Holy(land) Moly

Hello family, friends, and loyal readers!!

I have recently returned from my 10 day trip to Israel and wow-wee was it an adventure. For those non-Jews out there, you may be wondering how and why I spent 10 days in the Middle East. There is this amazing program called Birthright. It's a FREE 10-day trip to Israel! Why would I want to go to Israel and why would someone want to pay for me to spend a week and a half there? Simple. It's my right. I was born Jewish and should get the opportunity to grow my Jewish identity by learning more about the history of my people and immersing myself in the culture of Israeli life.

Taglit-Birthright did exactly what it set out to do. I feel changed. I feel that I have a duty to Israel. And I feel that it's necessary for me to return and root myself into the home of the Jewish people.

During the trip, the idea of family was stressed. We, as a bus, are a family. But on a wider scale, we as the Jewish community are a family. This idea made the trip even more special. I got to experience my first time in Israel with my new family.

I went on this journey through the Michigan State Hillel. The Hillel at school has an alliance with all the Hillel's in Michigan so there were kids from schools all over the mitten. Additionally, we were paired with the Hillel from the University of Cincinnati. We blended very well together. I was very fortunate to be with this group of people. If I had gone at another time, with another group, things would be VERY different for me.

I'm not going to go into detail about everything I did. I made a vlog for that. :) Also, I feel everyone should experience it for themselves. You can't live through me. Being able to walk around Israel and take it all in is something everyone should do. Regardless if you're Jewish or not, it's worth the trip.

I'm going to take my new found love for Israel ONWARD. (hopefully :)) I'll take what I've learned about being Jewish and what I've learned about myself with me into starting the new semester.  This isn't like a "new year, new me" type of thing. This is a wake up and smell the roses, carpe diem, and do what you love...type of thing.

I look forward to seeing where the semester takes me. Stay tuned for more intricately written updates on my life. :)