In the Land of Israel, it is possible to draw the joy of holiness from the site of joy itself. – Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel

Normally you wouldn’t expect a blog about simcha (Jewish joy) to focus on a recent passing. But the death of Keith Berman (z’l), whom I had the pleasure of working for when he was the director of the Young Judaea/FZY Year Course in Israel, is relevant to this blog because I saw firsthand how much joy he brought into the world.

Through his work with Young Judaea, and more recently with Aardvark Israel (long-term Israel programs for young adult English speakers that Keith co-founded), Keith literally devoted his adult life to creating amazing, unforgettable experiences for Jewish youth in Israel. While working for Keith more than a decade ago, I saw how transformative and joyous the Israel experience was for the participants. Based on testimony on the Aardvark website from former participants, it sounds like Keith hadn’t lost his ability to move today’s Jewish youth.

I just wanted to say thank you again. I literally had the best year of my life. I hope you are successful in the years to come – Eliot Silverman, West Newton, Massachusetts

Besides providing life-changing, long-term experiences in Israel for Jewish youth, Keith was a “passionate advocate for Aliyah” (as noted in The Jerusalem Post article about his passing) during a time when such advocacy wasn’t always considered politically correct. Quite a few of the participants from my Young Judaea year in Israel ended up serving in the Israeli army and eventually making Aliyah.

The Ha’aretz article about Keith’s passing quoted him discussing his passion for working in the Zionist movement.

In each job that I did, I realized two important lessons: I was really good at it and it made me happy to work with Jewish kids.

And it made those many thousands of Jewish kids so happy that Keith worked hard to change their lives by providing them with unique and educational experiences, in the process bringing many of them closer to Israel, Zionism and Judaism.

Keith will be missed and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. May his memory be for a blessing…

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