Seeking a way to bring Israel to the classrooms, the CESJDS administration found their solution when the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington reached out to them and other local synagogues and schools about having an Israeli emissary, or shaliach, interact with students.

Israeli Shaliach Itsik Sayag came to JDS through a Shlichut Arucha, a long-term mission program, and will help out in JDS Hebrew classes and other programs related to Israel for one year. His parents’ hardship in making aliyah from Syria to Israel made a love of Israel a “sacred value” in his family, one that he hopes to bring to the JDS community this year.

Sayag worked in Israel as a film writer and director, which made him especially interested in the Hebrew language and the roots and connections between various words. He would like to spread this appreciation to students, and said that it “would be great” if at the end of the year, he heard students using Hebrew words in their English sentences.

Because of his career, Sayag also found himself constantly immersed in Israeli culture through videos, art and poetry. According to Sayag, the best way to get to know Israel is through its art.

“If you see film on culture [or] on family, that’s a personal opinion and some director or artist wants to expose the audience to his own life without filters and without lies,” Sayag said.

In Israel, Sayag also taught junior and senior film classes for two years. He said that the classes were “one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had,” since they were full of creative students.

Sayag is working with Director of Jewish Life Stephanie Hoffman in the Upper School to share his knowledge of Israeli arts with students on Jewish and Israeli holidays. Sayag also hopes to plan a few Lunch and Learn sessions for high school students where he would show short movies on Israel and then lead a discussion afterwards.

“He’s trying to get a feel for what the students want so that whatever he’s offering is something that people will be interested in,” Hoffman said.

In addition, Sayag plans on visiting various Hebrew classes and joining them in some of their lessons.

According to Hoffman, Sayag will visit classes when it fits in with the curriculum. He splits up his two-and-a-half days a week with JDS between the Upper and Lower School campuses, and for the remainder of the week serves as the shaliach at Congregation Beth El. Hoffman said the goal is to have Sayag engage with students every time he visits and he will also join students on Shabbatons.

When he visits classes, Hoffman said Sayag’s participation will be dependent on the specific course, but that he might bring in an Israeli film that contributes to the lesson. He also might help facilitate or contribute to a discussion based on his own experiences.

For example, Sayag recently attended junior and senior Hebrew classes where students watched and discussed a movie about a Sephardic Jewish family, which helped students learn more about the habits and the lifestyles of Sephardic Jews in Israel.

Sayag’s mission also involves learning from the students. For this reason, in the beginning of the school year, he attended Jewish history teacher Rachel Bergstein’s Contemporary American Jewish Society class. According to Bergstein, Sayag introduced himself to the class and observed one of their initial discussions transitioning them into the curriculum.

“[The class is] for students to know about American Jewish society, and since he’s new to American Jewish society, I thought it’d be interesting for him to sit in,” Bergstein said.

Although Sayag’s participation in Bergstein’s class was mainly for him to learn, she believes that he can be “not just helpful, but enriching” to students in classes that focus on Israel.

To Sayag, his assignment in America is not just about teaching students about Israel and what he knows, but also about seeing how Jews from different communities interact with Judaism.

“For me, Shlichut is a relationship,” Sayag said. “I came here to also learn and I want to meet and know a lot of streams of Judaism, to meet the kids, their stories and their ways to connect to Judaism.”

Sayag plans to use his interests to his advantage throughout the year and improve students’ awareness and insights into Israel and its citizens’ lifestyles. He also hopes that students and others in the JDS community will work with him to come up with new ideas for him to be involved.

“I’m sure that the people in Bethesda and in the area, they know about Israel, and I feel very welcome here and I’m really excited to be here, but I think I can leave a wide perspective of the Israeli society,” Sayag said.