Nachum welcomed David Cutler, Director of NCSY Summer, to this morning’s JM in the AM to preview NCSY Summer 2018 including Yom NCSY, TJJ at 20 and more. From the just launched TJJ website: The Anne Samson Jerusalem Journey (or TJJ as it is commonly known), one of NCSY’s most popular summer programs, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this summer. For two decades, TJJ has been bringing public school students to Israel for a fun, educational and inspirational four-week trip to explore their homeland and connect to their Jewish identity.
Back in 1999, TJJ recruited 35 teens for its inaugural summer. “We were trailblazers, since this was the first program created exclusively for public school kids,” said Rabbi Barry Goldfischer, the founding director of TJJ, who has worked on the program since its inception. “The first year, we ran TJJ like an NCSY Shabbaton, with lots of fun and spirituality. Our goal was to see some kind of tangible growth.”