The best part about our core class is that we get to use Israel as our classroom. When I read the description of the class online, before I had come, I wasn’t looking forward to it that much because I don’t love learning about things that happened thousands of years ago. But after our first tiyul, I realized this class would be nothing like what I had expected. Every time we learn about things in class, we have the chance to travel Israel and see them first hand. It really makes all of the information come to life and makes it so much more interesting. Our first tiyul was to Tel Gezer, where we acted out a scenario of guarding the old city. Today, we went up to the north had had Yossi teach us how to box, to put ourselves in the situation of having to defend ourselves and the Jewish state during the time of the first Aliyah. We have also held class overlooking the old city of Jerusalem, in one of the first synagogues in Tzfat, inside of a Roman amphitheater, in a valley where David fought Goliath, while walking through Hezekiah’s water tunnels, and more. When we sit down and take out our notebooks to have class, I can only help but think how amazing it is that I am able to learn in the coolest places, while the rest of my friends are sitting at home in a classroom. Being able to learn the stories of these great Jewish heroes and biblical figures right where it happened is surreal. So many places in America and other places where history was made are now destroyed or urbanized, but here, we are not only able to go to all of the sites we have learned about, but they are so well preserved that we are actually able to picture ourselves being there during that time period. Some stories that I would typically not care about become the most interesting things I have ever heard when I am able to walk on the same ground that these people walked on 4,000 years ago. Some of my favorite trips are when we end up breaking out in song with each other, whether in tunnels and caves, overlooking Jerusalem, or just hiking down a mountain. We sang Yerushalayim Shel Zahav just like it was sung years ago, we have prayed together in the first synagogue on the top of Masada while the sun was rising, and we have sat in a pitch black cave screaming “Hine Ma Tov Umanaim” at the top of our lungs.

Israel is the most beautiful place and I love that I am able to live here for two months. Every day, when we go outside and it’s warm and sunny out, I dread having to go back to Philly more and more. Using the land as our classroom has allowed me to become so interested and passionate about the Jewish State and its history in ways that I could have never imagined. I am so happy I have been able to travel all over the country, from the most touristy places in Tel Aviv to the most hidden places that only very few know about.