A Summer of Scrubs and Shabbats
Rabbi Meister and I were learning one day in our weekly one-on-one. Rabbi Meister paused, thinking for a second, and he said, “You want to go to Israel, and you want an internship, why don’t you do Jinternship?”
I responded “okay,” and started looking into it. My plans to intern in “trauma, military, and emergency medical” fell through. The program was cancelled due to insufficient participation, leading me to join ALT. I was soon accepted and then contacted Rabbi Ruvein Katz, the director. He called one afternoon. We talked for about 15 minutes about the program and what I would be doing.
With the help of Dr. Rubert Lubin, I decided on the specialty I would be interning in/shadowing as a premed student. I ended up choosing radiology, and scrub-in time with Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery). Then I just had to wait. School was going to be over in a couple of weeks, and then I would leave for my first trip to Israel.
When I landed, I was so happy. Something about being on the land that our forefathers and foremothers settled in was tangible. There was a sense of joy, and I set out to start the program in Jerusalem. When I got to the first apartment, there was one other person there, though we didn’t get to talk much because I went to sleep right away from the jet lag. A couple of hours later, my program director woke me up for dinner. The guys in our apartment were in premed together and were all going to Haifa in two weeks. Then we went to meet the other guys. When I got there, Rabbi Katz was waiting with shirts, water bottles, and backpacks for everyone. The guys schmoozed for a short time before we left for dinner, where we met everyone and played the “Name Game.”
The next day was when everything changed. Our program started with two weeks of morning classes paired with afternoon excursions, followed by a six week internship program. As a group, we headed out to Ohr Somayach (the yeshiva in Jerusalem where we would learn) and dove right in. The best way to understand ALT’s learning curriculum is an exploration of Torah and Jewish ideas without opening the text. Over the next couple of weeks, we discussed Rabbi Katz’s catchphrase “Man up your dirt,, Rabbi Segal’s “skills to keep you grounded,” and other ideas with Olami Together’s Director Rabbi Mitch Jadidi and Yehuda Assouline, our program director.
The afternoons of these first days included a water hike on the first day at an amazing location called Nachal Prat, beer tastings, volunteering, and many other things. Overall, over the first couple of weeks, we balanced and practiced the teachings and ideas we had been exposed to at Ohr Somayach, while also enjoying being college kids in Israel. About the time we started, Birthright Trips were also ongoing, leading to many nights out at the Shuk having fun with a new group of people each time.
A new week can’t start without Shabbat, and this is certainly the case on the ALT program. The Thursday of the first week, we started our trip to the north of Israel with a multitude of activities. We went from playing water ultimate frisbee in a random river, to Rabbi Katz’s fake tour-guiding: “If you look to the left you see the rare Blue Watermelons,” to whitewater rafting in the Jordan River, before finally getting to our destination of a bungalow village overlooking the Sea of Galilee in the city of Tiberias. The next day we toured Safed, a mystical city where the kabbalistic teachings were first made mainstream.
Shabbat was then upon us. We started with L’Chaims and singing, leading into a festive meal with more stories and laughter. Shabbat day was very calm, with programs including storytelling and classes, and then nap time before the final meal and Havdalah. After that, we headed back to our apartments in Jerusalem.
The second week mirrored a lot of the first week minus the trip north. A group from my apartment spent Shabbat with Rabbi Katz and his family. Sunday brought a big change, as my group was scheduled to move to Haifa for the duration of the program. We finished packing quickly and headed to the bus, as we were joined by the Tel Aviv crew and the girls’ program. Getting to Haifa was an easy ride before settling into the hotel where we would stay for the duration of the program.
Now I was starting my internship. The commute to the hospital was very simple, and finding radiology was even easier. The first day was an intro that consisted of a hospital tour and an intro to radiology. Tuesday came around, and both myself and Theo (another participant) were “set loose” in the department. Our IDs were coded to all rooms in radiology excluding MRI suites, and we wanted to learn all we could. Days in radiology included observing interventional radiology procedures for both neuro and cardiovascular cases and “assisting” in CT and X-ray exams.
Even before coming to Israel, my dream was to be a trauma surgeon. I asked the doctor about shadowing in that department. He connected me with one of the attending surgeons and for three days over the next week I spent my time in the ER, trauma rooms, and OR! During this time, I could also assist in hernia exams. I was able to interact with the patients and gain hands-on experience, such as learning the feel of a hernia when mobilized. These experiences were exactly what I was looking for, but then it got even better.
Both Theo and I were interested in surgery, and so our radiology contact had us spend time in orthopedic surgery. We were asked to arrive there early in the morning that next day- this was something new that summer but turned out to be the best choice. Scheduled that morning were two total hip revisions, and I was able to scrub-in to one of the procedures! Having never done this before, but always wanting to, I felt like a kid in a candy shop; like the coolest person in the world. I was feeling that “Yes! this is the only job I want for the rest of my life!”
The surgery went perfectly, and that night I called my parents brimming with joy. For the remainder of the program, I didn’t go back to radiology much, instead opting to spend my days in the OR in various specialties. There were days in vascular surgery, orthopedic surgery, neuro, cardiothoracic, and even eye surgery(that one I had to walk out of). I was able to scrub in to three more cases. Every day again confirmed for me that, yes, this is what I want to do for my career and the rest of my life.
My days in the hospital only accounted for four days of the week, though. The rest of the time, I focused on another reason I was in Israel- my Jewish growth. Every Wednesday, Rabbi Katz would make the trip from Jerusalem up to Haifa to give a class and share a meal with the group. This sometimes included one-on-one meetings at the beach or other places. On top of these meetings, I would meet regularly with Yehuda, talking about how the trip was going and discussing different ideas I could work on while the trip was still occurring and those I could apply when I returned to the States.
As I mentioned earlier, each new week stems from the past Shabbat. The time in Haifa was no different, whether spending Shabbat with the wonderful Assouline family or back in Jerusalem with Rabbi Katz, Rabbi Segal, or Rabbi Mitch. The best of these Shabbats (if one can say that) was when the guy’s groups from Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv traveled to Mitzpe Ramon. Quick PSA: if you have ever been stargazing, trust me, you haven’t really until you’ve been there. Right above a 10 by 40 km crater, the sights were incredible.
Another great aspect of this experience, for the college readers here, was the free time allowed. We enjoyed ample opportunity to choose our own adventures such as traveling to Tel Aviv for the night (back early for work the next day), having some drinks, looking out across the Mediterranean Sea at night, going bowling with friends, or hanging out after work.
All together my first experience in Israel was life-changing. Having the ability to spend two months there was one of the best experiences of my life. Being a part of ALT is one the best decisions I have made, and part of why I am where I am today. Rabbi Katz and Rabbi Segal have come up with a system that brings the best out of every student and is an experience that every student should do.