Fall 2008 Robinson Scholarships Recipients
Dr. Ruben P. Robinson Judaic Studies Scholarship Recipient
Adam Hershel Schwartz
Adam Hershel Schwartz is a psychology major at the University of Tennessee and spent fall 2008 at Hebrew University in Jerusalem with some financial support from the Dr. Ruben P. Robinson Judaic Studies Scholarship Fund.
I had a fabulous time in my semester overseas. I got to know and love an ancient city, Jerusalem, as well as the land of Israel. In the beginning of August 2008 I got on a plane for Hebrew University, one of the world’s top 100 universities. I spent 2 months in Ulpan, which is intensive Hebrew language development. My class was a real international experience, as the 10-person class came from 8 different countries. After this 200-hour course, we had a slight break for the High Holidays, during which I went to no less than 5 synagogues and afterwards went to Tiberias and Elat. After the break school started again, this time for the real semester. I took Hebrew, Talmud, Cognitive Psychology, and my favorite course, Urban Tourism in Israeli Cities. For this last course we studied tourists, with a great focus on Jerusalem and Nazareth, culminating in field trips to these historic cities.
Some of the main benefits for me were an enhanced link to the country of Israel, a much greater knowledge of Hebrew, and a real growing up experience. I had to navigate a strange city and country with little pre-knowledge. I had to feed myself without a meal plan (the shuk is awesome) and I had to make sure I was making the right choices in my day-to-day decisions. I also grew globally, as I made many non-American friends. My closest friends were from Holland and Finland, so I now know more, and care more about, some of these European countries that I was apathetic to before. I also care more about Israel. Whenever I hear the name on the news, I think about my friends there. My semester in Israel was well spent, and I am grateful that I was able to go.
Amy Canter
More information coming soon!