USY offers a wide variety of summer programs, starting from driving around the country all the way to Eastern Europe & Israel. To learn more, click here. Check out below for some stories from past USYers who went on
summer programs.
summer programs.
"While we Wheels bus had prepared to see the beautiful sites of the country, we knew that there would be some hard points along the way. One of the harder moments and yet most powerful was when we visited the Tree of Life synagogue in Pennsylvania, where a mass shooting had taken place only a few months prior. We knew ahead of time that we would be visiting the synagogue but when we visited, two mass shootings had just taken place across the country, making the issue of mass shooting and security more prominent than ever. When we got off the bus at the temple, we were met by several congregants and the former Rabbi of the once blossoming shul. One by one they told us stories and memories of each victim of the shooting and their experiences since that tragic day. They told us that we were the generation that would be able to change how the world viewed jewish people, but only if we showed compassion and took a stand for what we believed in. All of a sudden someone started to sing our bus song, ‘Bashem Hashem’, and as more voices joined, we knew that we were no longer just friends but family. Not only with the 35 other members of the bus, but with the Rabbi and congregants of the synagogue. We must have stood there for 20 minutes, arms wrapped around each other, singing all of the sloach songs that we could think of, holding each other as we cried and as remembered those whose lives were lost. Before we left, the former Rabbi of the synagogue came up to me, wiped a tear from my face and said “my child it will be ok we will be ok the jewish people are strong and we will persevere”. Ever since that day, I knew that those 35 strangers on my bus, were no longer strangers but family, and as our trip came to a close we all sat down and remembered that day at the synagogue, we remembered how we each stood by each other during the hardest point of the trip, and promised that we would always be there for one another."
-Naomi Sessler, USY on Wheels Classic Bus B 2019 |
"One of my favorite memories on wheels was the last night of the trip when we all sang Ana B’Koach together for the last time. Although it was the last day of wheels and it was very sad, it really brought us all together. On the first day of the trip our staff taught us Ana B’Koach, our bus song. Towards the middle and end of the trip, it was a song that we were singing everywhere, like on the bus when we has extra long drives or when we were just in our hotel rooms doing nothing. The last night of the trip was especially memorable for me because I may not have been super close with everyone on my bus, but that night made me realize that I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my summer with anyone else. That night we also played a fun bonding game called the spider web. Our group leader started with a ball of yarn. He tied some of the string to his wrist and then threw the ball to someone who he thought had made an impact on the trip. That person did the same, and the ball of yarn was thrown around the circle until everyone had a piece of string on their wrist. We all wore the bracelets after the trip to remember the amazing summer we all had. I made so many great friends on the trip and experienced so many new things. I wouldn’t have traded my summer on "Bus E 2019" for anything else."
-Peri Shandler, USY on Wheels East Bus E 2019 |
"It’s really hard to pick out my favorite day on Pilgrimage, because there were so many great ones that immediately come to mind and it’s very hard to choose. One great day was during the middle of the trip when we were staying in the Southern Part of Israel. That day, we visited David Ben Gurion’s home, fed llamas and alpacas at a farm, rappelled down a cliffside, and finally slept out in the desert. While all of those activities were awesome, I have to say that sleeping out in the desert was an experience I will never forget. We were in an area called Mitzpe Ramon, which looked like a Martian landscape straight out of a sci-fi movie. We put our stuff down and explored the landscape, took pictures on top of the dunes, and then ate dinner at around 8:00. Afterward, we made a fire, played some games, and sang some songs, and it made me truly appreciate the family I had made during the 3 weeks or so I had been in Israel. The crowning moment of that night was when the sun finally went down and we all laid down and stargazed. That night, I saw the most stars I’ve ever seen in my life, and it was with some of the most amazing people I have ever met, who are and forever will be my family."
-Max Parlin, Israel Pilgramage G3 2019 |
"So this summer I went on Poland Seminar/Israel Adventure and had the greatest pleasure of being part of the wonderful Group 3. I’ve been fortunate enough to go on USY on Wheels East and Classic before this, but each program has been made different by the places, the activities, and most importantly, the people. I started this summer in Poland, a place that I don’t even know how to describe. There I learned so much and it truly changed the way I think about the Holocuast and the way I live my life. Then I traveled to Israel for the second time in my life, the first being when I was only eight years old. One night we stayed in the Negev, singing around a bonfire and sleeping under the stars. I’ve never seen a sky so clear and beautiful in my whole time of being alive. Surrounded by the people I love most, under the breathtaking sky of our home, that’s a moment I’ll always remember and hold in my heart. Pilg was the best summer of my life."
-Alana Good, Israel Pilgramage G3 2019 |