• 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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  • Life Over Death

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    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.


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

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    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.


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  • Unexpected Shabbat Encounters

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    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!


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  • Exploring Tel Gezer

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    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.


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  • Learning about Islam in Ein Rafa

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    Today we had a tiyul in Ein Rafa and spoke with Yasmine, who converted to Islam, and her husband Musa. We learned a variety of different topics concerning Islam through out the day.


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  • Joshua and Judges. Tiyul to Sataf Park

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    The walk started from right outside of our rooms, where we live. We walked and walked, over hilly, almost mountainous landscape, until Tzuba seemed a long way behind. We trekked through the woods, over hills, and across a main road with traffic, just to arrive at the beginning of our Tiyul.


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  • Time Flies: A Blog Post by Shaina Morrel

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    Shaina Morrel, a Spring '17 student reflected on the lessons she picked up from Heller High and shared how she plans to stay involved in the Jewish community and how she will stay connected to Israel.


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