This Yom Kippur was truly like no other, and I can say that with no doubt in my mind. In Alabama or anywhere in America, for most if not all Jewish holidays pass with little statewide/nationwide recognition and with no tradition to it outside of family/friend traditions. In Israel, especially in Jerusalem, it is the exact opposite. Here, whether you are Jewish or not, your city recognizes Yom Kippur. Israel “shuts down” for around 25 hours during this holiday. You will see little to no cars driven (I saw 2), every store is closed, and everyone is off work. It is nothing like anything I’ve ever seen before.

It’s been an amazing week at Muss so far. We’ve been getting settled in and learning about how our next two months are going to be. After moving into our dorm and meeting my roomates, we had orientation. Later that day, we had our first Core class and got a tour of campus, seeing the dining hall, classrooms, nurse, offices and more. The next day, we had Core again and got a tour of Hod Hasharon. In my first week, I’ve already had amazing falafel and delicious ice cream. On Sunday I had my first smoothie from Moshiko, a Muss favorite who even has menu items named after madrichim. Almost everywhere you go in town people are so excited to see the Americans. I can tell that it’s going to be great being so independent and being a part of a great community at Muss and Hod Hasharon.

Life here has been so much fun. I have gotten close with a lot of people and cannot wait to become even closer. Shabbat was very relaxing and we got to sleep late which is always good. We did a lot of get to know you games to learn about each other. My Core class is so fun. My teacher, Benjy. He is so funny and makes class interesting. It is hard to sit for 4 hours in that class but we have a 45 minute break. I have learned so much already.

We, as Jews, have a vast and complicated history, with many leaders and important events. As an American Jew, however, it is often difficult to imagine how life was like for the Jewish people over the course of our past. Coming to Israel on this trip to really live here and learn about the culture, I did not really know exactly what to expect. So far I am in love with the town of Hod Hasharon, and pleased by the people on my trip and by our dorms. However, up until today, besides going into town in the Hod to get a bite of falafel or a smoothie from Moshiko, our group hadn’t been on a real Tiyul yet. Today, we finally got out of the campus and our classroom came alive!

One week into my AMHSI journey, I am kind of surprised about my feelings so far. The first week was a little rough with a combination of jet lag, so many new people and learning how to live in a campus environment. Now that we’re quickly moving into tiyulim (field trips) and normal school days, my experience is already getting so much better. I think that being busier has helped me make bonds with more people and have my mind off of home. I’ve made a lot of new friends, learned a lot of new things and love living in the dorms. As for the core class and living classroom, I am surprisingly really enjoying it. (I say surprisingly because I’ve never been a huge fan of history.) Yossi, my teacher, makes class really interesting and fun with his quirky interests and funny twists on classic biblical stories. He makes me really like class and want to learn more each day.

I have been doing so much lately and it is so exciting! We had classes on Sunday and Monday. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday we were on a Tiyyul. The first day we went to Jerusalem and part of the Israel museum. Here we saw what Jerusalem looked like during the time of the second temple.

Today we had our first field trip. I went to an archaeological site with my class, and it was very interesting to see. We walked were our ancestors walked, we touched pieces of pottery that hadn’t been touched in thousands of years, and got to see the beautiful views. Being out and seeing this site had left me feeling much better (not to say that the homesickness is all gone) but it had helped. It had helped me feel more connected to my people, and left me feeling more excited to learn.

Looking across the great expanse to the north, the south, the east, and the west It’s not only the intimacy with the land that is felt but an intimacy between myself and each layer of history.

It’s been about a week since I left Israel, Alexander Muss High School, and my new family who I miss dearly. I really wish that I could go back to Israel, not just for the sights but also for the atmosphere– it’s so much more bright and welcoming, and not mention the weather is a lot nicer than here in Pennsylvania.

On the second day of our trip in Poland, bodies still weak from the early morning flight, we arrived at Majdanek, arguably the most sadistic of the six extermination camps. 60,000 weak Jews were exterminated on arrival, and those who were fit would carry the bodies of the fallen to the crematorium for a gruesome mile and a half in the cutting, frigid Polish Winter.

After a week in Poland there is nothing I wanted more than to be in Israel. We had a packed, emotionally draining, but meaningful 6 days

Well, here I am. Back at home, back in reality. Back to sitting in a classroom thinking about the times when I had a whole country as my classroom. No more core classes, no more tiyulim, no more chilling in the hod. We all are separated now. No more Talia and Yarden. No more lights out at 11:30. No more “boker tov” over the bus speaker. Now, that I am back in the real world, I can see the permanent mark AMHSI has left on me. As I go back to my home school I have to adjust to the new schedule and going back to my American teachers.

It is hard to believe that I am sitting at the kitchen table writing my final blog from Lower Moreland, Pennsylvania. My dog shrieking at the window to defend the household, my mother making a delicious salad for dinner, my father making his nightly commute home from work, and my sister listening to her favorite artists on the second floor… All so familiar to me.

Yesterday, myself along with the rest of the fellows and the rest of my group here at Alexander Muss went on our first Tiyul, or trip, to Tel Gezer– a Jewish site known as the place where Abraham was set to sacrifice his son Isaac to display his devotion to God. When we arrived, what we could initially see from our seats on our bus was just a few hills, however we could see how high we were because off in the distance we could see the cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv off in the distance, along with the western mountains next to where we were in the Shfela. Next, we split into our respective classes, and my class started out on a hike around Tel Gezer.

The sun is setting on my fifth day in Israel as I write this blogpost, and its seemingly impossible to me that time has gone by at a breakneck pace (not to mention how easily I overcame jet lag). Even at night when we arrived, tired and beat up by the difficult 12 hour flight, I somehow managed to make 29 different friends prior to any formal introduction, and dodge a flurry of Israelis in the cafeteria- maneuvers that would have made even Muhammad Ali scout me for boxing.

Cleaning our dorm was the first time it felt like I was truly leaving Israel and HSI. It was emotional to clean out my room with my roommates and knowing that it was our last dance party together.

This past week, my class took a week off from touring around in Israel to learn about the Holocaust by visiting Majdanek death camp, Plaschau death camp, and Auschwitz I and Auschwitz Birkenau. At our first stop in Majdanek, we were told ahead of time that despite the infamous connotation with Auschwitz, that Majdanek may be the hardest stop on our trip emotionally. As we pulled up to Majdanek, I understood why we were told to brace ourselves.

While being a tour guide at Yad Vashem there is one principal rule all tour guides must follow: never, ever, bring your modern 21st century life into the Holocaust narrative. Tour guides are forbidden to compare or even contrast their personal lives with exhibitions in the museum. Quite rightfully so. It’s impossible for the countless visitors to relate to the traumatic stories of various survivors or imagine the hopelessness of a world without humanity. The Holocaust is such an emotional section in our history because while every jew learns about it in school very few, if any, truly understand.

This past Sunday, our group departed for Poland. Before leaving I really didn’t know what to expect at all. Because we are always so busy here, I honestly didn’t have much time to fully think about it and comprehend where I was about to be going and all of the history behind it.

The best feeling– landing back in Israel after being in Poland for a week. Although in Poland I learned and experienced so many things, nothing compares to the feeling of stepping back into our home, seeing my dorm, and spending the night with my roommates. In Poland we celebrated life, retraced Jewish history, and showed pride for who we are today.