The OTZMA year is divided into three main parts and a mini-part.  View what a sample day could look like or read more details for each part below.

• Part 1:  Hebrew Language & Volunteering
• Mini-Part: Special Interest
• Part 2: Community Volunteering 
• Part 3: Internship

Part 1:  Hebrew Language & Volunteering
During Part I, the focus will be on settling into Israel. This will happen through language immersion, group programming and volunteering. There are several goals for OTZMA participants during Part I.

• The first is community building. For three months you live, work, and learn with the rest of the participants on your site. During this time, the group begins to function as a community, providing each participant with the support needed to cope with new environments and challenging surroundings.
• In addition to getting to know your fellow OTZMAnikim, you will begin to get comfortable in Israel. Therefore, an additional goal is to immerse yourself in Israel, its society and political system, so that you are equipped with the tools to enhance your experience.
• Another goal is to learn and improve your Hebrew language skills so that you can be more effective at your work sites throughout the year, establish relationships with other Israelis, and feel comfortable in your everyday routine from grocery shopping to going to the post office.
• A final goal is to contribute directly to the community. Only through your hard work will you begin to understand the uniqueness of your site and earn the respect and friendship of the people who live there.

To a large extent, the depth of the relationships between the OTZMA participants and the people who already live in the absorption center depends on your sociability, involvement, and participation in the society. It is important to keep an open mind, understanding that there may be vast cultural differences between yourself and your neighbors in the absorption center. Some of the residents of the absorption center may have been living there for a long time, and they have seen many volunteers come and go. Therefore, it is up to you to take the initiative! During Part I, the group will have a basic schedule, but it will be up to you to take advantage of your surroundings, make a meaningful contribution and learn as much as you can so you feel confident in a less structured environment. Two important points must be emphasized:

ATTENDANCE- Daily attendance in Ulpan (Hebrew instruction) and at work, as well as attendance at educational programs, is mandatory. In addition, there will be other activities during the week, both on and off the site, at which attendance is required. Please remember that all these activities will play a very important role in your ability to successfully cope with the rest of your year. Since the aforementioned activities are an integral part of the OTZMA program, lack of participation is viewed as reneging on your commitment and may result in staff review of your further participation on OTZMA.

REACHING OUT- During Part I, each OTZMA participant will be expected to "reach out" in a unique way which differs from the ordinary routine encompassing work, Hebrew, meals, educational activities, etc. Outreach activities may be one-time or ongoing projects. Examples of possible outreach activities include: Spending time with an elderly person at the absorption center; Working with children at the site, teaching English; Getting to know students and families from the organized immigration programs housed on the sites; Teaching chugim (hobbies or talents of yours including photography, music, art, etc.) to the OTZMA group, or to the residents; Planning Shabbat or holiday activities for the entire community; Creating carnivals and parties incorporating the ethnic culture of those in the community.

These examples are only suggestions. LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD! Keep in mind that the important elements of this project are making new connections, offering service to others and, of course, learning something new. Take the lead and initiate activities!

Hebrew Instruction
During Part I, participants will engage in a daily five-hour intensive Hebrew language class. It is imperative that participants take their studies seriously, as their Hebrew level will significantly impact the relationships they establish with Israelis, the variety of future work available to them throughout the year, as well as, their connection with Israeli society overall. Participants are encouraged to take their studies outside of the classroom and out into the "field" to maximize the impact of their learning. Get the most out of ulpan by being proactive. Tutor fellow participants, speak to members of the community, and take charge of your Hebrew learning.

Participants are divided into levels according to their knowledge of Hebrew (you are interviewed to assess your Hebrew level before the start of classes). The placement into classes is the responsibility of the teachers. You may find yourself in a class where some areas of the material may be familiar to you and some totally new. Together with the teachers you may choose to do some independent studies to catch up or move ahead in order to meet your own needs.

The importance of learning and improving your Hebrew cannot be stressed enough. This is the unanimous conclusion of all OTZMA graduates. After a while, studies may become difficult and tedious. The key to success is to realize this in advance and to make every effort to overcome the obstacles. A better command of the Hebrew language will diversify your range of work opportunities in future tracks. Past participants have found that coming to Israel with a good foundation in Hebrew greatly facilitated their learning process. If your Hebrew needs some brushing-up, consider taking a summer course at your local JCC or college campus.

Volunteering
During Part I you will have many different opportunities to work in and around the area. Past work experiences have included:

Tutoring in schools  |  Refurbishing homes of the elderly in the area  |  Working with Koach Letet (similar to the Salvation Army)  |  Working with agriculture for the needs  |  Being trained by and working with Magen David Adom ambulance services.

The service is intensive and the challenges are great. The population is sometimes difficult to approach due to cultural differences. You may meet residents who have not come to Israel on their own will. You will need to use all of your individual resources and skills to be effective.

Free Time
During Part I you will have ample amounts of free time due to the timing of year running parallel to the start of the year in Israel. We suggest using this time to adjust to your new surroundings, use your Hebrew and get to know your fellow participants. Shortly after you arrive there will be a period of holidays from Rosh Hashana through to Sukkot. During this time, we encourage participants to take advantage of all of the opportunities available throughout the country. While this time period can be frustrating for those wishing to “dive in” to the work, use this time to take advantage of living in Israel, and be ready to work when the schedule becomes more regular.

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Mini-Part: Special Interest
The interests of an OTZMA group ranges from year to year, as well as from person to person. The goal of this three-week period is to give OTZMAnikim additional opportunites while in Israel. We offer two different types of experience with hopes that one will speak to you and your interests. Choose from one of the options below:

The Judaic Studies seminar is to expand the participant’s knowledge and understanding of Jewish thought, traditions and text. You will participate in chevruta study with each other in a pluralistic setting with teachers who span the denominational spectrum. Chevruta study is the practice of learning with a partner or small group, taking turns reading the text aloud and discussing the material together. Particular attention will be paid to the Jewish year, holidays and celebrations, classic texts (Chumash, Talmud, etc.) as well as Jewish philosophy. This past year, Participants participated in a program created through Pardes (pardes.org.il) and were based in Jerusalem.

Participants can also choose the opportunity to volunteer on an army base through Sar-El. The volunteer works 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, Sunday through Thursday (the Israeli work week). Work activities can range from kitchen duties to simple mechanical repairs. Volunteers will work alongside or under the direction of soldiers and perform duties such as packing food rations or medical kits, changing spare parts, gardening, painting, or cleaning. Participants who choose this option will not have housing during the weekends. During this time you will need to either provide your own accomodations or go to your adoptive families.

Part 2: Community Volunteering
During the second part of OTZMA, OTZMAnikim live and work in cities and regions in Israel that are partnered with Jewish Federations in North America through a projected called Partnership 2000 (www.partner.org.il). Partnership 2000 communities are regions paired with Jewish Diaspora communities in an effort to stimulate growth and prosperity in areas with developing economic infrastructures.

OTZMA participants become involved in the life of a particular neighborhood, community, or region. We encourage participants to view this part of the year as a form of cultural exchange. It is in this community that you can, as a North American, bridge the gap between the Israeli and Diaspora communities. One of the most effective ways of achieving this goal is to engage in work that meets the needs of the community, as well as work on projects that allow for the advancement of the relationship between your home community and your Israeli host community. There will be a community representative that will assist you in coordinating your volunteer placements.

As with the entire year, It is important to take initiative during this track in order to get the most out of the experience. Many times the volunteer options provided may not be exactly what you had in mind. If this happens, do not become discouraged. Instead, work together with your local contact to find ways that your skills can enhance the community and build volunteer opportunities that maximize your potential. Should you find yourself becoming discouraged, always keep in mind to communicate your frustrations with the OTZMA staff so that they can assist you in your endeavors.

Goals for Part II include:

• Making connections in your community
• Bringing your skills to the table to make a positive impact
• Living like an Israeli resident
• Visiting fellow participants in their partnerships to gain an inside perspective of other experiences.

Work Placements:
These will most likely make up the greater part of your work. These placements are based upon the needs of the community as well as your personal background and interests. This allows you to become a part of the community’s overall efforts to improve the quality of life. Moreover, the placements provide an important avenue for meeting the people of the community. Prior to living in the community, you will visit and learn about the opportunities available for volunteering. Be sure to express to your community representative the various skills you have that you wish to utilize during your time.

It is important to note that each volunteer’s schedule will differ. While some may go to one or two placements all week, other volunteers may prefer a different place each day. In either scenario, the importance is in the commitment of the volunteer to the work that you are doing.

Work placements are widely varied depending upon the needs of your community and the personal interests and talents you bring, as well as your level of Hebrew. Possible volunteer options include:

Teaching English to students who are struggling with the language  |  Working at a children’s library, organizing and implementing a story hour  |  Helping at an afternoon center for youth-at-risk  |  Aiding with computer classes  |  Working with the elderly  |  Organizing afternoon activities including sports, science, and art  |  Cultural exchange programs  |  Public relations campaigns  |  Magen David Adom-Israeli ambulance services

Independent Projects:
Just because work opportunities are presented to you, this does not mean that this is all you have to offer your community. Don’t just wait for opportunities to come to you. Produce a special event (i.e. Chicago Day, English Day or a sports tournament), English community newspaper, carnival or website for the community. Compile information about the people of the community and coordinate an exhibition of the materials (photos, interviews, etc.) in your North American community.

Personal Relationships:
Work to establish meaningful relationships with the people of the community. Only when people get to know each other can they truly begin to bridge the gap.

OTZMA cannot guarantee that all OTZMA participants will live and work in their community’s Partnership 2000 city. Placement is the sole responsibility of OTZMA staff in conjunction with your federation. Because OTZMA requires that a minimum of three volunteers be sent to each city, it may be that you will be servicing another community’s Partnership 2000 city. Further, even if there are three participants from your federation, placement in your federation’s partner community / region is contingent on the availability of apartments, community needs, and the quality of work in that neighborhood or area. For those participants who do not live in their Partnership 2000 Community, there will still exist opportunities to visit and possibly volunteer in your region.

Some communities are located in small development towns and others are in urban neighborhoods. Just as the nature of the communities vary, so do living conditions and overall experiences. Some of you may be in a community with a dozen or so fellow OTZMAnikim and others will be with only two or three other participants. Also, some neighborhoods have more experience hosting OTZMAnikim than others and may be more organized than others.

Regardless of these differences, each community has a contact person in the neighborhood (usually a community staff member), and in some cases a Federation representative, who designs the basic framework for you in the neighborhood in conjunction with the OTZMA staff

Accommodations and Neighborhood
You will most likely find that neighborhood residents are extremely receptive to volunteers who come to live and work alongside them. They can be a great resource in helping you to become more closely acquainted with your environment. Again, living accommodations will vary according to location, as the community is responsible for assisting OTZMA in the search for accommodations in their community. At a minimum, OTZMA will place you in an apartment that will have basic necessities (beds, tables, chairs, stovetop, and refrigerator) including kitchen utensils. Ultimately, this element of OTZMA offers you the challenge and opportunity to synthesize the skills and understanding that you will continue to develop throughout OTZMA to truly “bridge the gap.”

Relationship to OTZMA Staff:
During Part II, the OTZMA staff will maintain regular contact with participants through phone calls and visits. On site visits will take place approximately every 3 weeks, and this is a great opportunity to show the staff what you are involved with. Additionally, it is important to note that while OTZMA staff will maintain regular contact with participants, should there ever be a problem in the community, participants should call the staff for support. Communication should remain open throughout the year.

Full-time Community Service
Build a schedule based on your talents and what the community needs. Opportunities vary depending on the partnership community in which you are placed.

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Part 3: Internship or Kibbutz
Internships
Participants work in a variety of settings including non-profit organizations that focus on civil rights, the environment, social change, social welfare, community activism, media, Jewish people hood and Jewish education, among others. Internship locations are usually in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. As always, participants need to exercise initiative to take advantage of whatever opportunities might be available within their organization. The OTZMA staff works in partnership with other intern placement organizations in Israel to find non-profits where interns can obtain a significant work experience. Generally, an OTZMAnik tells the staff their field of interest and the OTZMA staff matches the intern with the appropriate non-profit. Occasionally, an OTZMAnik has a specific organization in mind in which case the OTZMA staff contacts the non-profit and attempts to arrange an internship. A one-page up-to-date and easily readable resume in a word document is required for anyone considering the internship option. Following the initial contact by OTZMA staff, the participant will interview with the organization to obtain final approval. Your motivation, past experiences as well as your interests will be prime determining factors in the opportunities available to you.

Kibbutz
OTZMAnikim who choose the kibbutz option will have the chance to experience the kibbutz lifestyle and communal living. They will interact with kibbutz members and meet other volunteers on the kibbutz. The kibbutz is based on work, and in modern day times the kibbutzim do not necessarily run on agriculture. OTZMAnikim can expect to spend a large majority of their time working in the services - dining room and kitchen duty etc. The main goal of the period is not necessarily the type of work accomplished, but rather experiencing the lifestyle and connecting with others through being a full part of kibbutz activities and life, including contributing through fulfilling the needs at the time. For the duration of the track you are required to fulfill your obligations and work alongside kibbutz members wherever assigned by the work roster: in agriculture, industry, and various services.

Living Conditions on Kibbutz
There are typically two or three OTZMA participants per room. Shower and toilet facilities are adjacent to living areas. Sheets, blankets, pillow, work clothes, and laundry services are provided free of charge. Visitors to the kibbutz require the permission of the kibbutz contact person.

Note: Part III tends to be the shortest track due to the Passover break, as well as the numerous national holidays.

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