Jun 4, 2013 | Israel Center, Miscellaneous
When Jen Kaslow was growing up, she felt a little confused and not completely connected to her Jewish roots. “My husband, David’s Jewish identity was an integral part of his life, but as we started raising our kids, I realized part of mine was missing” she says. To...
Jun 4, 2013 | Miscellaneous
The children of Milton and Merle Goldstein wanted to honor their late parents’ memories by bringing together things the couple was passionate about. “Our parents believed so deeply in the power of pluralism and education as a gateway to opportunity,” says Joel K....
Jun 4, 2013 | Miscellaneous
Waking up at 3:30 am isn’t normally as exciting as it was today. But today, in Israel, we not only woke up to 80 degree weather, but we knew we were going to hike Masada. Bleary eyes looked up the Roman Ramp with trepidation, but with an encouraging shout from...
Jun 2, 2013 | Miscellaneous
Our journey in Jerusalem wrapped up today as we left our hotel and headed to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial and museum. There we were lead by Mordechai, who shared personal stories from his family’s experiences as he led our group around the extremely...
May 30, 2013 | Miscellaneous
Waking up this morning, we boarded our bus for a very full day. Our first stop, an overlook of the Syrian border provided us with a realistic understanding of the proximity of Israel to its border countries. After a drive past Israeli soliders in training, we saw two...
May 29, 2013 | Miscellaneous
After a night of much needed rest at our hotel on the banks of the Kinneret, we got up bright and early to go to Tzfat to learn about Kabbalah and the generations of students who have studied there. Our first introduction to the mystical side of Judaism was through...
May 28, 2013 | Miscellaneous
Nothing gets the juices going like hearing Hebrew even before you arrive in Israel, but as we sat at JFK in, surrounded by three other birthright groups set to depart on our plane, the Hebrew language was all around us. From the other passengers to the EL AL security...
May 21, 2013 | JFed STL News, Miscellaneous, YPD
Andrea Kass has been giving since she had her first paid job. “My family has always been involved in giving,” she says. “I felt good about being able to contribute myself, not just through my parents. It was significant to me.” It is also important to Kass, a student...
May 21, 2013 | Miscellaneous
It’s already less than one week to go before we leave for Israel!!! I cannot believe how quickly May 27th got here. For the last couple weeks, we [staff and participants alike] have devoted a lot of time to pre-trip orientations, packing lists, flight booking...
