The Power Of Showing Up

Yahel's founder and Executive Director, Dana Talmi, had the honor of speaking at Repair the World's Service Summit in November 2025. Her words encapsulate why we do the work we do.

Twenty-three years ago, I led my first Jewish service-learning trip to Honduras with American Jewish World Service. It was transformative—for me, for the participants, and for the community members in the village of Santa Ana.

But here's what I didn't expect: Since October 7th, our coordinator and driver for that program, Jesus, has consistently been checking in with me—making sure my family and I are safe during the war. Twenty-three years later, that connection endures. That's the power of showing up.

Immersive service creates real connections. It creates countless encounters that have the potential to move us and bring us together in ways we never imagined possible.

Dana leading the JSA leadership summit in Ofakim, with community leader and long-standing friend of Yahel, Yahaloma Zchut

Let me share some of these moments with you from the last two years at Yahel.

There's the community worker in Rishon LeZion—a woman who has spent months, maybe years, holding her community together during impossible times. When our group arrived to volunteer at her center, she was moved to tears. Because of what we accomplished, but even more so, because people from across the ocean—people who had never met her, who didn't speak her language—chose to come to her community during times of war. To show up. To see her. To stand with her.

There's the young adult from Boston—someone who grew up with complicated feelings about Israel, unsure of where they fit into this story. Through service, away from the politics and the headlines, they found something they'd been searching for: a way to safely explore their connection to this place, to this people. Not through ideology, but through action. Through relationships. Through belonging.

There are the community members from Kfar Yuval—a moshav that was evacuated in the North. A community space used by the army was left run down after two years. A Birthright group was able to clean and organize the space—making it available once again for community gathering. Their joy was real. Not just because the community space was restored, but because someone cared enough to help them reclaim this piece of their life together.

There are the Reform leaders from around the world who found themselves working side by side with an Orthodox Rabbi in the city of Ofakim, packing food for community members in need. In that moment, the labels fell away. They weren't Reform or Orthodox. They were just Jews, serving other Jews, building something together that transcended their differences.

And there are the Bedouin women who, through a joint service project, felt truly listened to and heard. Not studied. Not observed from a distance. But engaged with as equals, as partners, as people with wisdom and stories and dreams worth honoring.

Explore Service Opportunities In Israel

An immersive service learning experience with the Bedouin community in the south

These are not just nice stories. These connections stay with people. They touch their souls for years to come. The community worker in Rishon LeZion will remember that she wasn't alone. The young adult from Boston will carry a sense of belonging they never had before. The community members in Kfar Yuval will see their space and remember that the world showed up for them. The Reform leaders and Orthodox Rabbi will know in their kishke that unity is possible. The Bedouin women will remember the dignity of being heard.

This is why service matters. Not only for what we build or fix or accomplish, but because it connects people through their kishke—their gut, their essence, their soul—to others and to ourselves.

In a world that feels increasingly divided, increasingly virtual, increasingly detached—immersive service is an antidote. It reminds us that we are not alone. That we belong to each other. That showing up matters.

Thank you.