Before coming on a Mayanot Birthright trip, Ezra Weissman knew very little about Israel. Yet a 10-day trip was enough to inspire the 25-year-old from New York, not only to return to Israel, but to make it his permanent home.
“I always wanted to come and visit Israel, yet it is a hard trip to coordinate, especially when you are in college or have just finished high school. You don’t really have a lot of money and don’t really know how to do a trip like this unless it is coordinated,” explains Weissman.
“A friend told me about Mayanot Birthright and so I came on it. I loved Israel from the moment I got here and knew that I wanted to live here,” he says.
Upon returning to the U.S. after the program, Weissman would spend his time following Israel in the news, speaking to friends about potential programs in Israel and attending Hebrew classes at university.
3 years after his initial visit to Israel with Mayanot Birthright, Weissman, a graduate of Public Health from Hofstra University in Long Island, moved to Israel, after which he was recruited into the army.
There he put his degree into use as medical coordinator at the Kirya Base in Tel-Aviv where he is responsible for coordinating health projects such as swine flue vaccinations, water inspections and distributing health information to soldiers.
Weissman has been pleased with his army experience where he has had the opportunity to meet immigrants from around the world. “My first experience in the army was a three-month-long basic training and Hebrew course for olim [new immigrants], half of which we soldiers were from the former Soviet Union. The rest were from France, America, England, New Zealand and South Africa,” says Weissman.
While at times learning the language has proven to be challenging, Weissman jokes that being an immigrant in the army can sometimes work to his advantage. “It has been hard for me, especially with the language, although not having Hebrew has helped me at times,” he explains.
“Once I was caught by the officer in military police; you can be punished for forgetting to fasten a button on your shirt. I had forgotten my beret and pretended I didn’t speak Hebrew. They let me off with just a warning,” he says.
Recently, Recently Weissman ‘completed the cycle’ by joining a Mayanot Birthright group led by Rabbi Shmuel Posner from Boston, as part of a “mifgash” – encounter between IDF soldiers and Birthright participants.
Asked about his experience the second time around with the Mayanot Birthright group, Weissman says that is wonderful being back on the trip. “I hope I can inspire people [Birthright participants] to consider spending more time here. Perhaps some people will consider coming to live here,” says Weissman.
Is that Rabbi Levi I see???
Not from Boston though…..