Hello again, this blog I’d like to write about Israel as a living classroom. Israel is a beautiful country with many interesting nuances, stories that bring out every kind of emotion from pride to inspired to grieving. But translating that to our tiyulim?

The classes that we have while on our trips are the true HSI experience in my opinion. The idea of Israel as a living classroom to me means a few things, one, the most obvious is that when on our tiyulim we learn about history while sitting on the same floor that they stood on. The great thing about this is the added emotional impact of being told that the ground that we are standing on is where something major for the continuity of Judaism occurred is truly intense.

Another way that Israel is a living classroom for me is that depending on where I go, the Western Wall, the settlements on my Open Shabbatot, or anywhere really, I try to learn something interesting there, either about myself or the politics of the region. At the Kotel, I investigated into my soul about my faith in this whole Judaism thing and was satisfied with the result. At Mitzpe Yericho, a settlement that overlooks Jericho in Judea, I learned an interesting insight into the politics of settlements when staying with my very political Rabbi and the mayor who happens to be his lovely wife. 

The third and final way that Israel is a living classroom to me is that I've been learning Hebrew more and more just by observing my surroundings, trying to communicate with those around me, ordering food, trying to talk to the friends of my host families when they're around, and everything else. The phrase of a living classroom is very apt when talking about Israel, because if you tried just a bit you'd see that every foot or cubit as the Torah's standard measurement is covered in so much Israel.