Some 500 Jewish mothers from around the world will celebrate Jewish motherhood in Israel this Mother’s Day, May 14, as part of the life-changing “MOMentum” trip to Israel, thanks to the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project (JWRP) and Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.
Among the mothers will be Irvine resident and attorney Rachel Lederman, who is making her first trip to Israel.
“In the United States, Mother’s Day has always meant our families’ coming together and reconnecting,” says Lederman. “For me, this Mother’s Day will be a whole new experience – embarking on a life-changing personal journey and connecting with Jewish mothers from around the world.”
The JWRP MOMentum trip, an exclusive eight-day journey to Israel, is aimed to inspire women to connect deeply with their Jewish heritage and transform themselves, their families – and ultimately their communities and the wider world. JWRP believes that MOMentum will help generate a new generation of women leaders in the Jewish community and beyond. The MOMentum trips coinciding with Mother’s Day will begin arriving in Israel on May 8.
“Women often express concern about leaving their children for eight days” for a MOMentum trip, says Lori Palatnik, JWRP’s founding director. “I explain that they are not leaving their kids, they are going for their kids."
“What they will gain on this life-changing trip will spill over into their homes in the most beautiful and profound way. How fitting it is that these mothers are here on Mother's Day. This is the ultimate gift we can give to each and every one of them.”
MOMentum will take the women across Israel, from the mystical Galilee city of Tzfat to the ancient desert mountaintop fortress Masada, and features extensive itineraries and curated curricula encompassing everything from Jewish values to contemporary Israeli society. This year, the Jewish mothers will also be able to mark Mother’s Day, May 14, through their Israel experience.
The MOMentum trip “is part of our ongoing effort to strengthen Israel’s relationship with Diaspora communities around the world,” says Dvir Kahana, director-general of Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. “We are extremely proud of our strategic partnership with the JWRP."
“We share the vision of empowering Jewish women worldwide as leaders of the next generation with the ability and drive to raise children who are proud of their identity and strongly connected to Israel.”
More than 10,000 Jewish mothers from 26 countries have participated in the Momentum journeys. The trips have proved so popular that JWRP branched into men’s trips, dubbed “MoMENtum,” upon hearing from countless husbands that they needed to share their wives’ life-changing experiences.