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What does it mean to “practice” Yom Kippur in Israel? How is it different than practicing Yom Kippur anywhere else in the world? This year marked my fourth Yom Kippur in Israel and I believe that main difference is the atmosphere, the surrounding feeling of belonging, of goodness, and of security. Everyone in the country, both fasting and non-fasting, are focused on the same thing. As opposed to holidays, which center around family gatherings, Yom Kippur requires each individual to focus on their own behavior. The collective reflection of self, although individual, unifies the country.             So how does the first Yom Kippur in Israel feel? Here are the thoughts of several students from the class of 2018. One of the students he was amazed by the atmosphere. He expressed that back home Yom Kippur was a regular day unless you were fasting and in synagogue. In Israel however, the whole country is shut down: not one car on the road...

I read a New York Times article recently that really resonated with me. It was about twenty-something young women re-claiming the term “crazy cat lady” and making it cool again (I mean when was it NOT cool?…but I digress.). And so, I’ve been saving my best material for this last blog post. Because when people ask me why I choose to attend MSIH, generally, I lie. I say it’s because of the awesome people from varied educational backgrounds with an impossible array of life experiences. I also say it’s because of the global health curriculum and opportunities to travel abroad and practice medicine in unique climates. But really, truly, I came here for the cats.  My classmates will attest to this. FUN FACT: Israel is home to at least 2 million feral cats (that’s equal to 25% of Israel’s fur-less population)! Aviva with cat in bike basket Here at MSIH, we have a kitten of our own that is growing before our very eyes on the grounds of Caroline House, the place where we do much of our stu...

A common Jewish phrase, usually at the end of the Passover seder, clearly elaborates where we hope to be next year: "Next year in Jerusalem!" Since the Jewish new year is upon us tomorrow, and since our class trip to Jerusalem was last week, I guess you could say it was already last year that we were roaming her streets. The novelty of traveling - and bragging about traveling - to Jerusalem for a day trip has yet to wear off. Our 1.5 hour bus ride through the Negev’s dusty desert scenery was filled with off-key singing and plenty of opportunities to catch some Z’s as the scenery slowly greened and our bus mounted the hills of the golden city. Unfortunately, due to ongoing security concerns, we were unable to visit the old city and her sites. Instead, we were treated to an alternative city tour, starting with some fascinating global health presentations by Hebrew U’s graduating MPH class at Hadassah Hospital, followed by a visit to the Knesset (Israel’s parliament), the windmi...