Name: TIVNU Building Justice
Brand: TIVNU Building Justice
SKU: 49232
Rating: 10 (11 reviews)


Experience the Tivnu Gap Year program—a nine-month journey in Portland and beyond that blends hands-on work, communal living, and exploring connections between Jewish life and social justice. Each week, you'll engage in communal dinners, discussions on justice, and Shabbat gatherings, fostering friendships and growth.

Learn from activists, professors, and community leaders in a dynamic educational setting that values real-world experiences. With plenty of free time on weekends and evenings, you can explore Portland's culture through hiking, markets, and more. Plus, colleges recognize the maturity and confidence gained from our program, making you better prepared for the future. Come to Portland, where challenges meet creativity, and discover the transformative power of purpose-driven action.

Gap Year in Portland with Tivnu

TIVNU Building Justice

Corporate Pirates

Tivnu Building Justice is commited to the Jewish concept of Tzedakah, which means more than its common mistranslation of charity, but rather encompasses the ideas of justice and fairness. Tivnu does not believe in “giving” to the “less fortunate”, but rather working together towards a better world for everyone. It’s not about a donation of time and energy, but rather a union of time and energy moving towards a common goal. This is how Tivnu views service. Further, Tivnu finds it important to engage in this service as a whole, and not as individuals because they are representative of the Jewish community when they work together as part of the greater picture. Tivnu is not trying to reinvent the system, but rather build from the foundations that are already in place.

Tivnu Building Justice is commited to the Jewish concept of Tzedakah, which means more than its common mistranslation of charity, but rather encompasses the ideas of justice and fairness. Tivnu does not believe in “giving” to the “less fortunate”, but rather working together towards a better world for everyone. It’s not about a donation of time and energy, but rather a union of time and energy mov...

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Amazing program!

Tivnu is a transformative experience full of problem solving and growth from living with people from all over the US to working at internships based on your own interest. I learned so much and made a difference in my own life and others. In 9 months you have the opportunity to do close to 1000 community service hours focused on social justice and learning about your community. The program is lead by amazing people and I would do it over again if I could!

Cannot overstate its quality

I was fortunate enough to do the Tivnu gap year program last year. 

Tivnu gave me the confidence and optimism to realize that I could actually make a positive impact on the world, and to do so. It enabled and empowered me to dig deep and regain many of the personal passions I had pushed to the wayside in high school. It gave me the skills to get to work on time and do my best work once there. It introduced me to other people with similar values who are now my best friends in the world, and whom I still facetime almost daily. It helped me clarify my purpose in life and decide what to major in.

Here are some of my specific favorite memories:
-Listening to the insane stories of some of my houseless coworkers on lunch break at the construction site
-Hiking up to a lake on Mt. Rainier and swimming in it with everyone else
-Everyone getting together and singing on Shabbat dinners and other holidays
-Flossing parties: to motivate ourselves to floss my friends and I would squish into the bathroom and put on "Queen's Speech 4 by Lady Leshurr" and go crazy. Not a lot of flossing got done tbh. I'm not ashamed of it
-Hearing amazing speakers in person such as Bryan Stevenson who founded the Equal Justice Initiative, or a guy named Javier who miraculously managed to make it through the desert to cross the Mexico-U.S border and now runs a sustainable farming operation that functions as kind of a hub for the surrounding Latinx community. And getting to ask them questions and engage with them afterwards. 
-Getting a dozen people together on the construction site to all heave and ho a wall that we had built to an upright position

One thing to note. My schedule was heavy on carpentry because that's what I was interested in but everyone chooses up to three internships per week that are totally customized to their passions, eg. grassroots newspaper, being a teachers assistant at an elementary school, working at a legal clinic, making food, farming, etc

Another thing to note. It all may sound like a lot, but I had an autoimmune disease that really took a toll on my health, and the staff were unbelievably flexible and accommodating in helping me make it work, which is something I'd struggled to get in previous programs. 

Now I'm a freshman in college, and to this day I sometimes just stop what I'm doing and think, "Wow. Thank Goodness I did that." I'm serious, I cannot overstate how much it improved my life and how much I saw the program improve the lives of others. If I could do it again I 100% would!

Learned about housing insecurity while *literally* building homes for housing insecure people

I was a participant 2015-2016, lived in a cozy house with a bunch of other young Jews where we built a home together, hosted weekly Shabbat dinners, and learned about Judaism and social justice movements through rad field trips and inviting local community organizers over to talk about their work! PLUS we went on some sweet outdoor trips together, I especially loved xc skiing around the base of mt. hood. PLUS tivnu placed me at a couple local orgs where I volunteered every week. I connected with people experiencing homelessness while working with them side by side at Sisters of the Road.

I had a very busy schedule, between volunteering and extra Tivnu programming, but I sincerely loved every minute of it, and I still had time of my own to explore beautiful and fun Portland and form connections outside of the program. Some places I loved was the downtown farmers market, Laurelhurst park, and the St. Johns bridge. I really appreciated getting to have this balance of support and structure from Tivnu and freedom to shape my gap year to be how I wanted.

I highly recommend to any young Jew who is looking to step away from schoolwork and get outside of their comfort zone before starting college.

Life changing

Participating in Tivnu was truly a life-changing experience. In just nine months, I learned so much about myself and the issues that plague vulnerable populations in society; issues I want to dedicate my life to working on. This program gave me the space to learn with other passionate people, developing team building, leadership, organizing, and conflict resolution skills. 
On Fridays, all my housemates and I came together with Tivnu’s construction coach to gain construction/building skills while working with Hazelnut Grove, a tiny house village for formerly houseless people. As a crew we would help to repair and build where we were needed. I had zero construction experience before coming to Tivnu, so it was extremely eye-opening for me to be introduced to all of the tool and skills and form relationships with people at Hazelnut Grove. 

By the following year when I started at Mount Holyoke College in western Massachusetts, I felt deeply privileged to have taken part in Tivnu, because it instilled in me so many life-long skills and values while also preparing me for my college experience.

Transformative gap year!

Tivnu is a transformative gap year program that combines meaningful service work with communal living and exploration of the Pacific Northwest. Through personalized internships, I worked directly with individuals experiencing homelessness, allowing me to create connections with folks I would never have had the chance to do otherwise as well as humanize the homelessness crisis. I also gained professional skills (communication, logistical work, Salesforce and other online programs, etc.) by working at a nonprofit and a law firm. Twice a week, we also learned from professionals from several social justice fields and visited museums and historical sites to learn about issues facing our world from a more global/macro perspective. 

Moreover, communal living is SO much fun, eating, cooking, and, yes, cleaning together. Whether it be binge watching Parks and Rec or having an impromptu dance party to clean the kitchen, communal living is great! Through nine months of communal living, I was able to form lasting and unique bonds with each of my housemates. Lastly, Portland, OR is a beautiful city, full of quirky shopping areas, farmers markets, and delicious food trucks. Through Tivnu, we were also able to explore the rest of the Pacific Northwest. We hiked and camped in Mt. Rainer, probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. We also went cross country skiing and white water rafting. I LOVED Tivnu and could not recommend it more highly. It truly is a life-changing program.

Such an eye opening experience

My 9 months with Tivnu were truly wonderful. The amazing staff, beautiful Portland, and assisting/working with houseless and low income families was a real once in a lifetime opportunity. On this program I’ve made life long friends, memories, handyman skills, and confidence. If you have the chance, definitely take it

Best thing I ever did

Doing Tivnu made me who I am today. Before Tivnu, I did not know what I wanted to do with my life and I did not feel ready for college. Tivnu gave me the experiences to become who I am today and I would do it 100 more times if they would let me.

Thank you Tivnu!

Tivnu gave me the chance to explore my interests and passions in a supportive environment. I learned so much about myself and how I interact with others. I spent two days a week at a school for adults who are working to get their GED. As a tutor on the academic team, I worked with students of a variety of different backgrounds and education levels. I gained a great deal of perspective and understanding about people who have had incredibly different life experiences than I had, even though we were often the same age. My teaching internship through Tivnu really reinforced my desire to teach. Tivnu gave me direction, confidence, and a network of interesting and hardworking people that I know I can count on in the future. Thank you Tivnu!

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