Ida Crown Class of 2020 Make the Most of Year After High School Despite Pandemic

By Gabriel Gordon Burstyn—

At every Ida Crown interview, Rabbi Matanky asks incoming freshmen how many years there are to ICJA. His answer is five years: four at Ida Crown and the fifth year in Israel for a gap year. Every year, some Ida Crown graduates go for gap years in Israel, while others go straight to college. COVID-19 has impacted the class of 2020’s plans, dictating what their first year out of high school looks like.

    Despite COVID-19, around forty-five graduating students from the class of 2020 went to Israel for a gap year. Graduate Joey Greenberg is one of these students: he is spending this year at Yeshivat Aish Gesher in the Old City. Greenberg was planning to go to Israel for a gap year before the pandemic, a plan he hasn’t changed. In order to make a gap year possible, Aish implemented mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing when not in a “pod. This pod includes roommates and the people learning in the Beit Midrash together. The Israeli government has also implemented precautions, not allowing students to travel anywhere outside of the old city. Despite additional precautions, Greenberg is taking full advantage of his gap year and is having the experience he had hoped for. “Even with all the changes to the traditional experience, I am still making some of the best memories of my life,” he said. Alum Bayli Alter has had a similar experience at TVA; her school also requires mask wearing and has implemented a pod system, dividing the seminary into two. “At the end of the day, there’s a pandemic, so things are different this year,” Bayli said. “But I’m still enjoying my experience in Israel, and the restrictions have not impeded on my ability to enjoy my year.” Some Ida Crown students from the class of 2020 have gone straight to college. Graduate Sammy Moscovitch went to the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. Due to COVID-19, Moscovitch is living on campus in Champaign though much of traditional campus social life is shut down. Some of his classes are taking place in person, though many are online. “These changes make it more difficult to build social connections because students do not meet each other in classroom settings like they normally do,” Moscovitch explained. Moscovitch was initially assigned a roommate, but because of the pandemic, his roommate decided to stay home and attend classes remotely.