First Tiyul for AMHSI(Alexander Muss High School in Israel)

This week we went to Jerusalem for our tiyul. We visited Mount Gilboa, the Western Wall, and Ben Yehuda street among many other places. This trip was a very interesting experience. I consider myself somebody who is not very involved in religion, and for me, this tiyul made me seriously consider what, if any, parts of religion were important to me. One significant part of the trip for me was the trip to the Western Wall. When we got there, I was able to truly see what religion can be to people. For some it was so holy that they would spend hours upon hours at the wall, praying and crying their eyes out. For others, it was less significant, and these people would spend little time at the wall, doing what they thought was sufficient to their beliefs. When I arrived, I was not sure how I would feel about the wall and how I approach the situation on my hands. Would I pray and make this experience one that would enrich my religious beliefs, or would I do the norm and write a note, stick it in the wall, say a couple words and leave. When the situation came to be, I was shocked with the decision I had made. I decided that this was a important religious moment for me, and that I should take advantage of it as much as I can. Because of this, I had a Rabbi wrap me in T'fillin, and I said some important prayers. Then, I thought deeply to myself how truly lucky I was to be there, and how important it was that I was there. This moment was a defining moment in my life. Some of my ancestors before me did not have the opportunity to share this luxury, and to be able to be at the Western Wall became special for me. It became something that was more than religion to me, and something that would enrich my spirit. I felt closer to God from this experience, and because of that my religion has enriched as well. I came on this trip to figure out what religion truly meant to me, and today I felt closer to religion. I felt as if religion was a bigger part of my life than it was yesterday, and that is important to me. I have only been on this trip for a week now, and I am starting to feel closer and closer to my religion than ever before. This trip is a blessing, and I am so thankful to be here. God is becoming a bigger and bigger part of my life, and AMHSI is helping that happen.