Frayda's+I_Face

In order to link the Profile to Backround Research for this project, it is important for me to find something which connects to a worthwhile project that opens one’s heart and makes a person feel compassion and caring and a feeling that you want to let others know about it, share it and get them to be involved. I think that place is SHALVA. It is one of the most worthwhile causes that I have ever come across.. This is a special school mainly for Downs Syndrome kids and kids with other problems. I have been volunteering at Shalva for the past 7 months and it has really opened my heart. Shalva was founded in 1990 by Kalman and Malki Samuels. The reason it was created, however, goes back to 1997, when the Samuels’ 11 month-old kid ,Yossi, received a routine DPT vaccination. The vaccination caused him to become blind, deaf, and hyperactive. For 8 years Yossi lived in a closed world and no one was able to penetrate his bubble. Yossi’s disabilities took their toll on his family.They became exhausted and isolated, because they were giving him round the clock, constant loving care and help by themselves. Many professionals and well-intentioned friends suggested that they put Yossi in an Institution. But Malki refused and vowed to G-d that if He helped Yossi, she would dedicate herself to helping other special needs children and their families. Several years later her prayers were answered. When Yossi was eight years old, a deaf special education teacher named Shoshanna Weinstock penetrated his wall-of-silence via Hebrew finger spelling into his hand in much the same way that Annie Sullivan had reached Helen Keller. Shoshanna taught Yossi his first word - shulchan (Hebrew for "table") -- and, almost immediately, the ‘walls of his personal prison collapsed’. Yossi began to learn and teachers have discovered that Yossi is very intelligent and knows so much about wine, cars, and current events. Today, Yossi even corresponds with many public opinion leaders. In December 2007 he was invited to a Chanukah party at the White House with President George W. Bush. Malki remembered her promise, and a few years later she and Kalman established Shalva, which means "peace of mind" in Hebrew. Shalva is really an amazing place. At first when I got there it was hard. Seeing the kids and how they deal with their difficulties every day was quite a shock for me. But I realized that I had to try and get out of the bubble I was in and see new types of kids that are not the same as ‘normal’ kids. In the beginning I felt helpless knowing that there are kids like that and I felt that I couldn’t really help them in any way. But, then, I saw that by just being there I was helping them and truthfully they helped me too. It took me a while to really get to know the kids and understand them, but the minute I did, the kids turned into my best friends. Every Wednesday has become the day that I really look forward to. Even though I know that from the second I get on the bus until I get back on it, it would be a hard and challenging day, I know it is worth every minute. When I arrive in the room where we work, everyone welcomes me so nicely that it feels like I have a special place there and I feel at home. I can’t wait every day for the next time I go there. Those kids are not just kids, they’re special kids and they’re the most amazing kids in the world. They have something in them that most people don’t. It’s just amazing to see that they’re so happy with who they are that they don’t even try to change a bit. The smile on their faces each day, the songs they sing, their stories they tell express the true happiness inside them. The story of Yossi is the story of Shalva. Many thousands of other Israeli families choose to raise their special needs children at home instead of institutionalizing them. Yossi’s parent established Shalva with love in their hearts in Yossi's merit. Today, many families can deal with their special children better because of Shalva. They are taught to cope with their reality and cope with their challenging situation successfully in order to lead regular, healthy lives. One of my projects is to speak to David and the ‘NU’ campaign to design a special T-Shirt for Shalva, so people wear the message on their hearts (the inside of the T-Shirt) and on the outside to publisize the wonderful work that Shalva does.
 * __ BACKROUND RESEARCH __**

**__LITERARY CONNECTION__** The theme that is clear in this project can be summed up in one word. ‘**//Love’//** and all the things that come from love, - passion, compassion, caring, loving kindness, and we could continue with lots of other words, but the main idea is that it is an emotion that comes from the heart and can help others open their hearts to help others and so on and so on. This cycle is the kind of cycle we want to promote and advertise and help make this world a better place! דרשתי קרבתך בכל ליבי קראתיך ובצאתי לקראתך לקראתי מצאתיך(שיר השירים) "-

מים רבים לא יוכלו לכבות את האהבה ונהרות לא ישטפוה(שיר השירים) .-

- שיר השירים אשר לשלמה אם לא תדעי לך היפה בנשים, הנך יפה שושנת העמקים. עיניך יונים צווארך בחרוזים, קומי לך רעייתי ולכי לך כי מראך נווה שושנה בין החוחים. (שיר השירים) שושנה בין החוחים **- To love for the sake of being loved is human, but to love for the sake of loving is Angelic."** - לאהוב במטרה להיות נאהב זה פשוט אנושי,אבל לאהוב למטרת אהבה לשמה זה פשוט תכונה מלאכת...  These are passages fro Shir HaShirim,- The song of Songs written by King Solomon. It is said that it was written in springtime in the city of Jerusalem. When it is first read it seems that it is a simple love poem between a man and a woman. However, when it is studied more deeply, and there is a sense of belief when you read it, then one can see that it is about the relationship between Hashem and the Jewish Nation. This love is about the love of Israel and Jerusalem. This is a special kind of love that is universal for all Jews all over the world. All these extracts written above, have one simple saying. They all talk about **love.** Every sentence is talking about a different kind of love, but if you look closer and observe the sentences you can see that none of them talk about someone or something directly. Each sentences has a lot of depth of meaning. I think this theme connects to my project because the two things that I chose to explore and write about are ways to bring love and caring and sharing to people. David's project- the Nu campaign and Shalva both signify in my eyes the real love of an Israeli to his country and to his people. Each project or place, separately has its own meaning but all together it combines to a create a big **LOVE** word. A few of these sentences that actually are the ones that sound like love poems from a man to a women are written by King Solomon and it has a deeper meaning then just a story between a man to women, it is the love story between the Jewish nation and Hashem. HaRav Kook the Tanach is Holy but the book of King Solomon is the Holy of Holy Books. __ Creative connection __ : I chose to draw a picture that combines all the essential parts of my project. The Israeli flag is the main part of my project, and for Israeli citizens; it is more than just a flag. It is a way of life. For most other nations a flag is nothing special, no internal meaning. It's just another part of there land. The flag also shows the unity every Israeli citizen has to one another. Having the flag unites the Jewish people into one. In my creative connection I've put a shalva sign in the place of a magen david of the Israeli flag, with a heart around it. With this, im showing the importance of how every person in Israel is connected. Every single citizen in Israel cares about one another, putting a shalva sign in the place of a magen david signifies the fact that every one heeds other people's needs, and is always there for one another. The Jewish people are a united nation and well always be united. The heart represents the giving and love that each person in Israel shares with one another. If someone is in need, there will always be some one there to help them out. The Jewish people feel love and consideration for one another, and they have love and consideration for shalva. I've decided to use a t-shirt as the background because David Kramer designs shirts for many different causes in Israel. So when I put all of these different elements together of love and unity for one another, it makes the ideal Jewish Israeli citizen.

I learned a lot by doing this project. One of the most important things is that we take so much for granted in our world today. When we buy or see a T-Shirt we often see a logo, or a word written on it- eg, Fox, ‘Bad boys’, ‘Kill em’ etc, and often we ignore what is written and wear the T-Shirt automatically seeing it as an item of clothing. But these T-Shirts have meaning and a story behind them and so they can be worn with pride and connection to something bigger than ourselves. I also learned a lot about sitting and interviewing a person and finding out information behind the scenes about a person’s life and what drives him and motivates him and makes him passionate about his cause. It gave me an opportunity to get to know my brother in law better and respect and admire him for his new business. I feel enthusiastic about the T-Shirt business and will enjoy working and selling T-Shirts for him, because there is a worthwhile cause involved. Another good thing I learned was about the history of Shalva. Even though I have been working there for 7 months, I didn’t know very much about it but now I have a greater appreciation of the excellent special place that I volunteer at. It was also interesting to try and understand the ‘theme’ of this project and link it to Israel and some literary connection. Love is a universal theme and connected to everything in this world. ‘Love makes the world go round’…. And the Shalva saying is ‘Color my world with Hope….’ It makes me realize that our hearts must be open to receive the good and give out love, hope and good. I explored things that are close to my heart and that’s why I chose to write about them The project wasn’t a book report or an unseen but it really made me think a lot about so many things.It helped me to connect to Israel in a different strong way and what Israel means to me and why I feel it is important to promote this amazing country and all the good that comes from it. Especially, at a time like now when Israel is having problems -it needs our help. I’ve learned to look on the inside and the outside of things, and give my ‘heart’ and ‘love’ to things I believe in and appreciate.
 * __ Reflection: __**