Pirkei Avot, Ethics of Our Fathers says: בן זומה אומר: איזהו חכם, הלומד מכל אדם
“Ben Zoma would say: Who is wise? One who learns from every person.” Every morning when my daughter Madeline and son Ariel would go to school I would lovingly tell them to “ask questions,” because our Jewish tradition and this Pirkei Avot teaching underscores how crucial it is for a meaningful life to be curious to learn, and to be open to the wonder of learning something from everyone we encounter – sometimes learning substantive knowledge and/or middot or character traits to model and sometimes learning middot or character traits not to model.
I was thrilled that Ariel went on USY Chidush trip to Israel because it invited Ariel to embrace this Pirkei Avot teaching of learning new things from different people and provided him with an innovative, new immersive experience in Israel with his peers where he had the tremendous opportunity to experience both traditional beautiful sites in Israel, such as the Kotel in Jerusalem and experiencing a Shabbat in Jerusalem and the conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem at the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center, thought provoking discussions with staff and peers, as well as unique experiences in Israel, including visiting the new Knesset building, bargaining on his own in the Jerusalem Shuk market, visiting the Maccabee Tel-Aviv Soccer Team Store, thank God tasting delicious barekas at a Tel Aviv tasting tour, enjoying shwarma, visiting patients from different countries who are God willing awaiting surgeries in Israel, packing food for IDF soldiers, surfing in a man-made lagoon in Tel-Aviv, and having dialogue with peer Israeli teens on the Israel and Gaza war and God willing the future of Israel.
USY Chidush Israel provided a dynamic immersive experience in Israel for my son Ariel that invited him to try new things, meet other U.S. and Israeli teens some he has still kept in touch with, and thank God helped Ariel to continue to build a beautiful keser connection with the land of Israel.
Rabbi Keven Tzvi Friedman
Ariel’s Dad
For the second year in a row, we held our Winter Break program in Israel, called Chidush. A Chidush is a new insight, and we wanted to expose our teens to what is happening in Israel today, so that they could gain a new perspective on Israel. Thirty-one teens from across North America joined us on this week-long journey. We visited newly opened sites, including the new Knesset Museum and Israel’s first artificial surfing centre (the largest of its kind in the world), met with teens from Modiin and Ofakim, heard from expert speakers, and volunteered. Our visit to Machane Yehuda market on Friday was also revealing for our teens. I have not seen it as busy since before October 7th. For me, the most powerful moment was visiting the grave of Omer Neutra z”l. Omer, a former USY leader, was killed in action on October 7th, and his body was returned to Israel only in November 2025. By chance, Omer’s parents and brother, who had flown into Israel the day before, were by his grave when we arrived. It was a massive privilege for us to hear about Omer from his parents, and hugely impactful for both Omer’s family and us. It also symbolized Israel at the end of 2025. We are still mourning and grieving, but at the same time, determined to build a more hopeful future.
– Benjy Behrman, USY’s Director of Education
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