Jon Warech is the Executive Director of the Hillel at Florida International University.

As the marketing material of Birthright celebrating its 25th anniversary began to go viral in the Fall, I started to do some math and got a little confused. I went on Birthright with University of Florida Hillel in December of 1998… 26 years ago. After an intense five minutes of research, I realized I was on the pilot program for the trip that has come to change thousands of Jewish lives.

In retrospect, with the success of Birthright, that opportunity feels like a big deal, but back in 1998, I was just a guy following a girl on a $500 (it wasn’t free that year) trip to Israel.

Her name was Alison, and I had a big crush.

I was a Freshman at UF, pledging Tau Epsilon Phi, and majoring in journalism, and Alison was instantly the girl of my dreams, once we reconnected in college after a 15-year break from being nursery school sweethearts at Temple Sinai North Dade.

As a writer, the storyline was perfect. Isn’t that what love is all about?

I didn’t think the story would take me to Israel, but let’s be honest, every great Jewish story finds its way to Israel at some point.

I came to UF with a rich background in Jewish life. I attended day school at Sinai Academy in Miami, was President of our synagogue youth group, and was fresh off attending the March of the Living as a senior from North Miami Beach High School.

On the March, after a week of touring Auschwitz, Majdonek and Treblinka, and retracing the steps of Holocaust survival, I vividly remember getting off the plane in Israel and kissing the ground. There was definitely a tear or two running down my face, as I felt an appreciation for Israel’s existence in a way that I had never felt before. Israel wasn’t just about our history, it was about our future. It was our safety net. It was our home. It was the physical proof of “Never Again.”

I didn’t know when I’d ever be back, so when just six months later there was this opportunity to follow Alison to the Holy Land, it was a hard thing to pass up. Nancy Berlin, who South Floridians and the national Hillel community know as the Queen of all things Jewish, made a call or two and got me signed up for what is now known as Birthright.

On the trip we toured the sites, prayed at the Wall, and had the freedom, as recently anointed “adults,” to explore a bit at night, and really feel part of the community rather than just tourists.

There is a moment that stands out as something that I didn’t understand at the time, but I feel differently about now. At one point in the trip, they took us to a scenic overlook, sat us down and asked us to make a financial commitment to the program. They were already keeping the $500, so back then it wasn’t an ask to donate a deposit, but an ask to commit to some level of giving annually for the rest of our lives.

At the time, as a broke college kid, even $18 a year for what I imagined would be a long life, seemed overwhelming. It seemed impossible to fathom a world in which I could just give. It felt like a lot of pressure.

I realize now that it wasn’t about a dollar amount. It was about a commitment to ensuring a Jewish future. It was a commitment to Jewish life. It was a promise to allow other students to follow their Alison to Israel and leave with a better understanding of themselves.

Birthright isn’t just a trip, it’s a chapter in my Jewish journey, and it’s our duty to ensure others have that same opportunity. So, if anyone goes and is asked to make that commitment, take it from me, you’ll appreciate it eventually.

I returned from Birthright, and again didn’t know when my next trip to Israel would be. I dated Alison briefly, and according to Facebook, she’s doing really well. I met other friends that I still have to this day. Just a few months ago, I went to one Birthright friend’s son’s Bar Mitzvah. I spent nearly 20 years in entertainment journalism, writing lifestyle and celebrity life articles for a variety of magazines, and co-authoring a few celebrity memoirs.

Then in 2017 and 2018 (and a few other times since) I went back on the March of the Living, as a chaperone. There was a moment on the 2018 trip when I knew I needed to do more. I knew I needed to make a more meaningful impact on our community.

In Israel on the 2018 trip, I remembered kissing the ground 20 years before. I thought of returning so soon after for Birthright and how, now, so many years had gone by since that last visit, and how maybe I had taken it for granted a bit. I thought of Israel as our Jewish home and the lone reason why the Holocaust would never happen again, even now, when we feel under attack. I thought of how that moment at the overlook, when we were asked to make a commitment, wasn’t a financial burden but rather a commitment to myself. It was an ask to care about the 15 million other Jews in the world and build a better future for all people. I was reminded that Birthright isn’t a prize for being “chosen,” but rather a first step in making that commitment a reality.

A few months after the 2018 March, I switched careers and became the Executive Director of the Hillel at Florida International University. We nurture future Jewish community leaders, educate the masses about Israel and antisemitism, and, of course, we take students to Israel on Birthright.

Students join our trip for a number of reasons. Sometimes they love the idea of a free trip. Sometimes they are looking for connection. Sometimes they’re following an Alison. But all of them leave making that commitment to be the leader they were born to be… even if it takes them 20 years to realize it.

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