This past winter break, 31 students went on the trip of a lifetime. For 12 days, from Jan. 6 to Jan. 18, they traveled across Israel on a program sponsored and funded by Taglit-Birthright.
Taglit-Birthright is a program that offers educational, peer-oriented trips to Israel for young Jewish adults. The trip is free since funding is provided by Taglit-Birthright’s various partners: the government of Israel, local Jewish communities, the North American Jewish Federations through the United Jewish Communities, and private philanthropists.
According to the Taglit-Birthright website, the program’s main goal is to send young Jews all over the word to Israel “in order to…strengthen the sense of solidarity among world Jewry.”
University Jewish Chaplain Rabbi David Leipziger strongly agrees with the program, saying that the Birthright program sparks interest among young Jewish adults to explore their religion.
“Birthright helps young adults to find their place in the Jewish world,” Leipziger said. “In a sense, it puts them in the driver’s seat and turbo charges their search for spirituality and identity.”
Various trip organizers operate within the Taglit-Birthright program to create and offer a variety of trip options among which the participants can choose. Each time around, Birthright endorses different types of trips, ranging from those that have a greater focus on the outdoors to trips based on community service.
For the past four years, Israel Experts has organized the University’s Birthright trip.
“I wanted to find an outfitter that would allow us to customize our student-based trips to Israel so that they would be fitting and unique for Wesleyan students,” Leipziger said.
Leipziger explained that another important aspect of planning the trip was choosing two student leaders out of the University’s large and enthusiastic Jewish community to lead the group. Ultimately, the rabbi chose Ari Fagen ’07 and Jeremy Gillik ’07 to be the student leaders for this year’s trip.
Leipziger has led Birthright trips himself before but he said that there is a special connection that can occur between the group leaders and students on the trip when they are closer in age.
In addition to the two student leaders, an official Israeli tour guide named Shachar also traveled with the group.
“Shachar was such an amazing tour guide,” said Harrison Peck ’07. “He took us to his house in the north of Israel and he really opened up to us throughout the trip by sharing with us personal stories of his experiences in Israel.”
Some of the cities and sites that the group visited included Jerusalem, Ein Gedi oasis, a Bedouin tent in the desert, the Negev desert, Golan Heights, Tzfat city, the Wailing Wall, and the Masada.
Overall, according to Leipziger, the trip to Israel was a true success and was hailed by all as an inspiring, life-changing experience.
“Rarely do I hear of somebody who has come back from their trip to Israel unchanged and unmoved by what they saw and learned,” Leipziger said.
In addition to learning about Israel, students often form strong friendships on the trip.
“Going to Israel was amazing,” said Aaron Freedman ’10. “It was also great because, since I went with Wesleyan students, I was able to make so many new friends.”
Since returning to the United States, the group of students who went to Israel has managed to keep in contact and have had several get-togethers at Fagen’s house.
“I’m also looking forward to meeting with the students who went on the trip but I want to give them time to reflect on their trip and decide what, from what they have learned, they want to keep and adopt into their identity, and what they feel like they need to change about themselves and their lives,” Leipziger said.
The Taglit-Birthright trip is open to all Jewish young adults, ages 18 to 26, who have not traveled to Israel before on a peer educational trip. Leipziger plans to organize a Wesleyan Birthright trip for next year’s winter. Registration for the trip will be available online in September.
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