Israeli poet Avraham Halfi wrote: "A successful journey never ends. The miles do. But time remains etched within you, becoming part of you. At the end of the journey, I don't feel victorious, but more grateful. It's as if the road passed through me and not me through it."
Tonight, I would like to talk about our shared journey, but this time I won't use concepts from science or even from science education. I will do it as I did when we first met, at the beginning of 2017. I'll use cultural assets from other fields in which, we must admit, humanity has made great achievements as well: literature, poetry, philosophy –human creations. I was privileged to grow up in a family that regarded education itself as a value, so these assets are one of the most enjoyable parts of my toolbox.
Years ago, every time I passed through the Ayalon Highway, I would notice a huge sign that read, "Mountain-Movers Company." The first time I saw it, I started laughing. I tried to guess what that meant. If they mean it literally, what exactly are they doing in Tel Aviv? There are no mountains to move here, not even a hill, barely a ridiculous ground bulge, if you consider the garbage mountain of Hiriya. So maybe they work with contractors who build in different places in the country, like the Galilee. If it's something else, then the philosophical directions are almost endless.
For those of you who are curious, the "Mountain-Movers Company" deals with marketing and sales. Their creative name has proven itself, like the time I took the trouble to stop and read the sign on a street bench in Kfar Saba and: "You just proved that advertising on benches, works."
The Davidson Institute is a mountain-movers institute. And to move a mountain, you have to embark on a complex journey. I'll explain.
Every journey begins from a starting point – "Go forth from your country, from your homeland, from your father's house," Abraham is told in chapter 12 of Genesis. To start a journey, you must first know the place you are leaving from. You are leaving your comfort zone, but you won't forget it. As an institute of science education, our starting point is twofold: it is based on the disciplines of science, through which we study the components and interactions of the universe; and on the disciplines of education, through which we understand the processes of human development and change that we ourselves undergo as we seek to be better individuals and societies.
We like to call journeys "Odyssey," after Odysseus, the Trojan War hero who set out after victory on his journey back home, to Ithaca. Odysseus is accompanied by Athena, the goddess of logic and wisdom, because every journey requires both – and they are not the same. We need logic to understand beauty and temptation, and the wisdom to decide when to surrender to them and when we must resist them. The logic to see the intersections before us, and the wisdom to choose the right turn. The logic to carry the appropriate equipment with us, and the wisdom when and how to use it; The logic to recognize challenges along the way, and the wisdom to deal with them without being blinded by the glow of promises. Both logic and wisdom are required to move mountains.
The journey's goal is the realization of the vision. In his book Alterneuland,Herzl wrote: "If you are lucky enough to be in the company of good people, give them your father's blessing. He believes that dreams are also a way to fill the days that man is destined to spend on earth. The dream is not much different from the act, as many think. All of people's actions were once dreams, all their actions will one day be dreams." At Davidson, we built and refined our vision again and again, aiming to engage the entire population with the best science we could offer, as a central asset required to build a better, more rational society; In light of this vision, we aspired to build a path that would enable us to be the best and most creative Institute of Science Education. "Which way should I go?" Alice asks, and the cheshire cat answers: "It depends on where you want to go." He doesn't say, choose the easiest way, nor the most convenient or quickest. He says, the path depends on the result you want to achieve. Even if it means it will be a more complex and challenging path. That's how we chose our path, too. We were not alarmed by difficulties. Our concept of proper science educational was to do what is necessary for the development, as Da Vinci defined, a whole person: the understanding that everything is connected to everything, that in reality human achievements – in science, in the various arts, in education, in all aspects of life – are intertwined; because the price of separation is too difficult when you want to do things for the benefit of mankind.
lately, I was asked to describe our mission in just one sentence without mentioning the words education or science. My answer was: To be the blue man in the story of green people. For the past seven years, we have not been afraid to choose unconventional, sometimes counter-current, paths; To be the blue man in the story of green people, at all times, at every juncture we reached and in the face of every challenge – and we have not lacked such in our years of journey together. COVID-19 that required us to work in physical, digital and hybrid environments in new ways; substantive conflicts in Israeli society that required us to accept and respect opposing views and attitudes amongst ourselves as well as our participants; And an agonizing war that still requires us to face blood, sweat and tears in the most literal way of these concepts and continue to strive against evil and hardship while constantly seeing the goal of building and doing good. To be a mountain-movers company. Not just any mountains – raging mountains.
Every journey requires assets. The best and most important assets of the Davidson Institute are its professionals. Each and every one of us, who is here because of the complete faith in the mission that we are. A mission that requires a curious soul that does not succumb to dictates and prejudices and faces fears – a rare breed, a strange bird of science educators. Unfortunately, we are a diminishing species, a situation that requires us to be the best we can be.
Perhaps most important of all, is the ability to deal with change with informed optimism. We led many changes together, and I assure you that many changes are yet to come. It's simply the nature of the universe that we love to explore and discover so much. To resist change is to resist nature itself. Not really something we, as professional science educators, can logically oppose. The little prince's lantern lighter, whose star is increasing in rotational speed, continues to turn the lantern on and off as if nothing has changed, a situation that makes his life miserable. Surprisingly, the character who shows us that coping with change requires optimistic creative flexibility is actually Eyore, the grumpy donkey, who turns a torn balloon and a jar empty of honey into a particularly joyful game. Well, if even Eyore can find optimism in change, we certainly can. We must.
During these seven years, the Davidson Institute's work deepened and became more professional. Here's a short summary of our years together: We made sure to specialize as science educators in a socio-cultural context, guided by ethics and values, even if it required us to dig into our identity and sometimes argue about it; Our work has expanded with all age groups, especially elementary school; We worked at the national level and also presented at conferences, events and collaborations around the globe, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America – in fact, the only continent Davidson has yet to reach is Antarctica. We departed from several programs, strengthened others, and built new ones, including in the digital world, social networks and various media; We strengthened the technological field, created better workspaces, and we still need to examine how all this relates to the fact that we were very fertile when, to the joy of our hearts, several dozen babies were born at Davidson; We have begun a business development process, a concept that is still not always simple for us; We made sure to do everything possible in Hebrew, Arabic and English, and expanded a bit even to German and Spanish; We published 6 (!!) bestsellers; We established two scientific gap year programs; Re-invented the Clore garden of science that is unique not only in Israel but in the world; and much more.
Prof. Asa Kasher wrote that "a person does his mission when it becomes the plot of his life." The excellent science education that we have all done together, is our mission. Every CEO who wishes to succeed in her role understands that while she is the conductor of the orchestra, it takes the entire orchestra, without exception, to create complete harmony. We are all the Davidson orchestra - and I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you without exception, for an unforgettable journey of partnership and trust (details in the Hebrew version...).
I'll end with a short story that some of you have already heard from me:
A man dreamed that he and his God were standing by the shore. God turned and said to the man: Look at the sky, my son, and see all the events of your life. The man looked up and saw moving pictures of all the events of his life, beautiful and joyful and moving and difficult and suffering alike. The whole sequence. The man noticed that under each picture there were two pairs of steps in the sand: One pair was his own, the other pair - of God accompanying him throughout his life. The man noticed that every time a picture from an event that was particularly difficult for him appeared in the sky, an event full of pain, grief and crying, only one pair of steps appeared beneath it. Sad, the man turned to God walking beside him and asked: God, look at the pictures and the steps that accompany them; I don't understand - How is it possible that during my most difficult days, when I needed you most, you abandoned me and didn't walk by my side?! God looked at the man affectionately and answered: My son, I have never abandoned you and have always been with you; During these difficult times, when the pain was so heavy, you only notice one pair of steps because I was carrying you in my arms.
Davidson Institute professionals - May you always have faith on the way, one that marches with you and in times of need carries you in its arms. We aren't forgetting for a moment and are continuing to pray that we all soon see our 101 hostages, as well as our soldiers and displaced citizens, all returning to their homes safely and securely. Without them, we are incomplete. May we will always have Ithaca in front of our eyes.
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