34 August 22 • 2019
jn

for college students by college students
 August 22, 2019/21 Av 5779

F

ollowing my bat mitzvah, my 
parents gave me a choice: con-
tinue my studies in religious 
school or stop my studies. I chose to 
stop, to integrate into a more mod-
ern, less religious society after grow-
ing up in a rather conservative home. 
However, what I did not realize at 
age 13 was that I would sacrifice a 
connection to my faith and a con-
nection to the people of the diaspora. 
While taking a course at Michigan 
State University focused on the 
Jewish people and anti-Semitism, I 
had my eyes opened to the hatred, 
the hurt and the loss the Jewish peo-
ple have faced over time. In learning 
about different pieces of history through-
out the biblical period, enlightenment, 
the Holocaust and now, I decided I need-
ed to connect with the people I felt I once 
sacrificed my connection to.
To do so, I decided to go to Israel. I 
had never done a teen mission or gone 
on Birthright, so I decided to jump right 
into the Israeli experience. Onward Israel 
Hillel Tel Aviv brought Jewish students 
from all over the United States to live 

and work in Tel Aviv. I lived there for 
two months and worked in a law firm, 
assisting the head attorney with day-to-
day tasks. 
While many chose to hang back in Tel 
Aviv, I decided to depart for a few days to 
really get in touch with the land and my 
Judaism. 
One of the first places I traveled to 
was Jerusalem. As I stood in front of the 
Western Wall with several other Jewish 
women placing prayers into the wall, I 

felt a deep connection to the land, the 
history and those standing next to me.
Next was Masada. Hiking up and 
learning its history, I felt a deep sense of 
loss and pride as a Jew, knowing Jewish 
people were forced to take their own lives 
there.
After Masada, I visited Akko, a place 
where the Crusaders tore through the 
land. Standing as a Jewish woman where 
the Crusaders once made a fort made me 
feel powerful. 

Then, I visited Tiberias, one of my 
favorite cities. Apart from the natural 
wonders, like the waterfalls and the 
Sea of Galilee, Tiberias was full of 
Jewish history. We visited the tombs of 
Rachel and Rabbi Akiva.
In the mystical city of Tzvat, I met 
many wonderful artists who loved to 
craft beautiful jewelry, canvases, ham-
sahs, mezuzahs, etc. For many, these 
items of art carry a story. 
Back in Tel Aviv, I made friends. I 
made a family, and I made a home. I 
felt comfortable moving around the 
city, being with the people on my 
trip and living daily within the city. 
However, what was important to me 
was that I saw as much of Israel as pos-
sible in order to connect with the Jewish 
state and reconnect with the Judaism I 
had lost touch with over the years since 
my bat mitzvah. Being on Onward and 
living in Israel this summer made that 
very possible for me. @

Mara Soverinsky of West Bloomfield is a senior 
in James Madison College at Michigan State 
University. 

S

ince I was a young child, I’
ve 
had a reputation in the Jewish 
community. Being the only 
blond youth (aside from my young-
er brother, of course) at synagogue 
made me an easy target. Every 
Sunday morning, I could be found 
climbing out of any Shaarey Zedek 

window trying to escape being held 
captive by my Hebrew teachers. Since 
those days, I’
ve exchanged windows 
for doors. This time, they are all 
entrances rather than an exit.
Although I grew up attending 
Shaarey Zedek Hebrew School and 
Tamarack Camps, my connection to 

the Jewish community was purely 
because of my parents. My mother 
often took me to Saturday services 
on top of my Sunday mornings spent 
in Hebrew school. It was crucial to 
them that I was raised Jewish and 
was involved, but it wasn’
t until later 
that I realized how truly important 

Mara Soverinsky } jewish@edu writer
Onward Israel

MSU student reconnects with Israel, her roots and Judaism.

Mara Soverinsky and friends at the Sea of Galilee and Tiberias 

Emily Rosberg } jewish@edu writer

Emily Rosberg with Elaine and Eugene Driker

Windows and Doors
Rosberg’
s essay about her Jewish life earns Driker award.

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