Our journeys and studies continued this week through history, focusing on the landscape of Israel in 2025. In our semester studies we have divided our learning into four courses: Jewish History, Jewish Thought and Tradition, Israeli Society, and the Israel/Arab/Palestinian conflict.

In history we are studying the Tanach, the era of the kings and prophets of ancient Israel and the archaeology and ethics of that period.

Our Jewish thought classes are on a number of tracks, this week covering diverse subjects, including the traditions of Shabbat candles, Kiddush and Havdalah, the study of Talmud, debates on the meaning of the Jewish people’s purpose in Jewish tradition, and literary readings in the Tanach. 

In our Israel society classes we looked at the variety of ways that the fallout of October 7, the ongoing war and the hostage crisis have affected Israeli society. This was a preparation for our trip this week to the city of Sderot and the Gaza border area.

We toured Sderot, a city targeted by thousands of Hamas rockets since 2006, and invaded on October 7. We visited a number of memorials in the city and tried to understand how the city has managed to grow and even thrive under these conditions for so long. There is not one answer, but a combination of resilience, faith, hope, stubbornness, and defensive technologies, like the iron dome, the red alert system, and citywide shelters.

We visited Tkuma, a forensic site and car "burial ground" where 1500 vehicles whose passengers were attacked by Hamas are stored. This site has become a memorial, and we saw people from around the world coming to witness these ruins of October 7.

We met Rami Davidian, a farmer from the town of Parish, who put his own life in immense danger when he rescued dozens of young people from terrorists as they fled the Nova festival.

We stopped by  Shuva Achim, a free restaurant and store for soldiers which has provided meals, toiletries, coffee, socks and underwear, and more for soldiers in the South for the past two years.

We visited the Nova Music Festival site and met a young man who fled from the festival and ran and hid for many hours. He, along with many others, volunteer to tell their stories as part of their own healing and to share their stories. Our students were powerfully affected by the day. They encountered stories, tragedies, and sites that are suffused with sorrow and fear, but also hope, unity, and love.

On Thursday we returned to Jerusalem for some walks through the Shuk (market), the park, ancient water tunnels and the Knesset gardens. We ended the day at the annual Jewish National Fund-USA 9/11 memorial ceremony in Jerusalem.

After an intense week, we will be spending a relaxing Shabbat at the Bnei Dan hostel in Tel Aviv, experiencing the way Tel Avivians celebrate the Shabbat, with prayers, hangouts in the park, and an afternoon at the beach.

Blessing you all with a peaceful, joyful shabbat.