By Rachel Manoucheri, Bnos Chava
I have been an Orthodox Jew my entire life.
I studied in the most prestigious religious institutions of Los Angeles, and spent last year at the Masa Israel-accredited Bnos Chava, an academically rigorous seminary in Jerusalem.
During my free time, I toured the streets of Jerusalem, and began to comprehend the identity of each Jewish sect. I believed I possessed Jewish pride in my heritage and homeland and needed no further inspiration.
During that year, my parents traveled to Israel.
My father planned to visit Ohr Sameach, the yeshiva that first inspired him to practice Judaism, and my mother was acting as a mentor for a Jewish learning program.
On...
