My Birthright Israel Journey Sparked My Life's Work

Editor's Note: In 2023, Jared Stone shared how Birthright Israel helped him reconnect with Israel and the Jewish people following his experiences as a student leader at Princeton University. At the time, he was writing from Israel during a Masa program, uncertain where his journey would lead next. Three years later, we asked Jared to reflect on how one Birthright Israel experience became the first step toward his life's work.

When I boarded my Birthright Israel flight in December 2022, I thought I knew exactly why I was going. I thought I was saying yes to a trip to Israel. What I didn't realize was that saying yes to one trip would set the course for everything that came next.

Birthright Israel reminded me that Jewish identity is something we continue to grow into. It grows through community, through shared experiences, and through living—even briefly—in a place where Jewish life isn't something you have to search for but is simply all around you.

When my Birthright trip ended, my relationship with Zionism and Israel did not.

The curiosity I found during my trip only grew. I found myself thinking more deeply about Jewish identity, Zionism, and where my own voice fit into those conversations.

I started writing – not because I thought I had all the answers, but because I wanted to better understand these questions.

At the time, I couldn't connect the dots. Looking back now, they're impossible to miss.

Birthright Israel was the first domino to fall. One experience led to another. One opportunity opened the door to the next. Before I realized it, what began as a ten-day trip had become the start of my life's purpose.

That path eventually led me to write my college thesis on early Zionist thought and my first book, A Brief History of Israel and the Jewish People, endorsed by today's preeminent Jewish thought leaders.

And the conversations these works sparked inspired me to found Davar, a national initiative for Zionism and Israel literacy, which brings educational programming and meaningful conversations about Israel, Jewish identity, and Zionism to synagogues, day schools, and Jewish communities across North America.

So today, at just 24 years old, I have the privilege of spending my time helping Jews of all ages engage more deeply with those same questions that first took root during my Birthright Israel journey.

My dreams are not small.

I want to spend my life helping shape the future of Jewish identity and the national conversation around Zionism.

I want to inspire young Jews to rethink Zionism and give them the tools to do so.

I want to help forge a new Zionist consensus that prepares American Jewry for the future while strengthening our connection to our brothers and sisters in Israel.

These aspirations didn't appear overnight. They grew one experience, one conversation, and one opportunity at a time.

I also know I'm only at the beginning of my journey. But it's humbling to realize that none of it—the questions I asked, the book I wrote, the communities I now visit—would have unfolded had I not gone on Birthright Israel.

People often think the impact of Birthright Israel can be measured in ten days.

I don't think that's true.

The real impact reveals itself years later in the choices participants make, the communities we build, and the lives we go on to lead.

If you have ever wondered what your support of Birthright Israel can mean for someone like me, or for your own children and grandchildren, I hope my story is a reminder that you never really know what one trip might set in motion.

If my journey has taught me anything, it is that Birthright Israel is not just about where you go or who you meet over the course of ten days. It is about what those ten days make possible.

Everyone's path unfolds differently, but each begins with the same opportunity: to experience Israel firsthand, deepen their connection to the Jewish people, and discover something about themselves they may not have known was there.

My story is just one example. And there are thousands more young Jewish adults still waiting for their chance to discover where ten days in Israel might lead them.

One trip really can change everything.

Learn more about Jared's work, purchase a copy of A Brief History of Israel and the Jewish People, and explore Davar programming at davarinitiative.org.