RJ Blog

Kesher Taglit-Birthright Israel alum, Ben Zemmel, writes about his experience in Israel and what he found that surprised him.

I have had the pleasure of sitting in David Alon’s Jewish history class in EIE at Tzuba for the past two days. As David told the class of 22 students that due to scheduling he was spending two days on the Middle Ages from the Golden Age of Spain, I forgot how much I love to sit in class and learn.

by Zachary Rolf You can teach kids from books, show them documentaries, bring in guest speakers, and so on, and so on. But the learning – the real life learning – that takes place when you put a group of kids together in (supervised/controlled) intense immersion-like programming is unmatched. We know how tremendously impactful Jewish summer camps are. As Jewish professionals, it’s on us to create experiences like that year-round. Two years ago, 20 teens from Central Synagogue in Manhattan explored the streets of Prague. Last year, 30 discovered Berlin. This year, 38 teens traveled with us to Amsterdam in [...]

Have you ever wondered which world nations have the largest Reform Jewish populations? In the new issue of Reform Judaism magazine, out now, you’ll find a list of The Top World Nations With Jewish Populations & Their Reform Congregations. The list includes 43 countries, the size of their Jewish populations, and the number and location of their Reform congregations. Because the term “Reform” is primarily used in North America, the list also names each country’s preferred terminology. So which countries make the list? Here’s a peek at the top 10:

By Allison Karns, Kesher Taglit-Birthright Israel alum

When I was asked to write about my Kesher Birthright experience, a few things ran through my mind. First, I realized I haven’t written a single thing since I graduated from college two and a half years ago (I work in IT). Second, I thought: There aren’t enough words to describe what an amazing Birthright experience I had (or perhaps this goes back to my lack of writing skills). Either way, Birthright is something you must experience for yourself.

by Susan Fritsch Cohen The following poem was written by Susan Fritsch Cohen on a recent trip to Israel with Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation. Of the trip, Susan said, “Our congregational trip had a transformative effect on me – it solidified my connection with Israel and with the community I traveled with, and that inspired me to write.” She read the poem during her adult Bat Mitzvah service while in Israel.

Read about how KESHER Birthright alum Alexis Drattell found a home for herself in Israel, then carried her experiences with her as she discovers Reform Jewish life in Milan, Italy.

by Rabbi Neal Gold This is a response to a friend who has been planning to travel to Israel in December with his college-age children. He expressed trepidation about going to Israel since the war with Hamas began in earnest. This is my reply to him. ____ Dear K., Thanks for your email. I know you’re feeling anxious and nervous about going to Israel with your kids. I most definitely am going in just a few weeks, and as of today I have not heard a single peep from any of other members of our temple group that they are [...]

by Ilana DeBare We took advantage of our empty nest status to take a week-long trip to Spain this month, the first time in almost 20 years that we could travel at a time when schools weren’t on vacation. In Toledo, we have been staying in a delightful small hotel called La Posada de Manolo that, for me, is as evocative and fascinating as any of the official sights in this historic medieval city. The Sanchez Nunez family turned their 500-year-old home into a hotel that celebrates Toledo’s three religious heritages — Moorish (Muslim), Jewish, and Christian. In a detailed [...]

Earlier this month, I traveled to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a week-long family vacation. Before leaving my home in Dallas, I contacted the Rabbi Shimon Moch, the spiritual leader at Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas, and inquired about coming to Shabbat services while I was there. With just over 110 members units, Hebrew Congregation is small in size but large in passion, and its community is very welcoming to those who are vacationing in the islands. With a real pride in the history of their community, its members are quick to let you know that their [...]

by Rabbi Donald Kunstadt Why would a rabbi want to travel to Berlin, Germany? Certainly there are more pleasant places to visit, from Tahiti to Hong Kong, on the bucket list of life. Well, for one, Germany is closer. Second, I must admit a curiosity as to what modern-day Berlin is like. It has a reputation for being über hip. After traveling there, I don’t know if I would characterize it in that way; however, it certainly is a progressive city by American standards. Third, my father leaving Vienna at the age of 16 as a refugee from the Nazis [...]

By Jason Levine “Rabbi Hanina taught: ‘I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, but from my students I have learned most of all.’” A few days ago, I had the honor of serving as a staff member for a group of 40 college students from the Hillel Foundation at Miami University and UConn Hillel on a whirlwind 10-day journey with Taglit-Birthright Israel. While the students had a tremendous time, I want to assure them and all others that they taught me far more than they realize. “May it be your will, our God and God of [...]

by Melissa Stoller I started planting the seeds of an intergenerational visit to Israel several years before my oldest daughter, Zoe, became a bat mitzvah. By the time I finished, my husband and I and our three girls, Zoe (13), Jessie (10), and Madeleine (4), together with my mother and in-laws, all were on board for our first trip to Israel, a special post-bat mitzvah journey to make connections in our family and to connect us, both spiritually and physically, to the land that we had read about and studied for years.

I have just returned from eight days touring the sites of Judaism in Central Europe with six teenagers and one soon-to-be HUC student. When I first interviewed at my current congregation, I was asked, “Rabbi, what do you think about our Confirmation trip to Europe?” As I had looked at the synagogue website before the interview and noticed that it highlighted two things – the Confirmation trip and the Adult Education program – I knew that this was an important question. I started with, “I’m not sure why the trip doesn’t go to Israel…” When a murmur ran around the [...]