Jewish Community Partners

Raanan Vanderwalde, son of Drs. Lindi and Ari Vanderwalde, is a rising senior at the Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys. Memphis Jewish Federation’s Lemsky Endowment Fund provided him with a Teen Israel Experience grant to help offset the cost of his Bnei Akiva Mach Hach Israel trip last summer. All rising high school juniors and seniors in the Memphis Jewish community are eligible for grants up to $3,000 to attend a recognized teen summer or semester program in Israel. Applications for Summer 2025 will open in November. 

In the summer of 2023, I, like many other incoming juniors, traveled to Israel for a large portion of the summer. The program I decided to go on was Mach Hach: a five-week trip that focused on mainly touring different sections of Israel directed by Bnei Akiva. Throughout the trip I explored many parts of Israel and met a lot of kids from around the United States. All in all, I really enjoyed this five-week experience. 

This Israel trip was not my first time in Israel. I had been in previous years on family trips, but I had never been by myself. It was not by chance that I stumbled into Mach Hach in particular; in past years I attended Camp Stone, a Jewish summer camp in Northern Pennsylvania which is also directed by Bnei Akiva. Being involved with the program for many years, it was only fitting for me to attend their Israel summer program, a choice that I do not regret. 

The main focus of the program was touring Israel, and I had the opportunity to see many sites in Israel I had never seen on my previous trips. One of my favorite locations was Eilat. Eilat is very far South and is out of the way of most Israel trips, but on Mach Hach we drove down to Eilat for a day of boating, swimming, and snorkeling. The day in Eilat was one of the highlights of my trip. Another highlight of my trip was the time we spent in the North. Some of the activities that I enjoyed in the North were Aqua Kef, a fun water park on the Sea of Galilee; rafting on the Jordan River; and the countless hikes that we went on where we saw many different views of Israel. Along with the fun activities, we also had very meaningful ones. Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum located in Jerusalem, was a difficult experience but one that could not be missed. 

Going to Israel was not only a great way to see the Jewish land, but it was also a great way to meet new people. Many of the kids on my program live in many different cities around the country, providing me with the opportunity to meet new people and to make new friends. Traveling Israel with other kids my age was a whole new experience for me as compared to traveling Israel with my family. I shared many experiences with my friends, and I made memories that I will never forget.  

One of the things that surprised me when I went to Israel was the lifestyle that people lived there. It was surprising to see so many Jews walking on the streets, a completely different world than that of America. For example, at the Mahane Yehuda Shuk (market) in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), almost everyone was Jewish, especially on Friday afternoon. It was surprising to see so many kosher restaurants; everywhere I went there was something for me to eat. This is just one of the many reasons why I love Israel.  

This trip was one that I will never forget. I saw many different parts of Israel, connected more to my Judaism in part by seeing a whole new Jewish lifestyle, and made many new friends from around the world. The experiences I had on this trip will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

Thank you so much to Memphis Jewish Federation’s Lemsky Endowment Fund for giving me a grant which helped me go on the trip of a lifetime. 

Note: This essay was written before the horrific events of October 7^th.