A few weeks ago, as my friend Alexa and I left Birthright orientation, we found ourselves in a pickle. We had a test the next day that needed studying for, but we weren’t really in any place to do so. We were simply too excited. Well, Alexa was having trouble breathing and needed to call her parents, I was just excited.
We haven’t gotten the grades back for that test, but they probably won’t be good.
But that won’t really matter, at least in the long run. What will matter though, is our impeding trip to Israel. In ten days, El Al Flight LY008 takes off from JFK, headed for Tel Aviv, and I think it’s safe to say that all of our summers are going to get off to a pretty amazing start, though that’s something I can’t really overstate.
All of us have different reasons for going to Israel. For some of us, it’s been a desire since we were young. For others, it might just be something we were told to do by friends and family. Personally, it’s become more of an “it’s about time” kind of thing. My older brother went on birthright. Then my parents went on adult birthright. Then my younger brother went with a URJ camp program. Now it’s my turn.
While going to Israel is certainly going to mean something pretty special to me and my sense of place in the Jewish community, perhaps the biggest impact it has will be on my connection with my family. When all of us have that one thing in common, the fact that we all made that pilgrimage to Israel, it’s going to mean something really important for all of us.
But for now, I guess I just have to wait out these next 10 days as patiently as I can. Luckily for me, and probably many of my bus-mates, finals and papers and studying will take our mind off the excitement for a little while, but you can bet it’s only a matter of time before me and everyone else starts to feel how Alexa did that night of orientation.