Rotem's+I_Faces

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= Rationale = I choose to write my project about Tiah Libtag who works at a center for religious women in crisis. In my opinion Tiah's job is very important for the community. The center gives women in trouble an opportunity to express themselves and receive help. Tiah represents the type of woman that all woman should emulate.

= Profile =

Taya is a wonderful person who dedicates her life to helping others. She was born in Los Angels, California, knowing that one day she will make Aliya. Taya first went to a military example school which until today, she still remembers how strict it was .A few years later her parents moved her to the Jewish school "Hillel Hebrew Academy", which was very Zionistic and taught her to love Israel. After coming to Israel on a program and meeting her future husband here, she decided it was time to make Aliya. When I asked Taya why she chose to live in Alon Shvut, she says the place chose her, it was love at first site. Taya first worked as a tutor for Hebrew and English subjects, Later on she was employed as a dental assistant in an office that was run by a friend who wanted Taya to speak Hebrew and English with the clients. Then, another friend of Taya's opened a hot line for religious women and asked Taya to volunteer. At first she only volunteered part time, though after watching her children grow up and reach their teenage years, Taya felt that it was necessary to take up a full time job, so she can guide them through their challenges as well as help any other person in need. Today, Taya works as the head of the volunteers that volunteer for the hot line. If one of the volunteers gets a call and does not know how to handle the problem, the call is forwarded to Taya who will help solve the caller's problem. In addition, Taya goes to schools and kindergartens in order to explain to the children and teenagers about the dangers of strangers as well as giving workshops, to provide the children with tools for life. Taya's colleagues have a different life style than Taya has, but both sides respect one another and try their best to keep their friendships. Taya respects them and thinks they are wonderful women who want to help others. The job is very intensive. Taya gets calls all day long, therefore, she has her own work phone so she can receive the calls and help as many as she can. In her job Taya has to be very creative. In some classes which Taya teaches she has to find the right way to pass on the message. In the different classes, there are different types of children and therefore Taya has to use her creativity so the children willl comprehend the lesson. Taya feels that her job is fulfilling and teaches her a lot about life. The experiences Taya went through, and the cases she had worked with affect the way she raises her children. She learns from the mistakes she have seen people make and guides her children not to make them. Besides all that she also knows how to handle her children's problems and solve them in the best way. In the past two years people have been relating to Taya as a grandmother, although Taya does not feel like one at all. So many people have referred to her as mom it is hard for her to get used to the new title. If asked what the most important value in life is, Taya would say there are three: the first one is patience, the second one is not to judge other people before you know them, and after. The third and last is to always find what's funny in every situation, it makes life so much easier

= = = = = Background research =

Today, Tiah works as the head of volunteers at the hot line in the crisis center, and additionally goes to schools and teaches about the dangers of life. The crisis center was established in 1993 in order to provide emotional support and advice for religious and chareidi women who are in need. The center was established because there was no hot line where religious women felt comfortable calling and talking about their problems. The center offers ,first of all ,a listening ear for the women's problems. Later on if the woman chooses to she could come to the center and meet face to face with one of the counselors. The center gives the women information, advice and support through the phone or in face to face meetings. The main goal of the center is to give the woman confidence in her self and help her get through her crisis. The volunteers for the hot line take a preparation course, where they are taut how to handle women's crisis and how to help in different situations. The center offers help for all sort of women: women who have been through a crisis in their family, the woman has usually many tasks in the house and does not always know how to handle them all together. The center helps the woman organize her life, make a list of properties and by that she clearly know what her problems are. Sometimes there is no solution for the woman's problem but the woman gets help and advice feeling more comfortable to move on in her life. The center also helps women who are in crisis as result of some medical problem. Some of them are handling a serious disease such as cancer; some have depression as result of giving birth ,etc. The volunteer who is handling a case like this will check that the woman is getting a proper medical help from doctors and if the women isn't getting such help, the volunteer will help her find the right doctors who can help her, giving her help and support to handle her sickness. Another kind of women who calls the center is a women who were abused or have been attacked by violence. In this case, the volunteer will refer the women to institutes which can help her such as the police, a shelter for abused women, and others. In this case like in any other case the volunteer will support the woman and listen to all her problems. The center doesn't always have the answers to all the problems women have ,but it tries to give back to the women self confidence and help her get through her crisis.



if you want to know more about the hot line or different situitions of crisis you can open these sites: hot line for women = = storis about crisis __ The association of rape crisis centers in Israel __, 27\1\2010,  __ Edot __, 1\2\2012, |http://www.edut.co.il/Default.aspx ]]

=Literary connection =

__This is only the beginning\ Naomi Shemer: __ A person builds his house from material and blocks And in the mean while has some troubles with the neighbors And this is only the beginning You need to cut down trees and draw water from a well The one who increases knowledge will increase pain Because it is only the beginning

Some times a person is happy and some times sad and suffering And between this and that he celebrates a half a jubilee And this is only the beginning

A person builds his house and his strength is with him Maybe it's a bad moment but it's not over Because it is only the beginning

And now from the horizon a new day will arise This your land flowing with milk and honey And this is only the beginning

וזוהי רק ההתחלה

אדם בונה ביתו מחומר ולבנים ובינתיים יש צרות עם השכנים, וזוהי רק ההתחלה - לה-לה...

צריך עצים לחטוב ומבורות לשאוב והמרבה דעה הוא גם ירבה מכאוב, כי זוהי רק ההתחלה - לה-לה...

עתים אדם שמח ועתים סובל, ובין ההוא לזה חוגג חצי יובל, וזוהי רק ההתחלה - לה-לה...

אדם בונה ביתו וכוחותיו אתו אולי זה רגע מר, אבל זה לא נגמר, כי זוהי רק ההתחלה - לה-לה...

הנה מקצה-מזרח יפציע יום חדש וזוהי ארצך זבת חלב ודבש [וזוהי רק ההתחלה - לה-לה...   The song talks about life in Israel. How there is always something you need to do. Some duties you must fulfill, such as build a house, cut wood, draw water from a well and more. While doing all the duties there are always problems standing in the way. In Israel there are most of the time sad things but we need to remember it is not over and tomorrow is a new day that will come. There is always an opportunity to start again and fix all the mistakes we made. A person who lives in Israel needs to learn how to live with his crisies and duties. A person needs to learn to get over his crisis and move on in his life. This is our land and we own it. We have to fight for it. I think the authors main point in this song is to explain to the readers about life in Israel. She wanted to show all the difficulties that an Israeli citizen has to deal with. The author also wanted to show how life in Israel is hard and there are so many different complications that make life even harder. Although there are many problems, the citizens of Israel know how to be happy. They celebrate and laugh like every other person. The last thing she wanted to say in my opinion is that a person needs to believe that tomorrow will be a new day; he needs to be faithful and work harder to make things better. This song, as I already mentioned ,shows the life of an Israeli. I think that this song shows exactly how an Israeli should be. In this project we had to work with the faces of Israel and the person who is described in the song is the perfect example of one. The song summarizes the life in Israel and doesn't show many other sides that an Israeli citizen has to deal with. Being an Israeli is hard task but I Think that the Israeli citizend do their job in the best way.

= = =Creative connection = For my creative connection I choose to do a theme photo collage with many pictures that represent all the faces of Israel. In the collage I put many pictures that are connected to Israel, such as the different ethnic groups living in Israel, the different organizations that exist there, the scenery of Israel and other symbols of Israel. In my creative connection I wanted to show how Israel has so many different faces and so many different things in her but they all form together a beautiful collage named the state of Israel.



=**Reflection **= When I started working on the I-faces project my expectations from it were that I would learn more things about Tiah and about her life. But now, when looking back at the process of the project I can see that I have learned so much more than that. This project taught me how important it is to help others and volunteer. I have also understood that Israel is a unique country, which combines in it so many people from different types of cultures. I think it is an amazing thing that people that are so different from each other connect and manage to form such a great country. In my opinion, this country is so wonderful because of the love and kindness that people express to each other. Helping one another is a common thing in Israel. Any citizen who has a problem can get the proper help if he just asks for it. The center that Tiah works at is a wonderful example of giving with all your heart with no expectations of return or gain. Besides the knowledge I have gained while working on the project, I have also gained many skills such as writing and researching which are a very helpful skills for life. In the beginning of the project I rewrote my sentences several times searching for the right way to express my thoughts and feelings. Now it is still hard for me to do that, but I manage to express myself much easier thanks to all the help and advice I received from the people around me. I have also learned many things about myself and my abilities. I came to see that I could do many things if I just try, and that nothing is impossible. The project made me think about the meaning of being an Israeli, and I think it is the biggest profit i got from this project. I had a good time working on this project and discovering many new things about the country where I live, about Tiah, and about myself.

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=**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 24px;">Bibliography **=

__ Israel police force __, 29\2\2010 , <[]>.

__ The association of rape crisis centers in Israel __, 1\3\2010, <http://ccrw.1202.org.il/template/default.asp?siteId=8 >.

. <http://www.911il.com/2009/12/29/15068>, 6\7\2010, <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; msoasciifontfamily: 'Comic Sans MS'; msohansifontfamily: 'Comic Sans MS';">__אתר החדשות של ישראל__

.< http://www.hummus.co.il/Index.asp?CategoryID=70>, __צבר__ 3,\3\2010

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