The Jerusalem seminar taught me how to think critically through traditional Judaic methods. Our chavruta study involved more questions than answers and through it we learned how to approach pluralism and interreligious dialogue from another religious background, not just through Christianity.

The array of people you meet (from ultra-Orthodox rabbis to Coptic monks) and the number of incredible things you do and see (swim in the Dead Sea, see the sun rise over the Sea of Galilee, touch Jesus’s tomb stone, etc.) combined with out-of-this-world gastronomical adventures and 5-star accommodation make the Israel trip a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The visit to Israel was eye-opening for me because I got to see places that I had never seen but only had read about-the Holy Land suddenly became very real for me. The opportunity to interact with renowned scholars at the top of their field at the Shalom Hartman Institute was the icing on the cake, I would highly recommend the Russell Berrie program for anyone serious about interreligious dialogue.

I think I became a better person during this trip. I have new great professional knowledge and I decided that I want to continue my studies and work in an interreligious field for the next years. Israel gave me a new kind of inspiration for my journalistic work in interreligious dialogue in Ukraine.

The religious sites we visited were not only geared towards the spiritual and religious growth of the fellows, but were also of archaeological and historical importance to us as students of religion. Thus, with the academic program at the Hartman Institute, our horizons were enlarged in understanding Judaism as a religion, and in appreciation of the methods of the study of the scriptures. These were valuable tools for interreligious dialogue.

The program is excellent; every detail is carefully thought over, there is a good mix of tourism, academic work, and contemplative experience. Is a good introduction to Israel and Jewish internal diversity.

Excellent. Well organized, diversified interests in the academic sessions. I find the program well organized, providing all necessary information, focusing on diversified points of interreligious dialogue.

It was one of the best study trips I have ever made. The experiences and the deep interfaith and theological lessons drawn from my visit to Jerusalem, Galilee, Capernaum, Tagbha, Nabi Sheub, Nazareth, Mount Tabor, Gethsemane, Mount of Olives, Mount Zion, Ein Karem, Yad Vashem, Via Dolorosa, Ein Prat, the Holy Sepulcher, Bethlehem and Hartman Institute and recently the mosque in Rome, courtesy of the Berrie Foundation are still very fresh in my memory.