In AJU’s Miller Introduction to Judaism program, our class about Israel opens with the following question: Given the fact that for most of Jewish history, the majority of the People of Israel has lived in the Diaspora, how did we maintain a connection with the Land of Israel for thousands of years?  Students, many of whom are considering conversion, marvel at the fact that the land their partners or friends have spent perhaps just 10 days visiting, constitutes such a central facet of Jewish identity. Read more...

When Rabbi Yehuda Loew, the 16th century rabbi of Prague, received word of an imminent pogrom driven by a vicious blood libel, he prayed for divine help. In a dream, he saw ten Hebrew words forming an alphabetical acrostic: "Create a Golem of Clay, Destroy Those Tearing Israel's Heart." Read more...

Israel's existence is a miracle: After wandering in exile for almost twenty centuries, the Jewish people have returned to their homeland where they govern a Jewish state, speak the ancient language of the Torah and the Mishnah, and conduct their daily routine in the neighborhoods of Isaiah and King David. It is easy to take this collective resurrection for granted. Even after visiting Israel three times, I still forget how astonishing the establishment of Israel really is. Occasionally, however, a simple intrusion in my life can abruptly focus my amazement on that little state. Read more...