Daughter called from Israel to say she is on the most amazing trip through the most amazing country and without a doubt one of the most amazing aspects is that the trip is free of charge for the tripper. Since many people are unaware of this opportunity, I will take a moment to tell you about Taglit-birthright israel.
The word taglit means discover in Hebrew and that is the intent of all those who have a hand in providing this experience. The trip is available to Jewish young adults from all over the world, ages 18 to 26, provided they are past high school and have not been to Israel before. It is sponsored by the people of Israel through their government, local Jewish communities and federations, and leading Jewish philanthropists. Trip participants embark on a 10-day all expense paid tightly planned tour in peer groups geared to their particular age. The program was created to promote worldwide Jewish fellowship and encourage young people to explore beyond their boundaries and local culture and in a word, discover.
Our family is not what you would call religious by any stretch although both Son and Daughter were bar/bat mitzvahs. In our area of residence these celebrations are more expensive than religious. No doubt a level of spiritual meaning is lost when choosing decorations and deejays threatens to overtake memorizing Torah prayers. Considering how the endless conflict in the Middle East bleeds beyond all borders, a program to educate those who distance themselves from their heritage because of it seems like an idea whose time has come.
And the people over at Birthright know they have to talk a good game because behind every young Jewish traveler is a Jewish parent. One of their website links promises, “You’ve got questions? We’ve got answers.” They better. With 120,000 young people sent on trips so far I’m guessing one in every ten hits on that link is by a Jewish mother. Not a creature you want walking away with an unanswered question. Speaking of questions, when I asked Daughter on the phone if she felt safe on the trip she responded, “Very. We’re traveling with two armed Israeli soldiers.” Since her call was on speaker phone Husband got to see me turn the color of the refrigerator. Same temperature, too.
But not every potential traveler is facing that direction. Daughter said in her phone call that when she gets home she plans to encourage her brother to take his Birthright trip before he reaches 26. I mentioned this to Son who looked at me and said, “And what would I be thinking? I could go to Costa Rica and lay on the beach.” I reminded him that no one will pay for him to go there. To which he responded, “No one’s going to shoot at me either.” I just don’t know when to stop with the questions.
This is one of the photos sent to the travelers’ parents in the spirit of showing us the spirit.
Taglit-birthright israel group event