Articles, Tips & Free Resources

The custom to drink on Purim has become a green light for many gap year students to drink until they are sick, passed out, or exhibiting dangerous or inappropriate behavior. As a parent, learning how to approach drinking on Purim with your gap year child is important as it keeps communication open. In this article, Dr. Eliana M. Aaron shares some tips for parents to talk to your kids about drinking on Purim.

We're part of a great Facebook group of Israel GAP year parents. We've taken the feedback and comments from parents on that list and compiled the ultimate packing lists for seminary girls and Yeshiva boys.

With so many yeshivas, seminaries and general Israel experience programs to choose from, Rabbi Todd Berman, an experienced educator on GAP year programs, provides detailed questions, suggestions, and issues for students and their parents to consider when choosing a GAP year program.

This guide, filled with useful tips and tricks, is about the ‘how’ of packing and focuses on two questions: What types of things should I buy in Israel and what should I bring from home?

Do I need a converter for my hairdryer in Israel? Will my American sheets fit my Israeli bed? Is it better to buy shampoo in Israel?  Check out this short guide to answer some of these questions...

What weight and size blanket should you buy? Will your American duvet cover fit your Israeli blanket? What if you still want to send a blanket from home and pay for an extra bag? What can you do with the blanket at the end of the year? 

"Why can't I bring everything with me from the US?" "What's the reason to order some things from Israel?" "Maybe, I'll just pay for an extra bag". While there are some things (like most of your clothing) that are definitely worth bringing from home, there are a lot of reasons to order a lot of other things from Israel. Here are 5 of them...

In this guest post, Justine Friedman RDN, a clinical dietician, shares some ideas with Israel GAP year students for preparing delicious and nutritious meals, without spending hours in the kitchen (and there are also tips for navigating ingredients in Israel)