There are many things that could and almost will happen to you in Israel that you will not experience in America.

There are many things that could and almost will happen to you in Israel that you will not experience in America. Something that really interests me is just how different the two places can be. I remember writing in one of my first blogs that I was first surprised when I realized that random people in Israel do not smile at you in the streets like they do in America, that to me was an “only in Israel moment” but now that I have experienced Israel a little more I have even bigger moments. I remember going to a Reform synagogue on Simchat Torah one evening and thinking it was really amazing how all of these random people could dance together as if they knew each other and I remember being approached by at least three people asking me if I wanted to dance with the Torah, I said yes every time. As the evening went on people were still dancing and having a wonderful time until from outside of the synagogue, a rock went flying through the air and hit the ground, luckily not hitting anyone.

Everyone was silent for a moment, then some people started asking questions and talking and I started to imagine what the rest of my evening would look like, probably police would come and I would have to go home early. That’s not what happened, there was a brief moment of panic and then everything just went back to normal as if this was an average thing. Which it may be, but not for me. I’m not used to acts of hatred against me. I remember being fascinated about how quickly people got over it and I was happy they did, these people would not let anything ruin their happy moment. I envy that. I remember having experiences in my life, not nearly as bad, that people just do not let go of. It’s a good thing to be able to get over something. In class, the next day we were going through the news (part of our schedule in Jewish history class) and that story came up. I had already completely forgotten about it which surprised me. I think the reason I forgot about that experience so quickly is because it was not made into such a big deal. I believe it’s key to learn how to get over bad experiences. That is something that we do not do in America very easily but do see in Israel. That I want to change when I go back home.