• $1,000 Discount Announced for Fall 2019

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    The Fall semester of this program presents a unique opportunity for students: they get to celebrate High Holidays and Hanukkah together; build a very close, tight-knit community; and experience the beauty of autumn in Israel as they hike, climb, swim and explore.


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  • Just Like Me: Meeting Israeli Students from Brenner High School

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    Nobody said that moving halfway across the world for four months would be easy. During my first couple weeks at URJ Heller High, the new challenges that I faced forced me to mature and reach out of my comfort zone. Adapting to such a unique environment can be a difficult task for some, but the opportunities that the program provides make it easier for us to adjust to our new home. One of these opportunities was our trip to visit Israeli students at Brenner High School.


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  • 10 Fun Facts about the Spring 2019 Madrichim

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    Spring 2019 departs in just a few days, and our staff in Israel are hard at work getting ready for the arrival of our newest students. Six of those staff are our wonderful  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.


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  • Jew Is Right? (Part One of Two)

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    With the promise of breakfast in the Zula (student lounge) due to Israel's municipal election day, and Jewish History class in the Belmont lecture hall, we all got up excited and interested to see how class that day would go. As we all got seated in the Belmont (lobby of Tzuba Hotel), we discussed our expectations for the day.


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  • Outside the Classroom With Evan and David

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    In Judaism, tombs are lessons and graves are meant to teach us about life. They are to be visited and reflected on. And that is exactly why parents and students traveled to Galil, the north of Israel, to visit an ancient Jewish necropolis from 200 CE, Beit She’Arim. This tiyul, or field trip, was aimed at continuing the classroom Jewish History study of Oral Law and the Mishnah that Evan and David had started with Heller High earlier in the week.


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  • Inside the Jewish History Classroom With Evan and Talia

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    What hits you first is the noise. This is not a quiet classroom. This is not a lecture hall. No one sits back or fades away - there just isn’t a chance to. A Heller High Jewish History class is a kinetic, active, participatory space where students and teachers respond to each other with enthusiasm and equal power, taking individual responsibility for learning but also working together as a cohesive unit towards a common goal of study.


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  • More Than Just Sweetness

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    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).


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  • Meet the Fall 2018 Madrichim

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    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.


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  • School’s Out For Summer

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    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?


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

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    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. 


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