Over Winter Break, I was fortunate to attend the Mayanot Women’s
Program in Jerusalem for the three week winter program where college students all around came to join the young adults that had already been at Mayanot. I arrived at what I thought was a small building, but walked inside and noticed that not only was it a small building, but it was a place where everyone was smiling and every student there was learning. Despite the smallness of the building, it was filled with big smiles, big hearts, and one big family.

As soon as the program started picking up pace, I was exposed to
some great learning opportunities I would never have come across in my life. I picked up the Mishnah and the Gemara and started to break them down and figure out what the ancient texts have to say.. I learned about the weekly parshah and was able to relate it to my life. Mayanot’s education is based on Chassidus, which is the teachings of Judaism by the Chabad Rebbe’s. It is also based on subjects that are pertinent to ones lives. When it came time to pick up Tanya, the psychological bases of Chassidus, I had found my passion in Judaism and I began to learn it on a daily basis. 
Mayanot is such a supportive environment and it doesn’t matter where you come from. Some girls had very little Jewish foundation, while others like me had a strong foundation and were starting to find where in Judaism they wanted to go. Anyone from any Jewish background is able to study at Mayanot. It’s not all study, but also about building life long friendships and making memories. I was exposed to so much of Israel, not only the religious parts, but also the secular parts. I was able to be Jewish and not be afraid of being observant openly in Israel.

My favorite experience from the trip was when we went to Tzfat in the North of Israel for the second Shabbat. Our Shabbat Hosts were family who was affiliated with Mayanot and had chosen to spend their Shabbat with us. We
were fabrengening (a late night discussion period of in depth conversations and singing) with them till around 2 am on Friday night. Everyone was intrigued and connected to what the woman was saying to us. At one point everyone got out of their seats and started singing and dancing and it was as if the whole room had been transformed, and it was very visible that everyone’s neshama was happy. I was sad to leave Tzfat, as I knew I only had a few days at Mayanot left.

During my last few days, I learned all I could learn and was able to discuss with my peers. 
As I reflect on this incredible experience, I think about all the good times I had and all that I have learned. It wasn’t just about learning
about Judaism and what my next step would be, but more about learning about myself. I have grown so much and have acquired so much more knowledge that I hope to share with my fellow peers. If it wasn’t for Chabad at UCF and the strong support of Rabbi and Rivkie Lipskier, I would not have had this incredible opportunity. I cannot wait to go back to Mayanot some day soon and continue my learning.

(To see more pics and a video presentation please click on read more)

By: Joshua Zimmerman 

My whole life I’ve had a thirst for adventure. I admire fictional characters like Indiana Jones for their freedom to travel the globe, creating legends and fighting the paranormal in uncharted lands. I chose to study archaeology so I could live the fictional dream of exploring vast deserts and forest. Climbing through jungles and hiking along rivers. Witnessing long-lost ancient civilizations for the first time since their inception. But I’ve never stepped foot outside of
my country before. I’ve never bought a passport, nor have I ever flown somewhere without one of my parents. Even after four years of being at UCF, living in the same apartment, I’ve never been able to call anywhere but the house I was raised in “my home.” Yet all of that changed the moment I stepped off of the plane in Israel.

I was afraid I had set my expectations too high. I used to believe that all places are the same. That it would feel like any other place. But I was wrong. There is something in the land itself. Israel doesn’t feel like a foreign country. The people don’t feel like foreign people. And the land doesn’t feel like foreign land. I don’t think Israel is a location. It’s not a latitude and
longitude. It didn’t matter where I was the day before I arrived. Israel is a soul. It’s a feeling and
a beating heart. A life source. A moving, pulsating, life giving, breathing soul that exists within
every Jew. For the first time in my life, I called a place I’ve never been before, “home.”

There are not 40 kids on the trip. There is just one. Because by the end of 10 days there
are no divisions. No judgments. The stranger whose name you never knew has become your
brother, along with the soldier you would never meet. Your face is reflected in the people whose
life is so different as they fight to defend our homeland. Yet the moment you put your arm
around them they cease to be anything but a part of you. We were in Israel, but more
importantly, we were and continue to be with the Nation of Israel.

They say every day is like a year on birthright. The friendships I’ve forged are stronger
than steel. They do not exist as a memory, but as potential energy, looking to be nurtured and
grow in the future. On the other side of the world eight soldiers I now call my family, remember
my name and love me the same way I love them. I would never have met them had it not been
for Mayanot birthright. I owe so much to them and the UCF Chabad for organizing the trip. I’ve
gained an unmistakable perspective which has stirred within me a brooding passion. The exact
ingredient missing from my life.

There are literally millions of things to take back from Israel: photos, souvenirs, stones
from the Dead Sea, necklaces, books, food. You could get deep and take passion and insight,
which the Rabbi served on request. You could take love, which some found within days and
kept. You could even take dreams, which I took by the handful. But the greatest thing about
birthright is not what you can take. It’s what you can give. And as so many warriors, soldiers,
and civilians throughout our history have given their life for Israel, upon being there it’s easy to
see why they were willing to give so much. Because I am not here in Israel. Israel is here in me.