After three weeks of incredible learning at Yehivat Makor Chaim in Israel, as part of MTA’s exchange program, our journey was coming to an end and we did whatever we could to maximize every last minute. On our fourth and final week in Israel, we continued to experience new things. We joined our Israeli classmates at our respective shiur rebbe’s homes, where we participated in a seder Tu B’Shevat with our rebbeim and their families. We traveled to Yerushalayim, where we participated in a workshop with a sofer, who taught us how to write the letters that make up our sacred Torah. We visited the Underground Prison Museum, dedicated to those who fought in the various underground movements that were active in Israel before the establishment of the state. We went to a citrus farm, where we worked with Shomer HaChadash, an organization whose goal is to help Israeli farmers maintain their farms and prevent farms from closing. We hiked in the Carmel mountain range, where we experienced a real connection to the land of Israel. We went to Meiron and davened at the kever of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and spent our final Shabbat in Tzfat.

Throughout this once in a lifetime experience, we not only saw, but also felt, that teens are able to make a big difference on the world around us and that if we don’t take action—to help others, to do what’s right—who will? Although we are sad that this amazing adventure is over, we are excited to return home and bring back a group of Makor Chaim talmidim who will spend the next month learning with us at MTA, where they will infuse our yeshiva with the ruach and spirituality that is unique to Makor Chaim.

By Yeshurin Sorscher, Dani Pfeiffer, and Gavriel Silberman

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