Free Trip to Israel in High Demand by Jewish Young Adults

April 26, 2012 - PRLog -- Congregation Beth Israel, 701 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, will recognize the 13th year of Birthright Israel, a program that has sent more than 300,000 Jewish young adults, ages 18-26, on a free ten-day trip to Israel as a way to discover their heritage. The program will be on Friday, May 18, 2012, beginning with a dinner at 6pm and followed by a Shabbat service at 7:30pm. The congregation is extending an invitation to the more than 350 participants in the Greater Hartford area who have been on Birthright in the past five years.

Those who are lucky enough to participate express a profound impact the trip has made on their lives.

"Birthright was an incredible experience that will stay with me for my lifetime,” said congregant Laura Rothman, who went on Birthright right after college. “The chance to discover Israel and learn about my heritage with peers was amazing and I would wholeheartedly recommend the program."

Aaron Smith, a congregant who lives in Manhattan, went on Birthright in 2007. “Birthright Israel is an extraordinary trip. You meet lifelong friends. You learn about Israeli culture and history. You explore beautiful terrain. You discover, in your own way, what it means to be Jewish. It’s just an amazing journey in every way. I look forward to reconnecting with others my age who have gone on this program,” he said.

Senior Rabbi Michael Pincus chose to participate in celebrating the program with other synagogues across the country because it is a way for Jewish youth to keep connected to their Judaism as they leave home and their synagogue community. “Birthright Israel gives our younger generation a unique opportunity to connect to their past as well as with their present,” said Senior Rabbi Michael Pincus. “At our Shabbat celebration, we would like to give these young adults an opportunity to get together and reflect on their common memories.”

Young adults who would like to attend the dinner should contact Cheryl Goldberg, 860-233-8215 x224, cgoldberg@cbict.org, or register online, www.cbict.org. Cost for the dinner is $12.

Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform synagogue whose mission is to serve the lifelong spiritual and educational needs of its congregants, within a welcoming and caring, contemporary Reform Jewish community.