Experiential, inspiring and extremely active describe the “Israel Experience 2015” of the Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy of Longmeadow, Mass.
Twenty students in seventh and eighth grades recently toured Israel on a 10-day trip that was jam-packed with activities from start to finish. LYA was joined for the first time by 18 students from Southern Connecticut Hebrew Academy of Orange, Conn., along with chaperones from both schools.
On the way to the airport, the students stopped at the Ohel in Queens, N.Y.—the resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, and his father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory—to begin the trip with blessings. They also prayed at the resting place of the Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy’s beloved dean, Rabbi Dovid Edelman, who passed away in early January.
The group stayed six days in Jerusalem while touring central Israel and four days in the north. They visited more than 40 sites, starting with the first stop: Rachel’s Tomb. Highlights of the trip included praying at the Western Wall (Kotel) in Jerusalem and touring the tunnels beneath it, which lie on the original road in the era of the Beit Hamikdash (The Holy Temple).
Students also enjoyed swimming in the Dead Sea and visiting Herod’s once-extensive palace atop Masada. One day, they woke up at 5 a.m. to travel to Hebron and recite morning prayers at Me’aras Hamachpela (The Cave of the Patriarchs).
“The most spiritual event for me was spending Shabbat at the Kotel and putting my note in the wall,” said eighth-grader Gabriella Brackman.
The girls and the boys did much of the touring separately.
“Visiting holy places that we are learning about in school was most meaningful for me,” said seventh-grader Devorah Leah Kulek. “We actually saw the bamah [high place] built by Yeravam in Tel Dan that we are now learning about in school!”
‘Joined the Story’
One particularly memorable activity was “Dialogue With Darkness,” an exhibit at a museum in Holon for and about the blind. Visitors tour a pitch-black museum where they have to rely on their senses of touch and hearing to learn about their environment, with blind tour guides leading the group and then holding a discussion with participants afterwards about the experience.
The students also enjoyed wading through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, an ancient marvel of engineering in the City of David; they trudged single file through the dark tunnel, the cold water reaching at times above their knees. They also hiked the desert oasis of Ein Gedi in the south and explored the Banias Nature Reserve in the north, where they enjoyed breathtaking waterfalls. Some of the male students dipped in Ari’s Mikvah in Safed, which was once used by the renowned Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria.
Seventh-grader Moshe Gesin said “I feel as though I just lived through 4,000 years of Jewish history in 10 days.”
As for the staff, “the most rewarding part was the nightly discussions with the students about their experiences, and watching them grow as they discovered the land and its effect on them,” said Yocheved Adelman of LYA, who chaperoned the trip with Chabad Rabbi Chaim and Rochel Leah Kosofsky. SCHA chaperones were Chabad Rabbi Yossi and Rochel Baila Yaffe, and Bassie Dietsch.
This was LYA’s ninth trip to Israel since 1999. Students received support to go from the Western Massachusetts community through fundraising activities during the past two years. While there, a blog was set up on the school’s website (www.LYA.org) for the families and the community to share in the experience.
Students kept extensive journals during their time in Israel. When they returned home, they wrote about their trip in both Hebrew and English, and shared a PowerPoint presentation at a school event for families, describing their experiences.
Near the end of the trip, coordinator Rochel Leah Kosofsky said to the group: “Israel’s history goes back thousands of years. With your visit, you have joined the story of Israel and the Jewish people.”
Schools interested in organizing a trip to Israel for their students can email Kosofsky at: [email protected].
