In October 2007, the combined efforts of Tzahal Shalom of Northern Westchester and the Israel Defense Force made it possible for seven handpicked Israeli soldiers to spend 10 days in my town of Chappaqua, N.Y. The soldiers were to follow an obscenely busy schedule of speaking arrangements and “parlor meetings,” serving a role best described as “goodwill ambassadors” of the IDF. And yes, as it turned out, one thing followed another, and my family volunteered to provide food, lodging and some semblance of American normality for one of these soldiers.
Get ready to support your homeland, because the Seaboard Region of Young Judaea is hosting the third Youth Rally for Truth in Solidarity with Israel. I cannot express just how excited I am for this rally. Having already attended a youth rally for truth in solidarity with Israel in Austin, Texas and having gone to Israel on a youth solidarity mission sponsored by Hadassah, I am more than ready to host a rally close to my home, in Washington, DC.
As I watch the television displaying horrific and gruesome scenes of bombings and killings in Israel, I pack and plan for the two months I will spend in our unstable homeland. On February 5th, I will depart from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport; my destination: Tel Aviv, Israel. My best friend, Rivka, and I will live on the Alexander Muss High School in Israel campus located in Hod Ha'Sharon, twenty minutes from Tel Aviv.
Read the first text, Time of Trouble, Time to travel, and the second text, My Life Changing Israel Experience by Jaclyn.
Hey, it's Harris from the Holy Land again. Don't worry, I am still alive despite the fact that you might see in the media that Israel is in a state of war. Actually, Israel really isn't in a war like it looks on TV. No, Israel is a safe place where people live their day to day lives with no real interference, unless you happen to be living in Gilo outside of Jerusalem.
"Anyone who walks even as little as four cubits in the Land of Israel is assured that he or she is destined for the World to Come." Ketubot 111a
While he rode his bicycle through the Negev desert, Eric Schachar felt the sun scorching his shoulders and the warm desert wind whipping his face. "The air was so dry that my sweat evaporated immediately," he recalls, "making the temperature feel cooler than it really was." Deceived by the weather, Eric pedaled unknowingly into danger.