It's been seven years since I was last in Israel. That time, I had spent 7-1/2 weeks at Brovender's summer program. Although I had really enjoyed and gained a lot, I felt throughout that I was in a foreign country rather than Eretz Yisroel my home. A lot of that probably had to do with the fact that I was only seventeen years old. But for several years I had no particular interest to return.

In the summer of 5759 (1999) I suddenly realized that Israel was where I most needed to be. Being in Los Angeles I felt so distant from where I belonged. I wanted to daven at the Kotel and to touch the stones. Also, I wanted some time to think, in a place that would be conducive to thinking. I needed to be in Yerushalayim.

It took a few months to work it all out, but finally I was granted a 3-1/2 month leave of absence from my job. I was going home for Pesach and then on to eleven weeks in Israel. My plan: to learn, volunteer for Women In Green, and try to figure out what I should be doing with my life!