In between their junior and senior year of high school, Bronfman Fellows immerse themselves in an exciting, all-expenses-paid summer in Israel and the U.S. Here’s a glimpse into a day in the life of a Bronfman Fellow during this transformative summer! Afterwards, they continue their Fellowship year with a wide range of mind-expanding programming and intellectually adventurous activities.
8:15 am: Breakfast. In Jerusalem, we stay on a campus shared with a couple other programs – there are tennis courts, basketball courts, and lots of open spaces. We have our own dorm building and we eat in the communal cafeteria.
9:00 am: Shiur (Learning in a group). There are four faculty members – Rabbis, professors and educators – who teach rotating discussion seminars using a wide range of Jewish texts and sources. Some recent topics include “God in All Moments: The Spiritual Practices of the Hasidic Masters,” “‘A Jew in the World’ Modern Jewish Thinkers,” and “Genesis, Midrash (interpretive stories) and Literature.”
9:45 am: Break. Grab a snack from the kitchen, take a quick walk, chat with a faculty member or hang out with some other Fellows on the lawn.
10:30 am: Bus to Tel Aviv. The group takes a private coach bus around the city to meet up with Amitim, the cohort of Israeli Bronfman Fellows, in Israel’s most cosmopolitan city.
11:30 am: Graffiti tour in Florentine. The Fellows and Amitim take a tour of street art in the south Tel Aviv neighborhood of Florentine, learning Hebrew slang, history, and culture along the way.
12:45 pm: Lunch. We have falafel and shnitzel with all the fixings delivered to a nearby park.
1:30 pm: Etgar Keret. Fellows and Amitim meet for a private reading, discussion, and book signing with one of Israel’s most prominent contemporary writers. Keret is the author of seven short story collections, two comic books, and several scripts for film and television.
4:30 pm: Guest Speaker on the Beach! We take a bus to Alma beach where Dr. Micah Goodman, faculty member at the Shalom Hartman Institute, meets us and leads a discussion on Diaspora and Statehood.
5:30 pm: Swimming and dinner. Free time to journal, relax, and catch some waves.
7:00 pm: Concert with System Ali. Amitim and Fellows enjoy a concert at a private venue where System Ali, an Israeli/Arabic/Russian/English fusion hip-hop group, leads singing and dancing.
8:30 pm: Bus back to Jerusalem. We travel home with sand in our sandals and hip-hop fusion stuck in our heads!
9:15 pm: Debrief and plans for the following day. Madrichim (Counselors) and Fellows meet briefly to talk about the upcoming schedule and takeaways from our day in Tel Aviv.
9:30 pm: Free time. Hanging out in our Mo’adon (common room).
11:00 pm: Quiet. Bedtime for some, while conversations between others continue into the night.
Applications for the 2025 Bronfman Fellowship are open!To nominate a teen, click here.
Learn more:
Watch our Oct. 10 info call recording here.