Editor’s Note: The following feature article by Crystal Jackson, a NextGen Richmond community member, reflects on her current Masa Israel Journey experience. An article by Daniel Cymes, sharing his current Masa experience, is also on Reflector digital. The JCFR supports Masa through annual allocations through the Annual Campaign to the Jewish Agency, one of the funders of Masa.
I arrived in Israel on August 25, 2025, expecting to have an amazing, life-changing experience!
I was eager to strengthen my connection to my heritage and the Jewish people in Israel, foster personal and professional growth, and spend 10 months volunteering.
So far, my expectations have been exceeded. I have made lifelong connections, tapped into a deeper, inner strength, received clarity, and fostered motivation and commitment in different areas of my personal and professional life.
The program through which I have been able to live and volunteer in Israel is called Masa Israel Teaching Fellowship. The program provides housing, Ulpan classes, and some in-country travel.
As a Masa Teaching Fellow, I teach English in a junior high school in Netanya, Israel, a few days every week. I work with 9 classes of students in 7th-9th grades.
Upon my arrival, I dove in headfirst, searching out volunteering opportunities, exploring the country (national parks, beaches, restaurants, shopping centers), and attending various social events!
Some of the volunteering projects on which I have worked are rebuilding homes in the North, cooking for at-risk teenagers, packing food for displaced and struggling families, playing Bingo and making desserts with elderly citizens and individuals with special needs, and renovating a youth center.
Additionally, I teach two nights each week in a 6th grade English debate club, and I am taking Krav Maga classes.
One of the main highlights of my week is spending Shabbat dinners and sometimes attending a local synagogue for Saturday Kiddush with my host family. I practice Hebrew, and they practice English. They are so welcoming, brilliant, enjoy jokes and laughter, and we have deep, meaningful conversations while enjoying the most delicious Israeli and Yemeni cuisine! When I leave, my stomach and my heart are so full!
Being able to stand in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, when the living hostages were flown overhead to return home was so special! Wow! It is challenging to describe how that felt.
Most recently, thanks to Avi Remetz of JCFR's NextGen, I have connected with the Richmond/Hadera Partnership2Gether. I will be volunteering in a school in Hadera and participating in several upcoming events such as Nashville's Volunteering Day and Richmond's Youth Leadership Group's visit to Hadera.
I am forever grateful for all of the opportunities that being in Israel has presented to me.
Update since original publication:
I recently had the privilege of connecting with Partnership2Gether through a volunteer group from Nashville, TN, and their Partner/Sister City, Hadera in Pardes Chana. We had lunch together and met for round table discussions with local teenagers who will be going to the USA for a visit later this year. We had a great time with meaningful conversations! I look forward to soon connecting with a group that will be coming to Hadera from Richmond!
