The Land of Milk and Honey and Forst Teenagers
                                                                      by Vicky Forst*

This summer, the three Forst children had the opportunity to venture overseas to the great land of Israel.  Each of us went on separate trips, but all came home with a new understanding and passion for the place we call our “homeland.”  The three of us went on completely different programs:  my older sister Amanda went as part of a UCF organized “Birthright” trip, my twin brother Andrew was part of the Palm Beach Jewish Teen Initiative’s Gesher Hai trip, and I followed-up on my 2009 Gesher Hai experience by returning as a Bonim Fellow.  Each of our trips had its own unique spin, so none us had the same experience to share upon our return home! 
Amanda was the first of the Forst children, or should I say “young adults,” to begin her journey.  Accompanied by 40 other college students, Birthright spent ten days on the ground, traveling to some of the major cities and landmarks across Israel.  Beginning with Jerusalem and passing through areas such as Tel Aviv, Caesarea, Masada, and the Golan Heights, Amanda learned a great deal of history about the “Holy land” and got a feel for the Israel culture and lifestyle.  For a couple days of her trip, her group was actually accompanied by some Israeli soldiers, who Amanda became especially close with. 
 She explained, “I really felt connected to the country after spending time with the soldiers.  I was able to get a perspective from someone my own age, which not only helped me understand the country better, but also let me develop a friendship and learn how different life is growing up for them than my own.”
 Andrew was the next in line to embark on his adventure, called Gesher Hai.  His trip’s 28 participants were 15-17 year-old teens.  Andrew, on the verge of turning 18, was one of the more “mature” teens in the group.  Nevertheless, he had as much fun as anyone else during the month-long program.  Gesher Hai included all elements of “the most amazing trip ever!” I can also speak on behalf of this program, as I am an alumnus of Gesher Hai 2009.  Andrew’s experience was much like my own from the previous summer.  He traveled to exotic places and participated in extreme activities such as racing down sand dunes in the Negev dessert, repelling in the Ramon crater, snorkeling in the Red Sea, and riding camels provided by Bedouin Israelis.  Andrew’s group was also treated to a traditional Druze meal, with my brother remarking that this was one of the best meals he had ever had.
Andrew also repeated a special experience that I had in 2009—spending Shabbat with the Wechsler family.  All of the “children” were home, including Adom, who is as wonderful (and tall) as we all remember, and is proudly serving in the Israeli military.  Yael is the same beautiful and charming young lady as the Hebrew school teacher Amanda had at TBH.  Of course, Ari and Shira are no longer little kids, as they’ve inherited Ken’s tall genes, as well as Michelle’s spirit.  Gesher Hai is an incredible trip, but Andrew and I both reflected that our visit with the Wechsler family, with whom we were very close when they lived here, was one of the most special parts of the trip.
 An interesting aspect of Gesher Hai is that each participant is hosted by an Israeli family for about a week.  Each participant heretofore experienced Israel as a group, but through being hosted, everyone had their own individual memory to look back upon.  I have remained in touch with the teenage girl whose family hosted me last year, and I had the opportunity to return the favor and welcome her to our home when she was one of a group of Israeli teen ambassadors attending a program at the Palm Beach JCC last December.. 
 I was the third Forst to leave for Israel this summer, to revisit the “gem” of my past.  Unlike Birthright and Gesher Hai, which are mainly touring trips, the program I went on, Bonim Fellows, consisted of mostly community service and volunteer activities.  I along with 7 other students were selected by the Palm Beach County Jewish Federation to participate in this elite program.  However, unlike some of the other teens in my group, I went to Israel about 10 days before the program began so that I could independently travel and revisit some of my favorite places and see friends from the summer before.  I traveled with a Palm Beach friend I had met last summer and we stayed with her relatives and with friends we had made last summer.  My frivolity ended as quickly as it began and before I knew it the rigorous events of Bonim started. Each day our group began by renovating a section of a recreational park through a program called “Liv Not,” which translates to repairing the world, repairing yourself.  We also worked with an organization called “Youth Futures” which is an organization that works with at-risk and underprivileged children.  Our group and the children from Youth Futures made mosaics with the theme “Tikun Olam.”  Although Bonim Fellows was one of the hardest things I have ever done, I would repeat this experience in a heartbeat!
 I think that I, along with my siblings, can speak on behalf of any teen, or any person for that matter who has visited Israel and I can sincerely say that if you have never visited there, you have to go!  It is a beautiful country inhabited by beautiful people.  It is a country full of history, but also a modern country, with Tel Aviv reminding me of the nicer parts of south Florida.  Having had the opportunity to travel and study (there are a number of lectures in both the Gehser Hai and Bonim programs) in this land, all three of us share a greater appreciation for our religion and our culture and our people and we all would love future opportunities to visit and perhaps live (not permanently mom and dad!) in Israel.  Our three trips might have been different but, in the end, I think we can all agree that our summer exoduses were nonetheless “Sababa! (“awesome”)”
*Vicky Forst turned 18 on August 24 and is a senior at Martin County High School, where she is the co-editor in chief of the school newspaper.  Her twin brother Andrew is the president of the class of 2011 and a recent graduate of Florida’s Boys’ State program.  Nineteen year-old Amanda is a sophomore at the University of Central Florida, majoring in engineering.