I have just come back from a tiyul called Yam le Yam where we hike from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee or the Kinneret in Hebrew. It was an absolutely amazing experience and would recommend anyone to go try it.

I will never forget sitting in class, hearing my teacher tell me that we would never learn about the Holocaust because it did not affect anyone besides me. I remember running home to my mom, sobbing, because I did not matter.

Prior to coming to Poland, I thought I knew a lot about the Holocaust. After coming to Poland I realized I was very wrong. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know what the Holocaust was.

This week we will mark 6 weeks left in our journey abroad. This makes me sad because I’m not super excited to go home, I just miss my family and friends a lot. About a week ago we arrived back from our seven day trip in Poland. It was truly life changing and an experience I have never done before and one that most people not lucky enough to be blessed with.

Growing up in an Israeli household, I was taught about the Holocaust extensively ever since I was young. Whether it be from my parents, from Hebrew school, or from my grandparents, I heard amazing stories about families and their experiences, in some cases, surviving the Shoah and, in others, how they lost their lives. So of course, I knew the basics: Six million Jews were killed, most of it happened in Poland, the Germans were in control of it, and that very few survived. However because of our modern day society, I was very desensitized to the entire thing. I didn’t see how it affected me and why it mattered anymore if it happened seventy years ago.

As a Jew going to Poland, it is not really a vacation but more of a lesson on how Jews were dehumanized and the level of Antisemitism that people can have when they are influenced by hate and fear.

I’m going to keep it real with everybody, Poland was not easy. In fact it was probably one of the hardest experiences of my life. The fun parts of the trip were very enjoyable, but the sad parts were extremely difficult to cope with. So these are my thoughts on Poland.

23 days to close the semester, and what am I left with? I have not only grown as a person but also as a Jew. When I come home, there are many things I want to implement into my everyday life.

I feel super sad while writing this and realizing we have less than a month left. We have been here for so long and we have done so much and I’m not fully ready to go home to my normal 7 hour school day.

When I get home I know exactly what I want to do and I know exactly what impact I want to make.

Muss has made a huge impact on my life, I want as many people as possible to know what that impact feels like and how significant this experience is to how I now view life.

But what I really want to bring back home after my semester is over is that now that I identity myself much more strongly as a Jew, I can share with my non-Jewish friends and family and even my Jewish friends and family about my experiences here in Israel and more importantly my Jewish journey I went through here.

As a secular Jew who never took religion very seriously, living in Israel for four months has really changed me. I never thought anywhere, even Israel would change my views on Judaism so drastically.

I feel sad writing this knowing that this will be my last blog post from the Holy Land. It’s a weird feeling that I only have 8 days left with these amazing people around me. It’s weird that 4 months ago I left my other life at home for this completely new journey in my life. I remember writing in my first blog post once I go to Israel, about getting off the plane and being homesick right away.

We have already reached the ten-day mark; although I feel that my goodbyes began almost 4 weeks ago. I cannot believe I am here; finding myself not caring about the materialistic high school drama I was so keen on not missing. I can honestly say that AMHSI has taught me the meaning of real and essential friendship.

This is the end, I never thought we would get to this point. Soon I will be leaving the wonderful, Jewish bubble of Israel and return to the currently Christmas filled America. America is supposed to be my home, it doesn’t feel like my home anymore, Israel feels like my home.

Four months ago, I submitted my first blog. At that time, I had no idea what was in store for me over the upcoming semester. Being the first blog, I was a little nervous about whether or not it would he good enough to be posted on Muss’ website and whether or not my friends and family would like it.

Hello, my name is Harrison Lieber. I was born in Miami Beach and have lived there my whole life. I am a sophomore at Ransom Everglades, a private high school in Coconut Grove, Florida. I, along with my family, am orthodox Jewish.

It’s three weeks before summer is over and I’m more ecstatic then ever compared to my classmates. I’ve always greeted the school year with an exceptional hatred comparable to Batman and the Joker, but now it’s different.

Welcome to my first blog. My name is Gabriel Leizorek from Aventura, Florida. I will start AMHSI on August 27, 2018 in Hod Hasharon for the fall semester. It has been a long wait and a lot of things have crossed my mind. Some have been very exciting and others make me very nervous.