A new Modern Orthodox Program Opening 2027-2028
GAP YEAR | 9 MONTHS
Atid
Live Your Future.
A different kind of gap year. A deeper Jewish experience.
Atid is more than a year in Israel.
It’s a year to learn, question, explore, experience and grow.
A year to understand your story.
A year to discover your voice.
A year to experience Israel from the inside.
A year to build the Jewish identity, confidence and independence you’ll take with you into the future.
Know Your Story.
Live Your Future.
Welcome to Atid, a new Modern Orthodox gap year in Israel for young adults who want a meaningful year in Israel while developing a deeper understanding of their Jewish identity, their story, their connection to Israel and their place within the Jewish people
It is a year of Jewish ideas, Israeli life, independence, and real-world experience – giving students the space to ask big questions, engage seriously with Judaism, experience Israel from the inside, and develop the confidence to take their Jewish identity with them into the future.
What defines the Atid experience?
Dynamic Modern Orthodox Life: Experience a Jewish life where Shabbat, kashrut and Jewish values are part of everyday life – not just subjects in a classroom.
Ask Big Questions: Ask the questions that matter. Explore faith, God, Torah, morality, Israel and Jewish identity in an environment where difficult questions are welcomed and genuine curiosity is encouraged.
Experience Israel From the Inside: Live in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, build relationships with Israelis and explore the country through the people, places and experiences that bring Israel’s story to life.
Build Your Future: Develop independence, confidence and practical experience through internships, volunteering, community involvement and everyday life in Israel.
Why Atid?
Know Your Story: Every Jewish person inherits a remarkable story. Through engaging and thought provoking classes, Atid gives students the knowledge and space to understand that story – from Torah and Jewish history to Israel, Zionism and the experiences that have shaped the Jewish people.
Learning Beyond the Classroom: The connection between learning and experience is a core part of Atid. What students learn will come to life through trips, site visits, guest speakers, seminars and hands-on experiences, making learning exciting, relevant and real.
Be a Proud Zionist: Atid gives students the opportunity to experience Israel as more than a place to visit. By living here, developing relationships with Israelis, exploring Israel’s history and contemporary reality, and taking part in weekly StandWithUs seminars, students can develop a personal, informed, and lasting connection to Israel and its people, while building the advocacy and diplomacy skills to confidently engage with others and articulate their connection to Israel.
Prepare for What Comes Next: A gap year should prepare you for life beyond the program. Through independent living, internships, volunteering, leadership and community, Atid helps students develop the identity, confidence, skills and sense of purpose they will take with them to university and beyond.
Program
Overview
- Duration: 9 months – September – May (one semester is an option)
- Fall semester in Jerusalem and Spring semester in Tel Aviv
Semester One – Jerusalem
Start with your story.
Begin your year in the heart of the Jewish story. Jerusalem is where Atid builds its foundations – giving students the opportunity to explore Jewish history, Israel and Jewish thought both in the classroom and through experiential learning days across the city and beyond. Deepen your Jewish and Zionist education, strengthen your Hebrew, and encounter the places, people and ideas that bring your learning to life. You’ll put Jewish values into action through weekly Chesed and community volunteering, while building advocacy and leadership skills through weekly StandWithUs seminars – developing a deeper, lifelong connection to the Land and people of Israel.
Semester Two – Tel Aviv
Take your story into the modern world.
In Israel’s economic and cultural engine, professional internships at a range of Israeli companies and organizations provide real-world career experience. Based in Florentin, you’ll discover what strong Jewish values look like in a dynamic urban setting. Rather than stepping back from religious life, you’ll put your faith into practice: building relationships with vibrant urban Orthodox communities and bringing energy to historic neighbourhood shuls. While continuing your Jewish and Israel education, it’s an ideal environment to cultivate maturity and learn how to navigate a pluralistic world with a proud, resilient Jewish identity – the ultimate preparation for university life and beyond.
The Atid Experience
Zman Atid is at the heart of the program and a brand new approach to taking Jewish education out of the classroom. Once a week during the first semester, a big Jewish idea or contemporary question becomes the starting point for an experiential learning day. Instead of spending the day sitting in a classroom, students might find themselves visiting a site, meeting someone who lives the question, hearing from an expert, exploring an institution or engaging in a seminar that brings the issue to life. Each topic allows students to explore complex issues from multiple perspectives. Instead of just learning about an idea, we experience it.
Every Zman Atid begins with a big question, and then gets students out of the classroom to wrestle with it. Examples include: exploring the interaction between Torah and Science, asking what it would really mean to rebuild the Beit Hamikdash in modern Jerusalem, exploring what Judaism can teach us about artificial intelligence and the future of humanity, or asking what Judaism has to say about the biggest moral questions facing our world. The goal is not simply to learn about big ideas, but to encounter them – meeting the people at the heart of the issues, visiting the places where they come to life, challenging our assumptions and seeing where the questions take us.
Experiential learning is at the heart of Atid, but there is also a place for the classroom. Throughout the week, students will take part in classes exploring the ideas underneath Jewish life – faith and belief, Torah and halacha, identity, morality, Israel, and more.
Classes are designed to be engaging, relevant and accessible to students with different backgrounds. Students might explore whether science and faith can coexist, ask what Judaism says about war ethics, consider what Tanach says about our lives, or engage with the writings of Rabbi Sacks and Rabbi Soloveitchik.
Every Tuesday night, the classroom opens up into an Open Beit Midrash – an opportunity to go deeper.
Students can explore Jewish texts and ideas in greater depth, follow their own questions and learn in a more informal, discussion-based environment. Whether you want to dive into ancient texts, wrestle with a difficult Jewish question or simply discover a text you have never encountered before, Open Beit Midrash gives you the space to learn at your own pace.
Each week during the first semester, students will take part in seminars with StandWithUs, developing the knowledge, confidence and communication skills to engage with conversations about Israel on campus and beyond. Sessions will explore Israel’s history, current challenges, media narratives, advocacy and the diverse perspectives surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Students will learn how to engage thoughtfully with difficult questions, respond to misinformation and communicate Israel’s story with confidence and nuance. The aim is not simply to teach students what to say, but to help them understand the issues, think critically and find their own voice when discussing Israel with others.
You will boost your resume, gain new skills, and meet new people through your internship or volunteer placement. Each week, approximately 8-12 hours will be spent in a wide range of internship and volunteering options. The program staff will also provide coaching and support throughout the year in order to help you make the most of the experience. Examples of placements include: media outlets, top startups, archeological dig, hospitals, marketing, fashion, non-profit, community gardening, zoo, and many more. Our placement coordinators will work with you to find the best placement to suit your interests and skills. Participants use this time not just to gain real-world experience, but to begin to discover where they fit into the world around them.
As a special interest add-on, participants can also train to become certified first responders for MADA (Magen David Adom), Israel’s national ambulance service, gaining life-saving skills while making a real impact in Israeli communities.
Weekly tiyulim take students beyond the typical tourist itinerary to explore Israel’s history, geography, Jewish significance and contemporary reality. Torah comes to life as students walk in the footsteps of Tanach, discovering the places where its stories unfolded and encountering the ancient communities that shaped Jewish history. Alongside this, students experience Israel as it is today – engaging with its society, culture and politics, visiting places at the heart of Israel’s story, meeting Israelis and encountering the diverse perspectives that shape the country. Overnight trips and longer journeys will take students from the Galilee and Golan to the Negev and Arava. Every trip is an opportunity to connect what you are learning with the places, people and stories that make Israel what it is. The goal is a connection to Israel that is personal, informed and lived.
Atid is a community as much as it is a program. Throughout the year, Shabbat meals, monthly Shabbatonim, chagim and communal experiences will create opportunities to step away from everyday life and experience Judaism together. Living in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, students will experience Shabbat and chagim in two very different urban environments, while building a community of their own.
You’ll celebrate, learn, debate, eat, travel and grow together — creating the friendships and sense of community that become one of the defining parts of the year.
Jerusalem
Tel Aviv
