in a modern city, under an amazing Mediterranean sky, among secular Jews, Hassids, Arab Israelis, Christians, tourists, and immigrants from many parts of our world, we had a taste of what an amazing country Israel is. It is a tsimmes, a slow-cooked stew, of ancient and modern, east and west, European and African, urban and rural, desert and forest, those whose days are formed by the practice of their religious tradition, and those whose religious tradition is only part of their history. This delicious, rich, chaotic mix of belief, history, politics, and lifestyle densely contained in a tiny country (and in some cases a neighborhood or even family) is the perfect place for the Mastery Foundation to be making our work available. I was thrilled to be there drinking wine by the sea.

There were several concerns that gave us the framework for this trip. First, we were there to work on the priorities we had created for the next five years:

In addition, we wanted to enroll the right people into being part of the first cohort of The School for Leadership which would begin in November; to have me continue to establish myself as the coordinator for the region; and to continue to deepen and strengthen the foundations for building a regional community.

We scheduled two gatherings for this visit. The first was two days of translation work in preparation for the second, The Fundamentals of Leadership Workshop. We also had several meetings with individuals throughout the 10 days we were in Israel.

The Rabin Center and its Education Director Ruthi Gilat generously hosted us for the translation meeting. We invited several old and new friends of Mastery to work on this together, all of whom speak and read Hebrew. Those who are Arabic speak and read Arabic, and at least two of the Jews know varied amounts of Arabic. Eran is fluent in both languages. We Americans lack both languages, which made it necessary for English to be the primary language of our group discussions.

Language can create a world, and it can refer to or describe a world. It became very clear as we began our work together that what was needed was for us to create a world, to generate distinctions, to dwell in language. Traditional translation would be insufficient and nearly impossible given that the ideas or technology of the Mastery Foundation are invented in language using words in non-traditional and specific ways. Over the course of the two days the Israelis became much clearer about our use of an invented language and that they would have to discover and invent the ideas in Hebrew and Arabic.

Our plan was to “translate” some key distinctions we use and the handouts we had made in English for the Fundamentals of Leadership Course that would be held the following week. We began our work by creating a method for doing the work, lead by Allan. We created a template as follows.

  1. Starting point. What’s so?
  1. Create a clearing. Being responsible for the listening.
  1. Creation of a new distinction.

We decided that “Listening” might be the right place to start. It is a senior distinction, and a common English word that we use in an unusual way. We had no handout for it, because it gets created in speaking and listening. Using our template, we created “Listening is the clearing in which the world occurs. Listening is who you are. Being-in-the world. The listening we are is access to the world and to action.” Then the Arab speakers worked together to create this in Arabic and the rest of the Israelis created it in Hebrew.

Hebrew is a relatively new spoken language, so it does not have the variety of a language like English or French, but that also can be an advantage. There are three distinct forms of Arabic. There is spoken Arabic, which is informal and has many dialects. There is written Arabic, which is very formal and the same across the Arabic world. And there is the Arabic used to write the Koran, which is sacred and used only for this purpose. As everyone was working, Mahmud realized that the Arabs were not thinking in Arabic, but thinking in Hebrew and then translating their thoughts into Arabic. As the Arab speakers shared about this they said their home life is lived in Arabic, but many parts of their lives are lived in Hebrew. At times, they even dream in Hebrew.

Like many peoples who have a distinct language of their own that is used primarily at home, the Arabs said they felt very protective of their language. First languages can become a symbol of a group’s identity. They worry about the threat of the extinction of Arabic, and so they try to keep written Arabic in its formal, static, historic form. So for the Arab Israelis who were translating our ideas into written Arabic, inventing and shaping word usage as they worked, this was a radical, bold act. And while they knew this could be taken as offensive by some Arab speakers, writing in this way enlivened the written language for those participating.

By the end of the two days the participants had translated the handouts and the distinctions they contain on leadership, possibility, integrity, and speech acts. The handouts, which we now have digitized and printed, are beautiful. They represent an access to a world and to leadership. And to those of us who cannot read them, they are reminiscent of the beautiful art of these cultures.

Between the translation meeting and the leadership seminar, our Israeli friends went back to their jobs, and we had two days to relax and see some of the country.

The food in Israel is fresh, delicious, and a mix of European, Mediterranean, and North African cooking. Michael and I sat next to each other at a wonderful outdoor restaurant in Jaffa and tried to guess the ingredients in each dish. As we were enjoying the feast, the call to prayer came from the minaret of a nearby mosque. I now understand that that call is a powerful tool for becoming awake and present. And on the roof next to the minaret a flashy modern Arabic wedding was taking place. Ah, Israel, a land of diversity and juxtaposition!

The Old City in Jerusalem is one of the most striking examples of this diversity and juxtaposition. On Thursday some of us went with a guide to see the Old City. We saw how each religion – Jewish, Muslim, and Christian -- has established a presence in the Old City. As locals and tourists visit the shrines that are sacred to them and perform the rituals that hold meaning for them, they are all inside the ancient walls and gates together.

The Fundamentals of Leadership workshop was held at Nes Ammim, an ecumenical Christian kibbutz in the countryside north of Haifa. Europeans founded it in 1963 as a place to study and create respect, tolerance, and solidarity following the Holocaust. Now the residents also run a guesthouse and meeting place. Nes Ammim means “sign of the nations.” It is a historic place of bridging divides, and was a perfect place for us to gather and do our work. Plus, it reminded me of summer camp.

This program was our first in Israel for individuals new to our work and not associated with an institution with which we have a relationship. This was also the first time that all the enrollment and registration happened locally. We began and ended the course with 20 participants. Of these, 9 are Arab Israelis, and 11 are Jews. All of them share a commitment to peace, reconciliation, and community building.

The group included several educators ranging from a kindergarten teacher to a university professor. There were social workers, community activists, a professional musician, a well-known actress and screenwriter, a physician who runs a clinic, the director of a community foundation, and the chairman of the board of a kibbutz. Several of the participants are part of a group named Ma’agalim-Halakat, (the words for Circles in Hebrew and Arabic). They have social events and activities that bring people together to know each other in ways they would not otherwise. For some in the Fundamentals of Leadership Program, their work in the community is also their job. And for some it is what they do after work. For all, it is their life and their passion. And they were all hungry for what we have to offer them in support of their commitments.

We began the course by introducing ourselves and saying why we were participating. As a connection question, it really worked. I was moved to tears many times. Ann then explained that the Americans only speak and understand English and that several of the participants were prepared to translate the course into Arabic and Hebrew. She then posed the question for the evening. Regarding language, how would we operate as a group? Though they all understand Hebrew, they felt that Arabic must be equally present in the room. After much debate, sometimes heated, the participants came to an agreement. The course leaders would speak in English, and the translators would translate alternate sections into Hebrew and Arabic. Participants would speak in which ever of the three languages they chose. The translators would then translate this into English. And whenever someone needed extra translation they would ask for it.

During the program we worked on and distinguished leadership, listening, speech acts, possibility, and integrity. This was a lot to cover, especially in three languages, but we managed to do it. The method that had been chosen for working in all three languages worked well. We used the handouts that had been created in the translation meeting earlier in the week. I had prepared the handouts so that there were enough for everyone to get one in their preferred language. It quickly became clear that this was a lost opportunity so we changed course immediately. Giving each person each handout in all three languages was useful and rich in so many ways. It built community, and having the distinctions in all three languages illuminated them and made them clearer. As the course progressed bits of language and translation flew throughout the room. Participants translated for each other and corrected translations from the front of the room. It was spontaneous and hard work. And sometimes it was chaotic. Together we were dwelling in language, and it was really productive and fun.

During the first day of the course we also had two different kinds of cafes. The first was a World Café Process led by Debbie. The participants sat at tables in groups of four or five. They were provided with a large sheet of paper for each table, crayons and markers, and a question about leadership. Debbie encouraged them to talk, doodle, and draw together. They then changed tables and continued to connect their ideas and thoughts around the question. At the end of the process the paper tablecloth artifacts of the conversations were displayed for everyone to see them.

The second café was that evening. We transformed the course room into an intimate, candle lit setting for a self-organized social event. It was a wonderful evening with everyone contributing poetry, music, stories, laughter, wine, and camaraderie.

As we were all saying goodbye the next day, one participant told me he would take what he had learned to his village in central Israel, a Palestinian community founded in the 13th century. In recent years some of the village land has been expropriated to be used as a military firing range. He said his village needs these transformative tools, so he will do this for them and in doing so, he knew he would be doing it for all of humankind.

As I think and write about this trip to Israel, I am reminded of a response to the question at the beginning of the translation meeting: “What had you choose to participate in this meeting?” This participant said, “The invitation got me here. And I think it is about time that all of us can read and talk about these ideas in our own language. Language is the most important thing in a community. It is time for us to be able to take care of ourselves.”