This winter break, Max Rosenberg will return home to Israel for the sixth time.
Though he was born in the U.S. and grew up there, Rosenberg, a sophomore studying political science, doesn’t consider it his home.
“I consider (Israel) my home more than anything,” he said. “I consider it a place that I eventually want to go home to.”
Twenty-three Ohio University students, including Rosenberg, will climb Masada, float in the Dead Sea, experience Jerusalem and visit the city’s Western Wall as a part of Taglit-Birthright, a peer-to-peer cultural, religious and historical excursion to Israel. Over the course of 10 days, 40 American students and 10 Israeli soldiers will share a bus as they explore the country for free.
The trip, which was coordinated by Hillel at OU, will offer an opportunity to travel to a very sacred place, Lauren Goldberg, associate director of Hillel, said.
Students will visit historic sites, take part in social justice programming, learn about contemporary Israeli society and go on hikes.
Rosenberg said the itinerary looks like the average first time experience in Israel.
“For me, it’ll be fun because I’ll get to relive all of those good memories I had in the past,” he said.
In addition, Rosenberg will get to visit with family. And though he’s had opportunities to see his own family, Rosenberg said Taglit-Birthright is an opportunity to rekindle lost relationships. Some students will meet relatives for the first time during the trip.
Goldberg said her trips to Israel have been “transformative.”
“I couldn’t have even possibly imagined how much I would learn in those 10 days because when you’re really immersed in a new culture, and you truly get to see something firsthand, … you do see so much more than you could have learned with even years of study,” Goldberg said.
She tells her students to never take their trips to Israel for granted.
“The opportunity to travel and explore a culture outside of the U.S. is an incredible privilege,” she said.
And she said her students understand that privilege.
“They come back deeply, deeply changed as people,” she said.
Rosenberg, who has made the trip many times with family, said Taglit-Birthright is a more intrapersonal experience.
“For a lot of people, it is getting to experience Israel for the first time, and … that’s very special,” he said.
Kayla Spodek, a senior studying commercial photography and marketing, visited Israel for the first time four years ago. Now that Spodek is older, she said her connection to the country will be even stronger.
“I expect to learn even more about myself as a person and my religion by immersing myself in anything we do there,” she said. “I never know when my next time back to my homeland will be.”
Goldberg said the trip isn’t just about Israel.
“It’s about (the student’s) own identity. It’s about Jewish religious observance. It’s about politics. It’s about art,” she said.
Hillel offers additional opportunities to visit and learn about Israel. Registration for a summer trip will open Feb. 10. Taglit-Birthright awakens a passion in students, and alumni often become more engaged at Hillel because of that, Goldberg said.
“We just hope they use this as a kind of jumping off point to explore more about Israel and the world because 10 days, although it is transformative and wonderful, is certainly not enough time to really understand a place in a deep way,” she said.
