URJ Heller High

A view of Jerusalem and the Western Wall

Building Deep Relationships with Israel: URJ Heller High and the People of Israel

Rabbi Loren Sykes

March 16, 2023

Heller High aims to build deep, lasting relationships between North American Jewish teens and Israel, developing the next generation of Reform Jewish Zionists. The Heller High program gives students the opportunity to learn from and get to know different groups of Israelis.

Two men holding doves in their hands while wearing bucket hats

teens

My Gap Year in Israel is the Best Decision I’ve Ever Made

Josh Glucksman

February 23, 2021

Israel is our home. It was in the Torah, and it is now. It sure isn’t perfect, and it might not be around forever, but that’s exactly why we need to come.

A group of Heller High students, including the author's daughter in the front row all the way to the left

teens

4 Ways a Semester in Israel Prepared My Daughter for Life

Sara B. Charney

May 14, 2019

URJ Heller High integrates academic, social, and emotional learning, powerfully transforming teens’ Jewish identities. Learn how it prepared my daughter for her future.

Dachau concentration camp is visible in the distance behind a long barbed wire fence

URJ Heller High

Know Before Whom You Stand: A Poem for the 6 Million

Rabbi Loren Sykes and Ellie Sherman

April 19, 2017

This poem reflects the intensity of bearing witness at Majdanek, the Nazi extermination camp located in Lublin. The title, “Know Before Whom You Stand,” is a phrase that often appears above the Ark in the sanctuary of the synagogue.

Bowl of Jerusalem hummus next to a ripped pita

Israel

Making the Case for Israeli Hummus

Dan Garwood

February 9, 2014

I have eaten hummus for breakfast. Just hummus, with help from its good friend pita. Same goes for lunch and, on occasion, dinner. Hummus is not just an appetizer, nor a condiment; really good hummus is a satisfying meal unto itself.