It was hard to set goals for a country I’ve been to in a program I’ve been to, but I had a few very general goals. I wanted to create a meaningful connection too my heritage and witness in person the actual locations where our history took place. As well as, learning about history through the lens of experience not just learning through the books and writings of the past. As a Jew growing up in America, I lack the ability to visit major sites of Jewish history until now. A few days ago we visited a archaeological site called Tel Gezer, an ancient city that had been inhabited by thousands of years of different societies including the ancient Israelites. It fully embodied one of my goals of this trip, to be able to relive the experience of our ancestors and make the connections to Judaism textbooks can’t. To be able touch and walk on the stones Abraham the forefather of the Jewish people might have touched was a precious experience. The feeling of rock on my hand as I recounted the stories of our people was an amazing experience. Even the seemingly simplest things from the Torah became clear after seeing the areas in person. For example, when Aubrey, our teacher, taught us about the story of the Joshua’s spies it made sense after having seen the remnants of houses in the walls. Just the thought of having to escape out of a tiny apartment the size of a bathroom in the dead of night is unbelievable. Making a connection like that in the first week can only foreshadow how great this summer is going to be.