As the leaves begin to turn in North America and young people return to school, some teens in grades 10-12 have embarked on a back-to-school trek that spans oceans and time zones. These teens have elected to spend a semester in the URJ Heller High program at Alexander Muss High School in Hod HaSharon, Israel.
Heller High offers teens a unique Reform Jewish experience, including a separate Israel Studies course and special field trips. Alexander Muss High School’s partnership with Heller High gives students a world-class general studies curriculum and a dynamic, pluralistic campus where students learn alongside Jewish teens from around the world.
We talked with Ross London and Adam Vinokur, both URJ Israel Teen Fellows who attended Heller High during the spring 2025 semester, to learn how their time in Israel helped them grow, connect with their Judaism, and change their lives.
URJ: What inspired you to enroll in Heller High?
London: A bunch of my friends had attended and told me about it. I was really interested in Israel before I signed up. I wanted to be genuinely immersed in Israel and its culture and be there longer than just a month over the summer.
Vinokur: I wanted to do it since David Solomon (the former assistant principal of Heller High) actually came to Camp George and spoke to us campers about it. My brother went to Heller High in the 2023 spring semester when he was in 12th grade. After that, I was like, “I need to do this at some point.”
What was something that surprised you about Israel?
Vinokur: For me, it was the place itself. It was a very bright and vibrant country, you know? The air smelled different, the trees looked different, everything looked different, in the best way possible. It was… it was a breath of fresh air from Canada.
London: What surprised me was how many different perspectives people had about the war. I thought that, in Israel, everyone would be united. But there was a lot of dialogue. There was no one answer to any question, and I liked that because it allowed me and my friends to have more complex conversations.
What was a time you felt really close to your fellow students?
Vinokur: Our first time in Jerusalem, we all stood together and made a line overlooking the city at night. It was the first time seeing the city for a lot of us. We closed our eyes, our teachers counted down from three, and we all opened our eyes to see this beautiful skyline with bright lights, the dome of the Rock, and the Western Wall, all from above. When we saw it, we embraced each other. It was just… it was a beautiful moment.
London: I felt like our whole group connected to each other when we had Havdalah on Saturday night. We were singing songs, just being together as a group, and we just connected.
What was your favorite excursion?
London: I think my favorite had to have been when we hiked from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee. It was a three-day hike, with a lot of harsh conditions, but that was when I felt really connected to the land of Israel.
Vinokur: My favorite place was Tel Aviv. I’m very social and crave fun, so I went swimming at the beach with my friends multiple times. During Passover, I went to the beach with one of my friends and we swam until we got to a reef. Then, we stood on the rocks and watched all the crabs climbing around. It was a cool experience.
How did your time at Heller High help you connect with your Judaism?
Vinokur: I think it made me even prouder to be a Jew, connected me more to Israel, and helped me be more outspoken about my views. Anytime someone mentions Israel, I can say, “I was there” and correct misinformation when I hear it. I’m also just more proud to be who I am.
London: I feel like it gave me something that I'd never experienced before. At home, I don't live in a very big Jewish community. Heller High was one of the first times that I was completely surrounded by other Jewish people. It really helped me have more of a Jewish identity.
How did your time at Heller High help you grow as a person?
London: I think it helped me mature a lot because I was around so many people with different opinions that I'd never been exposed to. I was seeing a totally different world than I'd seen before, making new friends, and finding my community.
Vinokur: It made me a lot more independent. It also helped me build my interpersonal and communication skills. It set me up really beautifully for my senior year and prepared me for going to university next year. Without this program, I wouldn't be who I am right now.
What would you tell someone who’s considering applying for Heller High?
Vinokur: I would say that I can vouch for the program. I understand if there’s a bit of worry, but the activities are planned months in advance, and anytime you go on a trip, administration always works to confirm that it will be safe.
London: There's truly no other experience like it. You get to see so many cool things. If you're interested in learning about Judaism and Israel, I think Heller High is definitely the right place; you will be completely immersed in both.
Visit the URJ Heller High website to explore how the teens in your life can experience a transformative semester abroad while deepening their connection to the land and people of Israel.
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