After Shabbat - Matt Kaplan

Matt Kaplan

1/14/2012

Today is Saturday and the trip is near its end. So far I have had a wonderful time on this adventure. Not to be cliché, but I feel very close to almost everyone on this trip. We have done so many wonderful things on this trip that will live with me for the rest of my life. To be brief, my favorite parts of the trip have been the spiritual and religious events that we have done. The Rabbi has really opened my eyes to the aspects of my religion with fascinating traditions and practices. I have put on teffilin, did a micva in the spring, and went to services. I have made it a duty to myself to not turn anything down and to try everything. This trip has changed the way that I think about Judaism and the way that I think about what is really important in life. I woke up the morning of Shabbat and I thought to myself that I don’t really care what is going on back in New York with the things that I usually go a day without checking up on; and it’s a really nice and humbling experience. I don’t really care about what my friends are doing or how the NFL playoffs are going. I don’t really care at all; and it feels great. I pretty much only care about my friends here and the activities that we do. I thought when I came on the trip that I was going to try to call my friends or check my Facebook, but I really don’t care at all. I’m so enthralled with this experience. Also, I am a huge junkie for information. Benni has pumped my head with countless amounts of information that is all interesting and prudent. He has found a way to get me to become interested in topics that I could not care about earlier. I am so happy that we get to do things on this trip that I would never get to do in my life if I did not go on this trip. I am really excited to see what the rest of the trip has in store for me and the rest of the group. Speaking of our group, usually groups will find a way to form into cliques but I think this one has passed the test. At first it is easy to hang out with a few people, but as we go through these events together, we grow symmetrically. Finally, I am so happy that I am surrounded by Jews. At home I don’t get much contact with Jews at all and this is a terrific change of pace. I don’t know why, but when I am around a Jew I feel like that person is already my family, and that makes it so easy to get to know him/her. This trip has exposed me to a new world of expression, spirituality, religion, and learning, and anyone would be blessed to have the experience that I have had so far.