• More Than Just Sweetness

    on

    Growing up, I was always taught to love Israel. Looking back, my early love might have had something to do with sugar being involved whenever we were learning about Israel. In Shabbaton we made sugar-cookie and frosting maps of Israel; friends would come back from Israel with pop-rocks crackling chocolate; and some of the first words I learned in Hebrew were “glidah” (ice cream) and “oogah” (cake).


    Continue reading

  • Meet the Fall 2018 Madrichim

    on

    With less than one week to go until the departure of Fall 2018, our staff in Israel are hard at work getting ready for the arrival of our newest students. Three of those staff are our wonderful Fall 2018 Madrichim (counselors)--Nitzan, Mili, and Omri. Our Heller High Madrichim play a crucial role in the success of a semester. They are the staff who interact the most with our students--planning programs, accompanying them on all trips, and serving as mentors and advisors to them during their four months in Israel.


    Continue reading

  • School’s Out For Summer

    on

    On June 1, the Spring 2018 semester of Heller High came to a close. The students have returned, and the final transcripts have been sent; summer is here and school is out! So what does the Heller High staff do now?


    Continue reading

  • Learning about Israeli Politics: a day in a Mock Knesset

    on

    Each semester, all Heller High students participate in a Mock Knesset--a full group, day long activity that introduces the basics of how the Israeli government forms and operates. The Knesset, which literally means "gathering" or "assembly," is the Israeli national legislature, responsible for passing the nation's laws and electing its leaders. 


    Continue reading

  • URJ Heller High to Offer $1,000 Tuition Discount for the Fall 2018 Semester

    on

    Since its inception in 1961, URJ Heller High (formerly NFTY-EIE) has been our Movement's most intense, challenging and rewarding Jewish living and learning Israel experience for teens. URJ Heller High alumni have gone on to be leaders of Jewish communities across North America and around the globe. For many, their semester was the transformative event of their young lives.


    Continue reading

  • Life Over Death

    on

    The first thing I saw this morning was  lichen [slow-growing plants] growing on a tombstone in what was once a thriving Jewish shtetl in Poland, a true Kehillah Kedoshah, Tykocin.


    Continue reading

  • “An Unforgettable Experience”- the Spring 2018 Parents’ Pilgrimage

    on

    Last week, 90 travelers returned from the most recent Heller High “Parents’ Pilgrimage.” Each semester, family members of our students are invited to join the program in Israel for a unique and inspiring ten-day trip.


    Continue reading

  • Unexpected Shabbat Encounters

    on

    As Shabbat approaches, I want to share with you an exceptional experience we had last week at Kibbutz Tzuba. On Shabbat morning, we were joined by Daryl Messinger, Board Chair of the URJ and her husband, Jim Heeger, who is also deeply involved in Jewish communal leadership. It is not every week that we are joined by such distinguished guests!


    Continue reading

  • An Early Morning with Women of the Wall

    on

    It was a Friday morning at 7:00 AM in the Old City of Jerusalem. The winding alleyways were slowly beginning to stir as the shopkeepers prepared for the last few hours of business before Shabbat arrived. Outside the walls surrounding the ancient city center, downtown Jerusalem was just starting to wake up.


    Continue reading

  • Exploring Tel Gezer

    on

    While Tel Gezer has many advanced archaeological findings, two particular places related the most to the Bible. The connection between artifacts and the Bible to prove its legitimacy is called historicity. The first example of historicity we saw is called Solomon's Gate. When it was originally excavated in 1905 by McCallister, the gate did not show any sign of being almost 3000 years old.


    Continue reading