Being accepted to attend birthright a few months ago, I was concerned that my experience would not be as fulfilling as the other students in my group. You see, this is my third time visiting Eretz Israel. The two previous trips had been with my family to tour and to celebrate my younger brother becoming a Bar Mitzvah. I had seen the sights, recited the prayers and gone through the motions that most Jews experience when they visit the holy land. But I never could have predicted the emotional attachment I now feel to both my culture and my people.
The past seven days have changed my life in countless ways. I admitted to my mother as she dropped me at the airport that I felt I had lost touch with my Judaism. I have always considered myself Jewish, but never really knew exactly what that meant. Now I see that being Jewish is more than just celebrating Shabbat and wearing a yarmulke. It's about connecting with yourself. It's about sparking that light that lies within all of us. Each of us are unique and our religion is special in that it allows us to interpret the Torah in the way that works best for us; the way that makes us the most happy.
It's hard to single out one experience of the past week that has been most special to me. I can say though, that meeting the eight Israeli soldiers was certainly one of the most eye-opening opportunities I have ever had. Growing up in the U.S., I had always heard about Israel and the controversy surrounding it. So naturally, I expected that living there was difficult and wildly different than my sheltered suburban life. I couldn't have been more wrong. These young men and women are exactly like us in every sense. They tell jokes like us, they drink like us and they grow up in Jewish homes that are very similar to ours. The only difference is that when we are applying to college, they are making the incredible sacrifice to serve their country in the Israeli Defense Force.
I am 22 years old now. I have graduated college and am now venturing on to the next chapter of my life. All 8 of these soldiers, with the exception of one, are younger than me, and are doing something I could never imagine doing. I look up to them and am infinitely proud to call them my friends. Leaving here I have finally taken to heart one particular passage of the Talmud that reads:
"If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?
But if I am only for myself, then who am I?
And if not now, then when?"
As a Jewish American I am leaving Israel with an incredible sense of identity. I know that the State of Israel is now and will always be my home. As I look ahead to the future, I hope that one day I will gather the courage that those soldiers showed me and make Aliyah.
Toda birthright, you have changed my life for the better. Until next time Israel, l'hitraot!