Jewish Community Partners

Benjamin Freiden, son of Yoni and Aviva Freiden, is a junior at the Cooper Yeshiva High School for Boys. Memphis Jewish Federation’s Lemsky Endowment Fund provided him with a Teen Israel Experience grant to offset the costs of his B’nai Akiva’s Mach Hach B’Aretz program in Israel. All rising juniors and seniors are eligible for grants of up to $3,000 to attend a recognized teen summer or high school program in Israel. Teen Israel Experience applications for Summer 2025 are open and can be accessed at Lemsky Endowment Fund | Jewish Community Partners (jcpmemphis.org)

This past summer in Israel was especially significant, as it was filled with influential experiences and memorable adventures that were profoundly meaningful spiritually and emotionally to me due to the current situation in Israel. In Israel I made new friends from various regions across America while participating in B’nai Akiva’s Mach Hach B’Aretz program with 450 teens who were divided into eleven buses, each carrying 40 to 50 participants. We started in Hostage Square hearing from a woman whose husband died fighting in Gaza. Also, we had the pleasure of helping arrange a barbecue for Israeli soldiers. I enjoyed traveling around Israel, visiting diverse locations such as Haifa, Tiberias, Eilat, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, hiking in many places, and meeting several familiar faces.

Upon arrival in Israel, the entire Mach Hach program went straight to the Kotel. Everyone was thrilled to be there, cheering, singing, and dancing. We spent our first Shabbat in Jerusalem. This was where our bus first came together, and we started meeting each other. For every Shabbat, we would go to a scenic location right before sunset and sing Zemirot (songs). We sang with a view of the Kotel in the background which was the highlight of my week, and I eagerly anticipated it every Shabbat.

The following week, we started in Haifa, where we hiked and kayaked. After a few nights, we drove to Eilat staying in the Bedouin tents on the way. We rode camels and enjoyed a night in the desert. We woke up at 4:00 am the next day to hike Masada. It was a long hike but inspiring as we davened on the top. (Also, I want to briefly mention how excellent the food was. Everywhere we went, there were more and more restaurants.) We then began the long trip to Eilat stopping at an army base on the way, hearing soldiers talk about their experiences during the war and learning Krav Maga. We spent three nights in Eilat snorkeling and boating. At Har Tzfacho, a mountain in the south, we did a 4:00 am hike and could see Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia from this mountain. We then traveled back north and spent a calm and meaningful Shabbat in Mitzpe Ramon and had a boat ride to visit Rabbi Akiva’s grave in Teveria (Tiberias).

In Kfar Kedem tourist center in Israel which reconstructs the everyday life in the Galilee 2000 years ago, during the Mishna period, we rode donkeys, visited Aqua Kef (floating park on the Sea of Galilee) and experienced inflatables in the Dead Sea. We then returned to Jerusalem for Shabbat Mac Hach, a Shabbat with the whole program. The evening before Shabbat we had a surprise Ishay Ribo concert. Shabbat was fun and crazy and went by extremely fast. The following Sunday was a meaningful day as we went to the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem and Har Herzl. On the 17th of Tammuz fast, we had a meaningful slow shira (sing-along) with the whole camp.

While in Jerusalem for the week, I had the chance to go to the Kotel tunnels and a mud cave. On my “off Shabbat” I had the opportunity to visit my great-grandmother in Jerusalem and stayed at my friend’s home in Ra’anana. This was the first Shabbat where I felt like a part of the Israeli community, even though Ra’anana is very American.

Our last week was an adventure week with many options on exploring aspects of Israel. There were options for the army, Chesed (volunteering), culture, sports, and Yam L’Yam (Sea to Sea Hike.)  I chose the culture track, in which we ate a lot of food, went on tours, and enjoyed numerous museums. Before our last Shabbat in Jerusalem, we visited Hostage Square again and the Museum for the Deaf in Tel Aviv which were great experiences. During our last Shabbat we had our final shira (singing) and went to the City of David and enjoyed a big feast before heading home.

Thank you to Memphis Jewish Federation’s Lemsky Endowment Fund for making my incredible B’nai Akiva’s Mach Hach B’Aretz experience possible.