Education
As a teacher at Alexander Muss High School in Israel (Muss), I am reminded every day that even in a time where the entirety of human knowledge is available in the palm of our hands, nothing can replace the educational impact of experiential learning. At Muss, Jewish National Fund-USA’s study abroad experience for high school teenagers, Israel is our classroom, and that leads to transformational moments that change our students’ lives.
Recently, we were traveling back to campus from Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city, when we stopped to meet Geula Hadarai, a founder of the Beta Israel Heritage Center which shares the story of Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Hadarai recounted to our students her journey as a 10-year-old child who walked across the African desert to make aliyah and immigrate to Israel.
As she spoke about her journey, she told of fear, hunger, and exhaustion—but above all, she spoke of hope. She described her family’s dreams of reaching Jerusalem, of the songs they sang along the way to keep their spirits alive, and of the unshakable belief that they were part of something bigger.
For our students, Geula wasn’t just a guide. She was living history and she taught them something they would never have encountered back home. Her story brought to life the themes we study at Muss: exile and return, struggle and triumph, memory and identity.
At Muss, our promise to students is to “make Israel your living classroom.” This means that our “Israel Studies” classes occur half in a traditional classroom and half on trips. As we explore our history, the texts discussed in class come alive as we walk where David faced Goliath, crawl in the caves where Simon Bar Kokhba resisted the Romans, and swim in the waters where the Mossad l’Aliyah Bet smuggled Jewish refugees during British rule. These experiences deepen our understanding and connection to the Jewish story.
Often, however, the greatest classroom is not the hills and rivers, no matter how awe-inspiring they are. Where our students have many of their most meaningful encounters is with the incredible people of this small country.
In moments like these, Israel becomes more than a classroom; it becomes a place of connection, growth, and discovery. Our students don’t just study the past; they meet the people who carry its legacy forward. They see how memory shapes identity, how resilience and hope are woven into everyday life, and how they, too, are part of this unfolding story.
Whether walking through history or hearing it firsthand, our students leave with more than knowledge—they gain a lasting connection to the Jewish people and the land of Israel. Muss reminds us that real learning happens offline—through footsteps, handshakes, and heartbeats.
That’s what makes Muss magic.
Explore life-changing high school study abroad opportunities at amhsi.org or watch what student life at Muss is like at jnfusa.org/MussTV
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