"what does it mean to be a part of עם ישראל(the Jewish people)?"

    When I first saw that this was the topic of this week's blog, I tried to put off writing it for as long as possible. Not because I didn't have the time or effort to, in fact I've tried to get myself to sit down and write this for a few nights now. However, every time I tried I ended up staring at my blank computer screen for way more time than I could allow myself to spend doing that. When we were asked this question on the first day of class I didn't have much of an answer for myself.  This pushed me to decide that I'd know the answer by the end of EIE. But we're two weeks away from that and I still don't have a very clear understanding. I know that's not the answer I'm supposed to give, but let me explain a little further and maybe then it'll make sense. Not just to you, but maybe finally to me too.
    I've called myself Jewish since the day I could speak. Why? I'm not so sure honestly. Maybe because my family is Jewish, maybe a little part of me believed in certain aspects of the religion, but realistically, I think it was due to being born in Israel. Like many other mostly secular Israeli families, we celebrated holidays and participated in traditions due to being part of a culture, not a religion. When we moved to America in 2005, my parents feared that my brother and I would lose the sense of  a "Jewish" community from back home. However, we quickly connected with a few other Israeli families and made our own community. Life went on and I continued to call myself Jewish, not understanding the connotation.
    December 26, 2011, my family and I boarded a plane to Houston, TX where we would be living from that day forward. With our blood related family across the world, and our second family now across the country, we felt a bit stranded. My mom began to seek out a new community for us. She came across Congregation Beth Shalom of The Woodlands, where I have spent almost every Sunday morning for the past almost 5 years. My first Sunday there, was the first time I stepped into a congregation as a member. Immediately I felt out of place. There were second graders who knew more prayers and more about Jewish history than I did. This pushed me to get involved with the youth group. I realized that what I need in a Jewish community is the people, not the ideology. I joined NFTY as well which has become a tremendous part of my life over the past 3 years.
    That was pretty much the position I left Texas in when I embarked on this journey. Being here has brought back an abundance of feelings. Most of all, it's reminded me where I came from. Many people connect to עם ישראל with their Judaism. I've come to realize that Judaism simply isn't my connection. I connect by having my childhood begin here. I connect by speaking the language. I connect by understanding and having that dark Israeli sense of humor. And tonight, on Yom Hazikaron, I felt more connected than ever. I looked around and saw tears streaming down people's faces. then I touched a hand to my own and I realized there was a tear rolling down my cheek as well. I realized that a year from now, I'll be in the IDF. I'll be fighting every day to protect this connection that I cherish so deeply. I connect by being a member of not only Am Israel, but Ertez Israel as well. This is home to me. I'm so incredibly thankful for the past 4 months I got to spend in the place that I feel most at home in. More than anything, I am beyond grateful to be leaving here with way more questions than answers, and I can't wait to figure these things out, one at a time, hopefully back here, at home.

The Woodlands? More like the Jewlands!

    I live in a part of Texas called The Woodlands. It's one of the least Jew-populated areas of Texas (there are 6 Jews in my school of almost 4,000). However, my temple is focused on making sure that there is still a prominent, accepting, and inviting Jewish community for the families we do have. We always have huge celebrations for all holidays and make sure they are fitting for all ages and preferences. Last night, my TYG (temple youth group) led Yom Hashoa services for the community. They worked for the past few weeks to find fitting videos, music, and wrote excerpts. Most of our members show up to this ceremony and it's always comforting to all be together on this day. In the following weeks we will be holding our annual end of the year talent show! Every grade puts something together and we bring caterers in and everyone (including parents and whoever wants to join) enjoys the show. Then all of the staff (including teens from 9th grade) goes to the lake house owned by a member of our congregation. To top it all off, they've already scheduled a day for me to talk to everyone about my experience in Israel. Although it's going to be so extremely hard to leave this fabulous place and my amazing friends, I am so happy that I'll be able to keep the conversation going about what we can do from Anerica. I think it's so crucial to continue talking about the experiences we have here, and hopefully inspire someone else to take this adventure of a lifetime!

Take a hike!

    50 kilometers. That's a lot of kilometers. It's also the distance from one edge of Israel to the other. So yes, numerous kilometers. Last week, along with my best friends I walked & biked all of those kilometers. We began at the Kineret and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. Throughout this journey, we camped out every night, cooked our own meals in the wild, and dealt with extreme conditions at times. Most importantly though, we did it.
    When this trip was described to us my first thought was "haha, yeah right". I thought there was no possibility of me completing it. As we rolled onto a piece of land that overlooked the Mediterranean from close up, I remembered that feeling. Thinking that I wouldn't be able to do it. It sunk in that I really did it, that I really hiked across the country. Running down to the sand and jumping in the water then looking around and seeing my amazing friends jumping with excitement around me was the most rewarding part of this entire journey. We had done it together. Through the fun times and the really hard times (falling, spilling our breakfast and almost burning down a forest, feeling scared) we toughed it out and took on the adventure of a lifetime.