How could I truly sum up four incredible months? How could I begin to describe even a single day? How do I pick one moment out of thousands- lying on the cool stone at night and talking to people who have become my sister and brothers, or going on tiyul and listening to Betsalel and his dad jokes, or running on campus and listening to pounding music in a place that is such a complex mesh of ancient and modern, rich with history, a contradiction of everyday life and the impossible possible dream we get to live. I’ll tell a story, one of thousands I hope I will never forget, but I know one day will slip out of mind with the constant rush and pressure of life and all its opportunities.
One of my favorite stories from TRY was one of the first tiyulim we went on. Before the chaos of the war that brought us all closer and created an atmosphere of both intense connection and disconnect to the people of Israel- before the true closeness that came with months of living with people and getting to know their habits and what drives them up the wall and how to help them when they’re in a bad place – before so, so much, and yet it was already so special. It was a trip to the desert, and we did numerous things – riding camels, eating meals on wooden tables low down to the floor with delicious aromatic food, learning what it is to sit in absolute silence and let the desert winds envelope all your sensations- and my favorite part was on a mountain of rocks in the desert. Betsalel told us all to spread out, and find a place where we felt we could be alone, and simply contemplate. It was an experience I will never forget – looking out to the expanse of the world, the sheer size of it, feeling so small,and simply taking in all its raw beauty. A hushed moment of appreciation for Israel in all its magnificence, a moment of feeling fiercely individual but also as a collective of a people who get to witness the beauty of God’s land. TRY has been an environment where I have been given that space to grow intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually – I leave this program feeling like I have both learned so much, and that I simultaneously know nothing at all.
By Aviva Haas
