Some major differences between Israel and America have been the thousands of years of history, the spirituality, and simple things like the taste of the food and that the restaurants don’t serve ice or do refills. Coming to Israel from America I really had no idea what to expect. All I knew what was what I heard from my Israeli friends and the news which mostly contradicted each other. All I could now for sure is the Schnitzel is better and that I should visit Swarma Shemesh in Tel Aviv. My family was worried about my safety because of the news and some of that worry was transferred to me and I can say a major difference is the safety. Israel feels much safer than the states. People here know what to do when something bad happens but it seems like people aren’t worried. In America, people are always talking about getting mugged or bad things happening to them. Even though Israel has far bigger issues they don’t seem as frightened by it but at the same time they seem way more prepared. 

I also never knew that historical monuments are everywhere here. On tiyuls Aubrey our teacher will just point at random things and explain their major significance. In America especially on the west coast history stops only a few hundred years ago. In Vegas history starts in the 30’s and our biggest museum is about the mafia, not anything positive. But here history is everywhere and it’s easily accessible. In cities Like Jerusalem and Tzfat everything is related to history. Most of the buildings are at least hundreds of years old and used to house some of the holiest people in Judaism.

Also, with the country being so surrounded by history it’s way easier to get a sense of spirituality. Being surrounded by so many people of the same faith and by buildings and artifacts that are in part why this religion exists. Especially in the town of Tzfat the home of Kabbalah. In Tzfat we learned about the history and concept of Kabbalah or Jewish spirituality. I felt way closer to God and the Jewish people in the heart of Kabbalah. In America Jews are a minority and we have no sites of our heritage. Being able to visit sites like the Kotel the former holiest place in all of Judaism is a welcome change.