Devorah Miller is studying in Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim (MMY) in the Baka neighborhood of Jerusalem. She is from Passaic and attended Yeshivas Beis Hillel for elementary school and Bruriah for high school.
Her plans for next year? Queens College, where she plans on taking the lessons she’s learned in Israel and applying them on campus.
Why did you choose to learn at MMY?
What initially drew me to MMY was its emphasis on intellectual honesty. They stressed the importance of coming to terms with Judaism through one’s own process, that is within the realms of Halacha. It is incredible to be here to see how that is actualized. As students, we are told that when it comes to avodat Hashem there is not only one path, that avodat Hashem can be shown through diverse teachers from a wide range of backgrounds. Most impressive, though, is how much everyone respects each other, no matter how different their outlook.
What kind of goals do you have for your year? How has being here been different from your expectations?
There is a classic stereotype that one comes to Israel and just “flips out.” This makes it sound like being in Israel just changes you, without any effort. This cannot be further from the truth; anyone coming to Israel for their gap year has to be willing to put in effort in order to change, and it’s really not easy. Being in Israel helps the process, but, even so, change is just hard. MMY is really great about giving you space to do that.
What has been one of the biggest highlights of your year so far?
One of my favorite parts of being in Israel is having many free shabbatot to go and explore the country. My favorite Shabbat was spent in a little yishuv up north called Tzufim. A friend whom I had met on a Pesach program lives there and invited me. I had never been to a yishuv before, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was stunning there, with beautiful flowers and trees planted everywhere. Seeing how dedicated the people in the yishuv are, and the pride they exude in building a yishuv from scratch was so inspirational.
Which of your teachers do you feel like you connected to particularly strongly?
One of the teachers I connect with most is my Megilla teacher, Mrs. Brofsky. Her class uses the stories and lessons of Megillat Esther to understand contemporary issues facing the Jewish people. It is absolutely fascinating, and her fresh outlook on Judaism is truly admirable and one I can really identify with.
What kind of challenges have you faced coming to Israel?
The biggest difficulty of living in Israel is not speaking Hebrew. Although one can pretty much get around speaking English, there are certain times when you must speak Hebrew. It’s hard when normally you’re a pretty competent person, but when it comes to figuring out the Israeli bus system, you’re lost because it’s in Hebrew. When the Israelis perceive you as a stupid American it can be especially rough. However, once you figure it out, all is fine.
What are you most looking forward to for the rest of the year?
I am really looking forward to the rest of this year to continuing to gain clarity in my religious growth.
Have a relative, friend or neighbor learning in Israel this year who’d you like to be featured in JLNJ’s Israel Spotlight? Please contact JLNJ’s Israel Desk for more information: [email protected].
By Tzvi Silver/JLNJ Israel
