By: Anabel Epstein 

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I was tired.  It had been a long day.  I had my pen and notebook on my lap and I was furiously scribbling to get down all the information my teacher was telling my class.  Suddenly, my teacher paused, realizing that my classmates and I were feeling slightly lost.  He turned around, grabbed his guitar, and began strumming a gentle melody. My classroom was not exactly a “typical” high school classroom: I was overlooking the very same valley my ancestors fought in 3000 years ago.  It finally sunk in: I was in Israel.
Alexander Muss High School in Israel was founded 40 years ago.  Its curriculum is unlike any other programs for teen travel in Israel, because students attend classes taught by inspirational teachers to learn the history and the culture of the country. In the days following the lectures, students travel to each destination to experience it.

Along with 78 other high school juniors from Miami, I traveled to Israel this summer for six weeks to learn about my Jewish heritage, my country, and myself.  It surely was a sacrifice leaving friends and family behind and putting life on hold, but at the moment I stepped off that 12-hour plane ride, I was sure I had made the right decision to come to Israel.
A typical day consisted of several hours of class, a break for lunchtime, and then free time to roam the streets of Hod HaSharon in the afternoons.  Attending students were able to get a true feel for Israeli culture and society.  We had trip days, or “tiyulim,” where the entire student body would load onto buses and travel to the very sites studied about the previous day.  It was a true historical experience; after learning about an event in Jewish and Israeli history, seeing each place up close was incredible.  It gave me a sense of belonging.
Israel is the only Jewish state in the world.  As my teacher Akiva would tell us,
“When you live in Israel, you have one home.  Anywhere else, you have two.”
In other words, Israel will always be a home and a haven for me, no matter where life takes me.  The enlightening part of that statement is, that it is absolutely true.
Seeing the country in such a spiritual way made me feel closer to my Jewish heritage, inspiring me to take a step back from my everyday life and consider how lucky I truly am to be a part of it. Each experience was better than the next.  We hiked mountains all over the country: at midday in the brutal heat, at 4:00 in the morning to catch the sunrise, and over a waterfall to swim in natural springs.  We sang songs to the soothing melody of Akiva’s guitar, enabling me to hum a song and remember exactly where I was sitting at the moment I was first introduced to it.  I was fully immersed in Israeli culture and reconnected to the land that my ancestors came from.
One of the most powerful experiences throughout my journey was learning about the Holocaust.  For two days, my teacher held a deeply moving, yet insanely eye-opening discussion to educate us about the war.  The next day, we visited the Holocaust Museum and heard a survivor tell her story. Even though it was less adventurous compared to many of the other experiences, such as hiking up mountains, riding camels, or staying in a tent in the desert overnight, listening to such a strong, yet frail woman explain the torture she endured and yet still stand alive was an incredibly powerful moment.  That woman may have known my relatives, and she was the one who survived.  It made me realize how truly lucky I am to be healthy and happy today.
On a daily basis, I reflect on all the unbelievable friendships I made this summer.  By the end of my journey in Israel, I truly came to consider the people in my dorm as my family.  Every enlightening moment was spent together, creating a bond that cannot be understood by anyone else.
In just six short weeks, my life changed.  I embraced every second to the greatest of my ability, and my hope was restored that when immersing myself in something I love, I will inevitably come face to face with happiness.
My time in Israel was an opportunity of a lifetime for me.  My only words of advice are to take advantage of everything life has to offer; unexpected experiences lie in every crevice of life’s path.