e Rabbi

a Then Alis-sion rticipa
pa Obercoming fear and indecision,
n t d iscovers wisd
JENNIFER NATHAN
om in -Israel and at her temple.

S ecial to the Jewish News

o put it simply, I didn't
want to go to Israel, this
summer.
I Wanted to'get a job. I
wanted to go to summer school.
I
wanted to spend a weekend in N
ev,
York. Sure, I would eventual)
y.get
to
Israel, but it was no -
where in m y plans
for the summer
suther
of '98. Af ter all, I
knew
I
was
Jewish.
W. hy did I need to
travel across
theworld, without:a n
m
y of
my family or friends, to a country that
seemed to suffer
from a constant
threat of terrorism and war?
was my attitude last fail, when
I be This
gan to talk to rn
Moskowitz of Tem y rabbi, Michael -
pl e thSh
He:had led a buS On e ir Shaloin.
'first T een
Mission, and would' be leading O
ne on
the second I trusted and respected.
him, but
he,
convinc
just could not
rne to go. .
e

So there I was, scared of terrorism,
scared to make new friends, scared I
Wouldn't like the food ;
something would hap- scared that
pen.a t hO
and I'd be on the other side
h
of the
world. As it got closer to the deadline,
my mind was almost completel
y made
up, in favor of no.
Then I had a final meetin g
with my
rabbi. We talked openly and Sincerely:
for a long time. At the end, I decided
to go.

ment, would prevent anything bad
;from
happening to me.
Five we passed like five minutes
and now I'm home, and I'm a differ-
ent person. Because of my experiences
in Israel, I have a different outlook on
life, different opinion s
and different
future plans (which ,include spending
much more time in the land of milk
and honey). I'm- tan, healthy and full
of memories Which I'll
never forget. I
- have:lifelong-friends, both here and i
in
Israel, and a passion for
Israeli. i ce
cream.

After the first day of the trip, when
wearriVed at I3en-Gurion airport in
Tel Aviv, I felt little more than tired,
- sick, and completely unsure of what to
On the way home from the ai
expect. Five weeks felt like an
rport
last
Thursday, I began to c ry (well,
began
But by the end of the second day
not
;
i constantly
had been cryng
wished it were Almost irimediately,. I
since reaching Detroit), because I
came
after I had a good nights sleep,.. I
cam so incredibly
began to - have the
close to passin g up
this
most amazing time
trip for summer school or a job.
ever. It took almost no 'time for m6 to
Because.of my
fear and hesitation, I
make friends, and to get accustomed..
could have missed the
:most amazing
experience
to the food, climate and the trirjn
of my life. Therefor e
. My parents left the decision up
general.
Within
three
days
of
my-
, I am
-
incredibly thankful to Rabbi Michael
arrival in Israel,
me, but they had the foresight to to
I
underitood
what
Moskowitz
for
never-givin
everyon e
reserve me a spot early On. I wavered
g up on
had been talking about:
me. He wouldn't let m e
all through the late summe
And as‘fOr
pass
this up,
r
arid
fall
fears of terrorism an d
of war;
last Year. Now, lookin
and he sure knew what he was doing.
g
back,
I
not
once
during
the
five
weeks
see
much Of
Rabbi, I owe you somethin
that
g big for
my indecision was based on -
did j feel unsafe or even worried.
this one. ❑
fear and insecurity,. but at the dine, I
when we learned of bombing Even
was just convinced that I had better
Jennifer Nathan, a
attempt
in doWntOwn Jerusalem I still
things to do -
felt
securerh
10th g rader at
with my summer.
a t the staff, and of
_Bloomfield
.
course,-the Israeli -
Andover High School
military and govern-
and a member of Temple Shir Shalo
.,was on Bus R-5
m,

Ken Kollin enjoys the
diverse culture and
musical nightlife of
Ben-Yehudah Street.

sr

1995

Detroit Jewish News

27

