I had the privilege of traveling with the Community Day School Class of 2016 on their 8th Grade Israel trip to document their adventures in photos and words at cdsisrael.com. One of the days of the trip was especially challenging, spent at Yad Vashem in the morning followed by a guided walk through Har Herzl, the resting place of Theodor Herzl, Israel’s dignitaries, as well as soldiers and victims of terror. Israel’s reality suddenly becomes very palpable here in this place of remembrance, where everyone knows someone who has experienced an unimaginable loss. I remember how our security guard shared his moving story about the loss of his best friend in war. Our madricha shared why Yom Ha’atzmaaut is still so hard to celebrate the day after Yom Hazikaron ever since the loss of her cousin in the army. And then one of the students found the memorial marker of his uncle, and with extraordinary courage, shared the story of his family’s loss with his classmates, who responded to him with nothing less than their full empathy and compassion. I will never forget that day–and not just because of the difficult stories being told. I just remember thinking how remarkable and deep and real the connection was among this group of teenagers, that a 14-year-old could open up and share something so deeply personal and private and painful with his peers with the confidence in knowing that his vulnerability would be answered with the love and support he needed in that moment. To me, it was a reminder of how blessed our students are to attend CDS and to forge a shared Jewish value system and bonds with each other that will last a lifetime.