Private philanthropies, Jewish agencies, the Israeli government, and Jewish communities worldwide have invested $400 million toward sending Jewish teenagers between the ages of 18 and 26 to Israel.
Take a step back and think to yourself: would you work to gather money so you could send millions of people, people you don't know, to another country?
Probably not.
So the question here is why? Why would anyone donate their well-earned money in order to send strangers to another country?
The answer is taglit.
Taglit-Birthright is the name of the program that has sent over 250,000 individuals from 52 different countries to Israel for free. The literal meaning of the Hebrew word "taglit" is discovery.
After attending the trip, however, the term develops even more value.
Stepping onto the airplane, right foot first, I was unaware that I was essentially stepping into a 10-day journey that would change my life forever.
There were many aspects of the voyage that have molded me but speaking about them all would take too many pages, and words do not do the trip justice.
But here I go at an attempt to explain to the Jews out there the importance of taking advantage of this trip.
Eight Israeli soldiers attended my birthright trip and because of them I gained a different perspective on life. Hearing their stories taught me the importance of appreciating the small things in life and to take advantage of the time that I have with my friends and my family.
More than that, I realized that my priorities needed to be set straight, that the minor things I have always believed to be important issues really do not compare to difficulties that other people across the world go through.
Right after high school, Israelis don't have the luxury of attending college like many Americans do. It is mandatory for every Israeli to join the army at the age of 18. While we stress about filling out applications and writing essays, they're figuring out which army base they're going to be assigned to and learning how to shoot guns properly.
Imagine driving around in your car and having to turn up the radio during the news reports, crossing your fingers, hoping that none of your friends are named on the list of soldiers who had passed away that day due to the war.
Listening to a soldier named Ron Konstantin talk opened my eyes to a world that I always heard existed, but never actually felt. A world filled with pain and beautiful bravery. He lost his cousin in the war while putting on a brave face for his family and friends.
We were taken to Bedouin tents where we spent the night learning about the lifestyles of Bedouins, riding camels through the desert, and getting a feel for a culture completely unknown to us.
After the educational portion of the night, my friends and I sat in a circle, huddled together in the tent, and began talking about our lives. One of the girls told us that she was a lesbian, and proceeded to talk to us about her coming out, her family's issue with her sexuality, and her past relationships. We had known each other for exactly one week at the time, yet she felt comfortable opening up to the group.
This amazed me.
I believe the dynamic of the group was so remarkable simply because of the adventures we shared throughout our travels and the way the land of Israel made us feel. The culture is completely different. Their maturity level is far superior to ours. No matter how harsh times become, they continue to smile.
We all broke out of our shells and allowed the entire group to see a side of us that others back in the States may never see.
Together we rode camels, floated in the Dead Sea, and hiked up Masada at 4:45 a.m. to watch the sunrise from the top of the mountain. We also walked through Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the Holocaust, and rubbed each other's backs as tears fell from our eyes because it finally hit us that 6 million Jews died simply because of their religion. We stood in Har Herzl, Israel's national cemetery, amongst the graves of soldiers that are our age that have died in the name of the country.
Taglit-Birthright took a group of 42 strangers on a trip through Israel in order to show Jewish teenagers what their homeland is about. Together the 42 strangers explored the ups and the downs of the country and transformed from strangers to family. They formed an unbreakable bond.
Most importantly, the trip helped its members discover. They discovered who they are and who they want to be. Together they started taking strides toward fulfilling that goal.
Email: keren.baruch@ubspectrum.com
