10 | JUNE 30 • 2022 

student’s corner
If These Mountains 
Could Talk …
T

he best way to 
describe my senior 
trip is: It was an 
adventure. Although there 
were many bumps along the 
way, like our 
original flight 
being canceled 
after waiting 
six hours in 
the airport 
and waiting 
three extra 
days before 
flying out, it was all part of 
the experience. I previously 
went to Israel when I was in 
eighth grade through Hillel 
Day School, but there were 
places on our itinerary that I 
did not visit last time.
Along with visiting many 
new places in Israel, I also 
had lots of new experiences. 
One of which was going 
to the Western Wall for 
Shabbat. A highlight of this 
experience was seeing so 
many Jews come together 
to celebrate Shabbat. David 
Ben-Gurion’s and Theodor 
Herzl’s gravesites are sites I 
visited on my previous visit 
to Israel. A new experience 
I had was placing a stone 
on their graves, symbolizing 
how their legacies last 
forever. Herzl’s Zionism 
and Israel remaining an 
independent nation started 
by David Ben-Gurion are the 
two legacies that continue. 
Throughout the trip, 
we visited many historical 
sites. Whenever I had 
questions about the past, I 

looked around because the 
answers were all around 
me. However, sitting on 
top of Makhtesh Ramon, 
staring at the never-ending 
desert, I started to wonder 
about the past. Being there 
made me feel that Israel has 
no bounds. A plethora of 
stones surround the pathway, 
originally starting as magma 
and changed over time. I 

started to wonder if the 
stones symbolized how we 
evolved over time. 
As I stared at the endless 
array of desert mountains, I 
wondered what stories they 
held. If these mountains 
could talk, what would they 
tell us? How do they feel 
about the way Israel has 
changed? The real question 
isn’t if the mountains could 

talk, it’s would we listen?
Something I definitely 
didn’t expect was getting 
COVID in Israel. That alone 
was an experience within 
itself, especially with the 
bright pink bus that drove 11 
of us four and half hours to 
our quarantine apartment. 
We played many card games 
and had fun hanging out 
on the balcony, finding fun 
ways to pass the time. We 
took countless COVID tests, 
anxiously waiting for them 
to be negative, and once we 
were all negative, we were on 
the first flight back home. 
Once we landed in 
Chicago, we ran as fast 
as we could to catch our 
next flight, barely making 
it in time. By the time my 
trip ended, I felt that I 
grew closer with my peers. 
Between doing Mad Libs 
together in the airport 
and having my classmates 
pose as human railings 
by helping me walk down 
slippery stairs, this trip has 
given me lifelong memories 
and friendships with my 
classmates. I was dreading 
graduation because it meant 
I had to say goodbye to some 
of the best people I have ever 
known as well as my lifelong 
experience attending Jewish 
day school! 

Shayla Mostyn graduated from 

Frankel Jewish Academy this year and 

will be attending Eastern Michigan 

University in the fall. “Student’s Corner” 

will continue in September.

Shayla Mostyn enjoyed her class trip to Israel.

COURTESY OF FJA

PURELY COMMENTARY

Shayla 
Mostyn

