Virtual Israel Experience

Jonathan Ilan Kaplan

In the afternoon of February 4th 2001, I stepped onto the plane at Cincinnati International Airport and said goodbye to my parents, not knowing what the next semester would be like for me. I knew and certainly hoped that I would have the greatest time in my life as well as partake in a life-changing event with 21 other Jewish-American teens. I also hope that this experience would further develop my political and spiritual views on my homeland--the Jewish State of Israel.

I spent my 10th grade second semester in Jerusalem, studying at Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim. I was living and studying in Jersualem, the center of the Jewish people, where the gravitational pull unites every single Jew as one Am (people or nation.) I made two pilgrimages to the Kotel, the Western Wall, for Pesach and Shavuot, and quite possibly the most important mitzvah of all for the Jewish people to do. The experience that I had was indescribable! The feeling that I had with 100,000 people praying, singing, and dancing was unbelievable. I felt like a Jew from Metzriam (Egypt), coming from bondage, celebrating the birth of our nation, the birth of our Torah. Praying shacharit (morning prayer) at the Robinson's arch with the Messorti (Conservative) congregation was amazing.

One of my most memorable moments had to have been the day when my group climbed Masada at 5 in the morning, taking the runner's path up. Just before we reached the summit, we as a group prayed shacharit (morning prayer) overlooking the fortress of Masada and the Dead Sea. While there I learned how the Zealots, the rebellious clan of the Jews during the 2nd temple period, decided how they wanted to live their lives hiding and secretly practicing Judaism from the Romans. I also learned how they would rather take their own lives rather than fall into the hands of the Romans and live in slavery and be forced to convert. Another lesson that I learned from going to Masada was the message of Masada; that is, Israel will never ever back down from a fight or when they are pressured from Arab countries. "Masada will never fall again," are the words that echo in my mind every time I hear that Israel was attacked by a terrorist or Israel is mentioned in the news. That quote means that Israel, surrounded by enemies just like Masada was, will not give up. NEVER! Israel will continue to live just like it did during the up and down years of our newly independent state. ISRAEL WILL NOT FALL! As a result of my trip I also realized that I want to join the TzHaL, the Israel Defense Force. I want to show my feelings of Zionism. I want to be a practical Zionist, I want to look in the mirror every day and say I have a country that I am fighting for--a country where I can go to work everyday with my head held so high that my neck is stretched out to the clouds. There is no other place on earth where I can achieve a greater feeling than that.

Why was it important for me to go to Israel, especially at a time of crisis like now? Am I crazy? NO. Over and over I was asked why on earth would you go to Israel during an Intifada? I simply said with my head held up high and a bright big smile on my face, "It is my duty and my responsibility to go and give and show my support for our nation. Furthermore, it is a mitzvah to go at least once in your lifetime to Israel and now that there is a time of great need for us to show support of the Jewish people it is a double mitzvah to go. By going to Israel especially during the current matzav (situation), it shows the world and the Middle East, i.e., Arabs and Muslims, that we as the Jewish people of the diaspora will not be afraid to go and give our support for our nation, Israel.

On further note, when I first told people that I was going, people would ask me, "Are you Crazy?" "Why on earth would you go to Israel at a time like this?" I say where on earth would I feel more safe than my homeland of the Jews. Nothing is better than seeing a country filled with Jews and knowing that we aren't going to be harmed by others and that we will never back down from anyone! To the parents who are out there reading this, I personally would not have gone if I felt that it was not a safe environment to go live and learn for four months. I knew that I would be completely safe their as I was going to be in Israel.

Ever since I arrived home from Israel I constantly ask my friends their opinions on the current situation: What do you think Israel should do? Who is to blame?

How do we solve the problem? What is the problem? Questions and dialogues like that make kids my age better prepared to answer such questions particularly when they are approached by someone who is not Jewish. After you have gotten back from your wonderful Israel experience, if you do not have a opinion beforehand, which is perfectly okay, you will certainly have an opinion when you come back because when you come back from living or tyuling (traveling) in Israel, experiencing the Israeli life, culture, and society, then you will develop and share my opinion.

That is why it is important to go to Israel and show support for our Jewish homeland. Israel is our country--the one that we have fought numerous wars over to protect because it is our homeland and we have worked, cried, and sweat so hard so that it could be ours--ours to defend, ours to cry and bleed for, ours to live in, ours to visit.

Copyright 2010 The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise