מכתב לתלמידיי וצוות EMIS (דצמבר 2017)
Dear students and staff,
There is a famous quote by Seneca, a philosopher from Ancient Rome, which states: "I am not born for one corner, the whole world is my native land". Two days ago, after the school day was over and suitcases were rolling towards the gates of the Kfar, I sat on the swing in our main grass area to read more of what Seneca had to say regarding this statement, which captures the EMIS spirit so well.
I came across a short article that elaborates the context of this statement and I wish to share some insights with you in order to give you some direction to your winter break (sorry for the rough translation from Hebrew):
"Socrates would say- how can you wonder why the journey is not useful for you, if you are carrying yourself with you? The thing which drove you from one place accompanies you to the other. What is the point of seeing new lands, cities and places? All this wandering is for vain. Your spirit should be changed, not the climate. You must find the burdens on your soul and throw them away… it does not matter where do you go, but rather how you come."
As I said at the end of our school event on Sunday, I hope you will use this time of the break to rest, enjoy and also to explore. Explore yourself, the things you have learned and experienced during these last few months at EMIS. Explore the changes that you have gone through and the ones you still wish for. I believe that when you will enter your home you will notice that you are not the exact same person you were when you left. That means that your journey so far was not in vain. In my perspective we are "the school for change" and that means, first of all, an openness and aspiration for a personal change. Please allow yourselves to keep on changing and evolving. This is the most beautiful part of traveling.
We are already waiting for your return, with much anticipation to notice the way you "come" to EMIS, which hopefully became part of your "native land".
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