Schechter Israel trip 'emotional' experience

By Seth Mandel

The Jewish State


The eighth grade class at Solomon Schechter Academy of Monmouth and Ocean Counties spent 11 days in Israel after learning about the country for nine years, though they needed only one word to sum up the experience.

"It was very emotional," said Michael Janusz, a sentiment that was echoed by the trip's participants as well as the chaperone, math and science teacher Sylvia Piznik.

"This was different," Victoria said. "It was more emotional, because we've been learning about it for so long, and I was there with the kids that I've known for nine years now."

Last year's graduating class at Schechter was the first to go to Israel on its senior trip. The fund raising projects, along with the help of the Jewish Federation of Ocean County and the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County, were so successful that school officials decided to make the trip an annual tradition.

Emily Kleinfeld, a Schechter eighth grader from Brielle, was certainly happy they did.

"I loved it, it was the best trip I've ever been on," Emily said of what was her first time in Israel.

Emily said the busy streets and markets took her by surprise, as did the sheer spiritual and historical weight of each stop on the tour.

"I didn't expect to see so many people walking around, and up and about," Emily said. "And I also wasn't expecting a lot of things to touch my heart as much as they did," such as the Kotel, which, she said, was "really amazing, and being there with all my friends made it even better."

Schechter was joined by the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Monmouth County, and the two schools arrived in Jerusalem on April 15, and participated in a Holocaust memorial ceremony that night.

The next day featured a visit to the Kotel (Western Wall) -- a highlight for all the trip's participants.

Terri Steinfeld, of Farmingdale, was on her first trip to Israel, and said that the tour through the Old City of Jerusalem, culminating with the Kotel, provided an almost surreal awareness of our ancestors' footsteps.

"It was amazing that I could be walking where people walked so long ago, thousands of years ago," Terri said. "It was just amazing."

The group visited Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, and went on an archaeological dig in Beit Guvrin, followed by a night spent in a Bedouin tent.

After climbing the Roman Ramp to the top of Masada for an unparalleled view of the sunrise, the group took a relaxing float along the Dead Sea.

"My favorite part was the Dead Sea, because it's just amazing to float on water without doing anything," Michael said, adding that the rest of the day's activities were an excellent opportunity to practice his photography hobby -- the group hiked up to David's waterfall at the Ein Gedi oasis.

Emily said the kids also played a game of softball against a day school from Arad, the Jewish federation's partner city with the Partnership 2000 program, which gave them a chance to connect personally with Israeli school children their age.

Amanda Cabey, who was on her first trip to Israel, listed that portion of the trip, with the camel rides, Masada, and the softball game, as a series of highlights.

Before their farewell Shabbat, the kids spent a day at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum and Mount Herzl, where many significant personalities in Israel's history are buried.

The trip had special significance for Piznik as well, since the kids chose her to be their chaperone.

"It was absolutely an honor that they wanted me to come along," Piznik said.

Piznik had never been to Israel, and, as a Christian, enjoyed experiencing the trip from her own perspective, as well as that of her students.

"We were able to share our different faiths, which was amazing," Piznik said.

She said the kids were great, the history -- such as that of places like Caesaria -- was unbelievable, and she didn't expect to be as deeply affected by the Kotel as she was.

"A ton of emotions," Piznik said of what she felt at such significant religious and historical sites. "I cried, I laughed, I didn't expect to feel what I felt. The people are amazing, they're friendly, accepting. I just haven't stopped talking about it since I got back."

Piznik said she would love to go back and visit some of the important Christian sites in Israel, but that it meant a lot to her to watch the students nurture their religious and cultural identities so much in just one trip.

"It was interesting to see them grow in their faith, and to be able to see and to experience things that they've been learning for the last eight or nine years," Piznik said. "And the sharing -- they shared so much with me, and vice versa. It was just wonderful."