Birthright Israel Is the Greatest Gift of All

I'm from Miami, and a biochemistry pre-med student at the University of Florida. My dream is to become a cardiovascular surgeon. My parents are Orthodox and Sephardic, so I grew up passionate about our traditions and customs. I had been hearing about Birthright Israel my whole life. My friends and I had been talking about it since we were in middle school. I saw it as a gift — our birthright to go and learn about the Jewish homeland.

I finally got the chance to go with my university's Chabad. There were eighteen of us, plus our madrich and the rabbi. Many of us are in the same Jewish fraternity, but this trip brought us so much closer and gave us a connection you can't force. Watching everyone — including myself — grow during the trip is something I'll never forget. I feel so connected to all of them now. I consider them brothers. It was an irreplaceable experience.

The Schneider Children's Medical Center was an emotional place. We spent time with children who are sick, and no child should ever have to suffer like that. But it was incredibly rewarding to play with them and see a smile, even when they didn't understand what we were saying. Just that little glimpse of joy is enough to carry you through the day, the week, the month.

When we got there, we met the donors behind the hospital. They had just gotten back from India, where they had helped bring a group of Indian Jews to Israel to make aliyah. That was so special, because the Jewish diaspora runs so deep, and any effort to bring us together is very meaningful.

We saw every kind of family there, including Arab families, Christian families, and very religious Jewish families. There were Jewish and Arab doctors and nurses working together. You hear so much misinformation about how Israel is supposedly an apartheid state, that Arabs have no rights there, that Christians aren't welcome. But then you see the actual reality — everyone coming together, every patient cared for exactly the same. We played with the children, and every one of them was willing to do arts and crafts, to paint, to draw, to smile and laugh with you, no matter who they were or where they were from.

We also saw the gift room and learned about the history of that part of the hospital — how some of the hostages brought back from Gaza after October 7 stayed and recovered there. So many special things have taken place because of this hospital. It's a beautiful thing.

Knowing that Jewish American philanthropists founded this hospital, which now cares for recovering children of every religion and background, motivates me. It makes me want to follow in their footsteps, and one day become a philanthropist contributing to beautiful movements like Birthright Israel. Right before my trip, my dad asked me whether, when I'm older and have money, I'd donate to Birthright. I said of course, without a doubt — and that was before I'd even gone. I hope it becomes a full-circle moment one day, where my peers and I are the ones donating to these causes and becoming part of the history being written there.

The hospital's CEO told us how she had raised her four kids around this hospital — it was like her home away from home. You could feel how meaningful the connections there are: everyone is made to feel special, everyone is treated equally, and everyone goes one step extra and beyond. It is such a special community.

I wanted to understand how life has been since October 7: how the Israeli people are living, grieving, and moving forward. Then I met the IDF soldiers who joined our trip. I became very close with two of them. They seemed so much older even though we're the same age. They felt light-years ahead. They see military service as something they're proud of, something they've wanted to do since they were little kids. For them it's not a “have to,” it's an “I want to.” The soldiers and the IDF are truly protecting us — our right to exist, my ability to walk outside and feel safe.

They asked about my life and were dumbfounded that I get to be at school, with fun and normalcy they can't even dream of right now. It made me realize how much I take for granted. At the end of the day, they are our brothers and sisters, whether we know them or not. It was hard to process — emotional, almost mind-breaking, to understand that on a face-to-face level.

There were other moments on the trip that hit me hard. At Har Herzl, I saw graves of brave people who were my age or even a few years younger. I saw someone who died at fourteen. It weighs on my conscience that people my age are fighting for my right to exist, and it makes me question who I am and what I do with my time.

When we went to the Nova Festival memorial, seeing it in real life was overwhelming, but at the same time I have never felt prouder to be Jewish. I wrapped my tefillin there. I said a prayer. And as emotional as it was, I walked away proud of my identity and my background.

There's a big misconception these days that Zionism isn't Judaism. Anyone who goes on this trip will tell you how wrong that is. A huge part of my Judaism is my Zionism — my belief in the Jewish state, my love for it. Israel is one of the most important parts of being Jewish, if not the most important. It's the state that brought us together and gives us that bond, that safety threshold against the horrors of the past — not just eighty years ago, but the centuries and millennia of persecution and dispersion of the Jewish people. On this trip, you stop thinking of Judaism only as a religion and start understanding it on a deeper level, as Zionist as well.

I'm in Israel right now on Birthright Israel Onward. My internship is in medicinal chemistry research at Bar-Ilan University. It's so special that my love of Israel and my ambition to become a doctor and medical researcher can go hand in hand like this. I'd rather do research here than anywhere else. Somewhere else, I'd feel like just another checkmark. Here, the head of the lab has given me so much attention, responds to my messages immediately, and has made me feel so welcome and at home. You feel special here.

When I have a family, G-d willing, Israel is going to be a big part of who we are. I'll always make the effort to bring them here. Even in terms of whom I marry, I hope for someone with a strong connection to Israel and a solid Jewish background. And I hope that when my kids reach my age, what I've instilled in them won't just encourage them to do Birthright Israel — it'll make it a self-requirement, something they choose without a doubt. I hope they do Onward, too, find their perfect fit, and grow the way I'm growing right now.

If I could speak to the donor who made my trip possible, the first thing I'd say is thank you. This is the best gift you can give to a young person — the best gift you can give, period. For me, and for every Jewish American, Canadian, or Jew around the world able to do this trip, it's life-changing. Through this trip, we get to experience and build that everlasting connection to Israel on a deeper level than we ever imagined possible. It's an out-of-this-world gift you've given me and my Jewish brothers and sisters, and I'm so grateful for it.