Written exclusively for Pack for Israel by Chef Sara, a professional chef specializing in food allergies and cooking therapy, this guide covers everything parents need to know—from decoding Hebrew food labels to safely navigating dining halls, restaurants, and grocery stores during a gap year in Israel.

From toiletries and towels to shower caddies and sun protection, this guide covers the personal care and bathroom essentials every gap year student needs, including what to bring from home and what to buy in Israel.

Doing your own laundry for the first time in yeshiva? From keeping your white Shabbos shirts white to washing tzitzis properly and avoiding common rookie mistakes, this practical guide covers everything every bochur needs to know before laundry day.

A practical guide to finding public bathrooms in Jerusalem when you need them most. From shopping areas to tourist spots, here’s how to stay comfortable while exploring the city without stress or surprises.

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? 

After sending her first kid on GAP year and then getting ready to send her second child, Tracy Schultz realized that that there are no easily accessible  'to-do' lists to prepare for the year. Tracy took action and gathered feedback from other GAP year parents and students to compile this comprehensive preparation checklist for new GAP year parents.

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?

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.

To answer this question, we combed the “Israel GAP Year Parents” Facebook group and reviewed literally hundreds of comments by GAP year parents. In this article we’ll give you an overview of the main factors to consider when addressing this issue.

In this guest post, psychologist and director of guidance at Midreshet Lindenbaum, Dr. Rebecca Mischel provides guidelines for having a few intentional conversations before your daughter boards the plane that can make all the difference in preparing her for a successful, healthy and meaningful year.

In this guest post, Ariella Taragin, founder of Ready.Set.Sem, provides the go-to guide on what NOT to bring to Israel and to leave out of your suitcase!

In this guest post, Dr. Rebecca Mischel, psychologist and director of guidance at Midreshet Lindenbaum, shares key points for navigating seminary acceptance decisions, emphasizing that how families handle both the decision process and potential disappointment can shape the year ahead for their daughters.