Is a year of study in Israel for everyone? Lately, I’m not so sure.

I had the privilege of attending Machon Gold in 1974, the year immediately following the Yom Kippur War. The country was still in shock. We lived through terror attacks and followed the news with a somber intensity. Our school held regular current-events briefings that taught us more than facts — they taught us the pulse of the nation. We were encouraged not only to love the land, but to understand its heartbeat. We didn’t feel like bystanders; we felt woven into the fabric of Israeli life.

Weekends were an adventure. I spent Shabbat in Kiryat Shmona and in towns along the way, traveling the length and breadth of the country. Our classes were taught ivrit b’ivrit — full immersion. I kept meticulous journals that I treasure to this day, and I now share those memories with my children and grandchildren.

Communication with home was rare. I poured a lifetime onto a single thin blue aerogramme. I spoke to my parents exactly twice that entire year — once before Yom Kippur and once before Pesach. To make........

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