Hayden Miller, daughter of Paige and Jed Miller, is a senior at Hutchison School (pictured left with her friend Sydney Shemper in Jerusalem). Memphis Jewish Federation’s Lemksy Endowment Fund provided her with a Teen Israel Experience grant to help offset the cost of her NFTY L’Dor V’Dor (Jacobs Camp) program in Israel. All rising high school juniors and seniors in the Memphis Jewish community are eligible for grants up to $3,000 to attend a recognized teen summer or semester program in Israel. Teen Israel Experience applications for Summer 2022 are now available online. To learn more and apply, please go to: www.jcpmemphis.org/lemsky-endowment-fund.
By: Hayden Miller
Most people live a lifetime battling some sort of internal conflict; often this conflict is their religion. Growing up I felt ashamed to be Jewish and would hide this piece of my identity as best as I could because of my conservative Christian community. When I came of age to have a Bat Mitzvah, I was so ashamed of being different that I invited no one. This past summer completely changed the way I feel about my Jewish identity. After spending the summer in Israel with my life-long friends, I now have a vastly different understanding of Judaism, which has led to a new understanding of myself. In Israel I saw and did the craziest things that I will remember forever.
As I laid in the Negev desert staring at the sky blanketed in stars, I knew this summer was going to be more than a vacation with my camp friends. In the first week of the trip, we endured physically intense hikes and vast changes in everything we were accustomed to. However, all of that was secondary to the beautiful views, the amazing new people, and all the interesting things we quickly learned within our first seven days in the Holy Land. I am sure most teens who attended the NFTY Israel Summer trip would agree the first week was jam packed with unique experiences. The hikes were not only breathtaking but eye opening, and as our tour guides and leaders shared personal anecdotes or wise words, I would take that time in solitude to reflect on these lessons. Although I had learned about the Torah through religious school, the lessons never resonated with me until I was in the Holy Land.
Without even realizing it, in my month in Israel I learned immense amounts about Judaism, Hebrew, Israeli culture, and the conflicts in the Middle East while having the most incredible time of my life. This past summer I learned how fully encapsulating Israel is. I was completely ignorant of the complexity of the country’s cultural and geographic diversity. Our group went from engaging in conversation with orthodox Rabbis at the Western Wall to sharing a meal with Arab Israelis. We went from spending chilly nights in the desert to sizzling temperatures at the Dead Sea. We went from city to rural, from Temple to Mosque, and more making the experience impactful.
I cannot wait to return to Israel to see what more this diverse country has to offer. I am forever grateful for this experience and will never forget the memories made and the lessons learned in Israel.
Thank you to Memphis Jewish Federation’s Lemsky Endowment Fund for helping to make my NFTY L’Dor V’Dor Israel trip memories possible.