The three friends are all members of the women's group of Temple Sholom in Fanwood. Bisgay lives in Edison, Cohen in Plainfield, and Felmeister in Scotch Plains.  

They wanted to inspire others like themselves, retired people with time to offer, but their enthusiasm has reached beyond their cohort. Bisgay and Cohen were describing their two-week-long trip one day last week in the Fusion Cafe at the JCC of Central New Jersey in Scotch Plains, when Danny Nieto, a swim instructor from the JCC's Camp Yachad, came in. He had on a T-shirt - one he came upon by chance, he said -
that happened to feature the organization behind the teachers' venture, the Partnership 2000 program.

That was enough to get the junior from Penn State University engaged in conversation with these gung-ho volunteers. They pointed out to him that P2K, which links a cluster of federations from New Jersey - including the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey - and Delaware with the Negev communities of Arad and Tamar, runs the "Living Bridge" program.

 Amy Cooper, the Central federation's associate executive vice
president, who organized their trip, was also present. She explained how the "bridge" is formed by Israelis visiting New Jersey, and people from the state visiting Israel, helping and educating one another and building bonds of friendship.

Bisgay and Cohen told Nieto what a fascinating time they had in Arad.  They taught young children to speak English, and in their spare time, they mixed with Israelis, eating with them, sharing family dinners and festive events.

"They are such amazing people, and they were so wonderful to us," Bisgay told him.

"You could go too," Cooper told Nieto. "You could go with our Kefiada program," a Living Bridge volunteer program for young people. "You get a chance to see Israel not like a tourist but as someone actually living and working there."

"I'd love to go. Yes, I want to do that," he said, and headed back to his campers with a new notion of what next summer could bring.

'Find great meaning'  During their stay, the three women taught at the Democratic School, a progressive school supported by the P2K effort.

Three retired teachers, from left, Judy Felmeister, Claire Bisgay, and Marjorie Cohen, are encouraging others to follow in their footsteps, volunteering in Israel with the Partnership 2000 Living Bridge program.  Felmeister, chatting by phone later because she couldn't make it to the cafe meeting, said she found the school fascinating and loved the trip as a whole. "I've been to Israel three times as a tourist, but that way you go from one sightseeing place to another. This was about the
people, and I loved every minute of it," she said.

Writing about the trip for friends and fellow congregants, the three women wrote that Shimon Shamilla, the P2K director in Arad, and Ofra Bezalel, the Living Bridge coordinator, made their visit "in every way an enjoyable and memorable one."

One of the best parts, they said, was staying at the Yehelim Boutique hotel and getting to know their hostess, Dalia Yehel, her husband, Dror, and their five children. One Shabbat morning, when they visited the Ethiopian Synagogue of Arad, Bisgay said that listening with her eyes closed, it sounded to her just like an Orthodox service from her childhood. After the service, several congregants invited them to attend the party in honor of the couple. They had to decline because they were meeting Bezalel and her family for lunch.

The three women came back to New Jersey fired up about a project for their women's group. At a library in Arad they had met two women who mentioned they were in dire need of books. Their fellow congregants have already contributed 31 boxes of books - 1,100 in all - that Cooper is helping them ship to Israel.

Urging others to volunteer through P2K too, they pointed out that people can work in whatever field they choose, from education to construction to health care, or sports or art. Whatever you choose, they said, "you will find great meaning in your visit to Israel."