Ein Kerem 

by Kayla Pressman 11th grade Fairfield, Connecticut

The Church of the Visitation in Ein Kerem

Another great day out in Jerusalem to see the Ein Kerem Churches. Everyone rolled out of bed early Friday morning ready to stand in a ח. We were all dressed modestly and respectfully preparing ourselves to see John the Baptist’s said-to-be birthplace and Mary’s spring. It was a beautiful sunny day out and we climbed up many many stairs to finally get to this beautiful church. We walked around, learning about John the Baptist and how interesting his childhood was. I have been to churches in the past but never during mass. Fortunately, our class got to witness a mass and experience another religion in its truth.

As we walked around the Church of the Visitation in Ein Kerem, I noticed on the large outside many frames with different languages on them. I had always known that Christianity was practiced on a global scale, but I had never stopped to think about just how accepting that really makes it. This was a pretty powerful and eye opening thought. All of these languages together on one wall. My friends and I slowly walked down to see how many languages we could recognize. 

 Learning about another religion that you personally do not practice is important for understanding that religion and deepening your understanding of your own. In many ways Judaism and Christianity are closely related. As I learned about Jesus and John the Baptist, I learned about Judaism and the importance of accepting religions not your own. As my classmates and I stood in the back of the Church mass, I learned about their way of having services. They spoke Latin and some prayed while resting on their knees. Learning about Christianity was fascinating and strengthened my ideals and reminded me of why I’m Jewish. As loving and accepting Christianity can be, it grew from our traditions that I look forward to pursuing, both while I’m here at Tzuba and when I return home.

Gadna:  Experiencing the IDF

by Sasha Pullman              11th grade         Southern California

After a day of Jewish History class and a meeting with Rabbi Rick Jacobs on the kibbutz, we left for a 2-hour bus ride south to Sde Boker. It was pouring rain the entire way, and I watched out the window as the landscape turned from grassy fields to dry deserts. When we pulled in to the army base, I was nowhere near sure what to expect. In the weeks prior, I was constantly being told to stay positive and smile, which was reason enough to be scared. We were immediately rushed to put our things down, grab our hats and water, and run over to the basketball court. I was told to stand in achshev, a position that now feels very natural due to constant repetition. It was done with our feet together in a V-shape, and our left foot must be touching our water bottle. Our hands also had to be behind our backs in a diamond. Every part was very crucial, as the resulting punishment for not being in the exact position was pushups.

The Semalet, or the Sergeant came to our lines and randomly assigned us to one mefakedet, or commander who was the leader of our team of fourteen girls. We went to our tents and I was struck by how serious everything already was. We got our clothes which were a pair of pants, a button-down shirt, and an army liner. What the tents looked like when they were rolled up during the day. It began to pour as we were getting ready and our tent filled with water. It was an interesting way to start the week. We got our mattresses and made our beds. The tent was extremely cramped, not exactly a place I wanted to be spending most of my time. We practiced getting into a chet, and standing in achshev. Anytime we finished a break or meal we had to be in this position at a certain time.

The first night was somewhat rough. Many people did not like the amount of rules we had to follow or the living situation. We were also in very close quarters and had no personal space. Nevertheless, we made it through the night. Me and my friends in our uniforms one morning. The next day we began to talk about weapons. It was difficult talking about guns in a military context. I think many of us previously viewed guns only as a source of violence, not protection, and it was evident that ideas about firearms are very different in the U.S. than in Israel. It was interesting talking to our Mefakedet and explaining to her that guns were a source of fear and mourning for a lot of us. The state of gun violence in America is one that I am sensitive to, and it was very hard for me to view guns outside of that context. When we went to the shooting range, I was surprised at how much the sound of gunshots had scared me even though it was in a safe and highly controlled environment. I think this experience brought out the issue of gun violence in America and compared the difference in culture very well. Many people expressed that it was difficult as well, and it was very interesting to see how people viewed the experience of shooting a gun when they are such as source of anxiety and polarization in America at the moment. I also came to the understanding, however, that they are a vital source of protection, and extremely important in protecting the land of Israel. This is what the shooting range looked like.  Everyone was lying down in the position we learned the day before.

I learned many things, though being somewhat uncomfortable. I learned to appreciate the comfort that I do have, and take advantage of experiences like this one, and embrace what is unfamiliar. I also came to the understanding of the importance of the IDF to many Israelis. The fact that many of them spend multiple years of their lives following orders and giving up some freedom and individuality in order to protect their country. It is very admirable, and I grew to appreciate the system much more through this experience.

We learned about the difference between a national army and a professional army and understood the pros of a national army. It heightens national identity and connects almost all citizens. It also highlights the importance of protecting the country and being active in the nation. This seemed to be very important since Israel is a small and somewhat new country surrounded by conflict and the national army helps to aid citizens in uniting themselves and creating a national feeling.

A big highlight of the experience was kitchen duty. A wonderful four hours of cleaning the dining hall and kitchen after lunch on Tuesday. It was most definitely a time of bonding and plentiful complaining. It was also, however, very satisfying to have cleaned up after every person who ate lunch that day, and I understood the importance of working together to complete tasks. Some of us putting dishes away after eating In the end, we had the chance to meet with our Mefakdot, and they were all full of so much joy and laughter, even though the entire week they had to remain serious and impersonal. By the end, I learned to embrace the uncomfortable, and appreciate the amount of comfort I possess regularly. I also was able to learn how to view uncomfortable experiences as privileges since I gained so much knowledge from this week. Most importantly, I learned to have a greater respect for the Israeli Defence Forces, and I admire the passion that many have to protect Eretz Yisrael.

Ancient Burial Cave at Tzuba

by Yoni Spiliopoulos 11th grade Raleigh NC

an agricultural terrace at Kibbutz Tzuba where the ancient burial cave is located

Today was another fantastic day at Kibbutz Tzuba. We went on another tiyul during Jewish History class to learn about an ancient burial cave that relates to chapter 23 of the Book of Genesis. Getting out of the classroom and experiencing the Jewish history is an amazing opportunity to not only get out of the classroom but get a true hands on experience. For this specific tiyul we didn't even need to leave the kibbutz, all we had to do was walk 15 minutes up a little hill and there we are at a burial cave on our very own campus that we get to live on for the next 4 months. Kibbutz Tzuba has so much rich history and interesting facts about it the burial cave is only scratching the surface. Kibbutz Tzuba has several places where they grow different kinds of fruits, ancient terraces and places where people used to step on grapes to make wine. But this time we saw 1 of 27 ancient burial caves that are located around all of Tzuba.

The ancient burial cave we visited was in a little hole that you had to climb through. Once we got inside you see a hollow room with 2 bed like sructures where people were buried and on the left there was another room for more bodies to be buried. Right underneath each bed for the people to lay once dead there was a hollow hole where people could go back and put the bones in there after the bodies decomposed. We visited the cave while studying chapter 23 of Genesis because in this part of the Bible Avraham buys a cave for 400 silver shekels which he paid for in full and this then starts the official ownership of the land of Israel. Even though, according to the Bible God gave us the land of Israel, when Avraham bought the cave, it was now legally official. Since the Jewish people do not get cremated, a burial cave was helpful to properly honor and respect those who have passed. Not only is the cave the first legal ownership of Israel but this is where Avraham buried Sarah. Plus all the patriarchs and matriarchs were henceforth buried in there in Hevron.

I believe that using the Tanakh as an accurate way to learn about our history as a people, but other than that the Tanakh is not a resourceful way to study modern history or US history. 

my classmate Jack inside a ~2700 year Jewish burial cave at Tzuba

Avraham bought a cave for silver and he paid the full price and this starts the true ownership of the land even though God gave us this land, Avraham signed a deal and bought the cave and the surrounding land and he eventually was buried in that cave and Jewish people don't get cremated when they die so this was also a way to respect our dead because Sarah dies in chapter 23 of Genesis.

a view of the neighboring village of Ein Rafa next to Kibbutz Tzuba

the agricultural fields and orchards of Kibbutz Tzuba

Tel Gezer

by Ava Levinson 10th grade Natick MA

This morning was our first real tiyul at Tel Gezer!! This did mean waking up at 6:15, but it was 100% worth it! When we first arrived at the site, it was beautiful. There were so many green fields, and the view was amazing - you could see everything from where you were standing. We are halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, by the village Karmei Yosef.

This is me on the left, and my friend Sasha on the right. Isn’t the view amazing?!!

One of the first topics we talked about was what is a Tel, because we are at Tel Gezer. David explained it in a really cool way using snacks. Unfortunately I do not have snacks to show you, so here is an explanation, without the yummy snacks :)


If you go back about 5000 years ago, you will be in the Copper Age, and back then, there was a civilization. They had created these structures right where we were, and the civilization started to thrive. Then during the Early Bronze age, they built the first cities. Not too big, but big enough to be an urban settlement.  They thrived for roughly 1000 years until a new civilization came around, and they conquered them. All the buildings that the civilization had created were destroyed but still, the material(pottery) was still there. Then centurey’s later, a new group came. They thrived, and then they also were conquered. Now, we have the remains of two different civilizations. Then a new civilization comes. They build all these structures, and they thrive for about 1000 years , but even then, they still get conquered. Finally, a new really successful civilization came along, and they made these huge walls, and they build on top of all the other civilizations. But sadly, they also get crushed too. Long story short, 4000 years later, we have archeologists, and they see that we weren’t just standing on a hill, but it is actually a  Tel. An archaeological Tel is an artificial hill or mound made up of many layers of civilization on top of each other. Archaeologists find each layer of pottery, and that tells us when villages and civilizations were around. At the site, we found thinner and thicker pieces of pottery. More recently in histiory, there was an Arab village called Gezer. Depending on the material the civilizations used for pottery, you can see all the layers and who came first, and the archaeologists can tell what year it was from. An example we used to describe this was breaking a wafer cookie(it was very yummy). When you bite into it, you can see the different chocolate layers, and the wafer layers. This was what a Tel looked like. There are actually 26 layers of civilizations at Tel Gezer. Isn't that amazing?

My initial impression of the Canaanite people was how successful they were. One of the cool sites, and creations of the Canaanite people we saw at Tel Gezer, was an ancient water system. The Canaanites at Gezer built a shaft that penetrates below the water table and therefore fills up with water. The water flowing in the lower level gets trapped by the impermeable upper level, creating a reservoir. As the water flows downward with no outlet, pressure builds. This is also all sedimentary limestone rock. When you go lower down, you get a different stone, chalk. The water can’t seep through, and the water collects in a basin. The flora we could see around, is an indication of where the water was. The Canaanites were very smart, and they knew where the water sources were. They would dig down 40 meters. The iron age Israelite water system is built on the Canaaite system 1000 years ealier. There 3 cities with similar water systems are Gezer, Megido, and Hazor. These are the 3 Canaanite cities.

David taught us the four D’s: Drink, Dinner,  Dollars, and Defense. The first key ingredient to a civilization is a water source, and the Canaanites were very good at finding water sources, and making them, like the Aquifer. The second D id dinner, as in agriculture. Around Tel Gezer, you can see that there is a lot of flat land. This was flat arable land, which means really good fertile soil in the coastal plain.   This was very good for growing and harvesting food and crops. Next was dollars, and trade routes. Trade routes were very important because they helped exchange goods and provide the community with an economy. Lastly, is defense, as in walls and towers. An example of this would be the Canaanite tower. This tower was part of the Middle Bronze Age. It protected the area of the city gate. It was 16m wide, made of large stone blocks. It was the largest Canaanite tower ever to be found.

Chalutzim Tiyul

by Ashley Vasquez-Cruz, 11th grade, California

My classmates and I recently traveled to the Northern part of Israel. There we learned more about how the chalutzim חלוצים, zionist pioneers, designed a new life in Eretz Yisrael. The chalutzim believed that it was time to stop being in the galut (exile) and decided to take matters into their own hands. They had decided that the era in which the Jews waited in exile for the Messiah to make things better was over. People took action towards establishing a community in which they and their future generations could enjoy. One example of this was changing the perceived image of the Jewish, which became known as the “new Jew”. This ideology was changing the original fragile religious man into the opposite which consisted of him being strong, tan and a hard working pioneer. It wasn’t an easy task to accomplish but with hard work and dedication they were successful. 

 First Aliyah

The First Aliyah was between 1882-1903. Their main goal was to establish agricultural settlements called moshavot and build a home for their future generations. This meant that the days of studying Torah all day were over, if they wanted to have a home they had to build it themselves. This is where the image of the ‘new Jew”came in the days where men where skinny and pale were in the past.  The “new jew” was expected to be strong and tan since he was working the land all day. There were other challenges as well. A severe drought decimated their agriculture and prevented the Jews from being able to pay taxes to the Turk, leading them into be in debt to the JCA, Jewish Colonization Association. I think that the chalutzim ideologically did accomplish their goal never the less. They changed the image of a Jew into “the pioneer”, they also stopped being in galut (exile) both literally and figuratively. However, they lacked having personal connection with the land since they often paid the local Arabs to work the land for them.

Image of the New Jew on display at the Kfar Tavor Aliyah Museum

Second Aliyah

The Second Aliyah was between 1904-1914, only ten years of immigration. Up to 35,000 people immigrated to Israel, most who were Russian Jews. The cause of the mass immigration of Jewish Russians was the Kishinev Pogrom. This pogrom in southern Russia killed many Jews, a number of women were raped and dozens of houses were damaged. The young Jewish immigrants coming from Europe, as individuals or in small groups, were inspired by Socialist and Zionist ideals: to create a new Jew and a utopian Jewish society in the Land of Israel. Deganya was the first Kibbutz founded, as well as the first Zionist socialist collective farm. The nearby Kinneret courtyard (Hatzar Kinneret) was in charge of teaching the young immigrants how to work the land. The motivation that these young immigrants had was impressive. Most of them had never done hard labor in their life, but their desire to have a home drove them to do whatever it took to finally establish themselves in Israel. I definitely think that the second aliyah was a success.  Without a doubt the second aliyah was easier than the first in a sense that they banded together into a collective. Also the first socialist kibbutz was founded, making it easier to work as a team. The second aliyah chalutzim also took pride in doing their own labor which gave them a connection with the land, and ultimately a home in Eretz Israel.

Cultural Zionsim Tiyul:  Tel Aviv

by Shay Orentlicher,       10th grade,        Indianapolis

Amidst the layers of graffiti on the walls of Tel Aviv, there is a quote repeated in several places that says, “אם אשכחך ירושלים, זה בגלל ת״א.” This translates to “If I forget thee, Oh  Jerusalem, it’s because of you, Tel Aviv". This play on the Biblical verse about remembering Jerusalem is a concise summary of Tel Aviv’s role in Israel: the cultural center has shifted from Jerusalem and its ancient Biblical roots to the magnetic appeal of the modern Tel Aviv. But how did a city founded in the early 20^th century manage to supersede the importance of Jerusalem in the eyes of so many Israelis? The answer to this lies in the reason it was created: cultural Zionism.

"If I Forget Thee Oh Jerusalem, It's Because of you, Tel Aviv"

When we went to Tel Aviv for our tiyul, the city’s energy was all around us. What’s unique about Tel Aviv is that it is an undeniably Jewish city. There’s Hebrew everywhere, and the cultural references are often Biblical in nature. As it turns out, this was the goal of the founders. Tel Aviv is the product of cultural Zionism, which wanted to tackle the problem of assimilation by creating a center of Jewish culture in the land of Israel. Led by people like Ahad Ha’Am (Asher Ginsberg) and Hebrew language pioneer Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the cultural Zionist movement placed a heavy focus on the revival of the Hebrew language. In Tel Aviv, they wanted to create a modern Hebrew-speaking Jewish city. People caught speaking Yiddish, Ladino, or other languages by the “Hebrew police” were given cards that said “עברי דבר עברית,” or “Jews speak Hebrew.” The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, the country’s first Hebrew high school, was established in Tel Aviv. Through creating a city where Hebrew was the spoken language, the founders of Tel Aviv succeeded in creating a city with a distinct Jewish culture.

street art in south Tel Aviv's Florentine neighborhood

As someone who visited Tel Aviv decades after its creation, it’s difficult for me to look at the Hebrew road signs and hear the people around me speaking in Hebrew to grasp how truly impressive the act of reviving the Hebrew language was. For 2000 years, Hebrew was a language used solely for prayer and Torah study. Through the determination of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and the creation of institutions like the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, the language was revived. It took so much work, and it paid off. When I walked around Tel Aviv, the language I heard was Hebrew. The music people played was sung in Hebrew, the graffiti was written in Hebrew, and the restaurant menus were in Hebrew. Going to Tel Aviv is the easiest way to see the success of cultural Zionism: all around us was evidence that a Jewish culture had emerged. It was the perfect amalgamation of Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrachi, and uniquely Israeli aspects of culture blending together to make a Jewish city.

street art on a school in sotu Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is one of my favorite places in the world and learning about how it became the cultural center of Israel on our tiyul deepened my appreciation of it and helped me understand part of the reason why I love it so much. I love being in a place where the tiniest aspect of its culture is undeniably Jewish. Tel Aviv now is very different from the city with the Hebrew police that it once was inthe 1920s, but that just shows how successful the founders were. The culture has evolved with the times and remained exceptionally Jewish. It’s a beautiful experience to see the fruits of the labor of the cultural Zionists while having a nice day in the city.

Heller High Poland Pilgrimage:  Tykocin

by Mikayla Snead,       10th grade,         Dallas

Recently, I was on the journey of  lifetime traveling around Poland. Out of the many places we went to and traveled around, I think Tykocin is both special, and will hold a very special memory in my head for the rest of my life.

A tombstone in the Jewish cemetery of Tykocin

Our first stop when we arrived in Tykocin was a very old Jewish cemetery. I remember there being almost no grave stones, and it was never kept up. The few stones that were there had writing on them but it was so eroded that it was almost impossible to read them. I remember being told that it was a cemetery that was never destroyed. It was left as it was when the Nazis came through in 1941 and the people who were left after the war purposely left it alone so these people can lie in peace underground. This cemetery is no longer active.

After visiting the cemetery, we walked around the old shtetl that once was back before World War II. Out of all the information I learned,one specific thing really stuck out to me: even though there was so much anti-Semitism in Europe during - and even before - World War II, the Christian and Jewish communities lived side by side as if there was nothing going on outside of the town. It was so interesting to me that during everything going on outside the community, these two different sets of people were living their lives happily together, side by side. To this day, this community is still active, except there are no Jews. Only Polish Christians live there.

The interior of the Tykocin synagogue.  The synagogue was built in 1642.

Inside the shtetlof Tykocin, there was an old synagogue. It was so beautiful inside. My all time favorite part of being in the synagogue was bringing life back into it. I remember we had a very short service inside, and immediately after had a song session to remember. We sang some all tie favorite songs people knew from camp, and that was when I really felt connected with this group of people I’ve been surrounded by for the past 3 months. It truly felt special. But then we suddenly had to stop…

a marked off mass grave in the Lupochowa forest, site of Nazi atrocity

walking in the Lupochowa forest near Tykocin, a site of Nazi atrocity

After all of the joy and fun we were having, we were told that in one day, the entire Jewish community in Tykocin was taken away. We got on the bus. Silently. We drove until we got to a wooded area. I din’t think anybody knew what was going on when we got there. I know I didn’t. We started walking through the woods, and we eventually we got to what we would learn to be 3 mass graves. All fenced around. Memorials at each, topped with candles, flags, letters, flowers, and so much more. My heart dropped when I realized what I was looking at. There were hundreds of dead bodies in those graves and I was walking on the trail where innocent people were told to strip naked and walk to the edge to meet their fate after being forced to sing Hatikvah before being shot. 

At the end of the day, we learned a whole lot about what happened to the Jews of Tykocin during the Shoah. It’s sad, tragic, heartbreaking, but most of all, real. It was very difficult to see these graves, but I knew it was the right thing. To be there and learn about the lives of these people and to see what they went through before eventually meeting their fate at the end.