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Barrack, JNF-USA Announce $10 Million
Endowment for Study Abroad Program
J Courtesy of Alex Stroker
Sasha Rogelberg | Staff Writer
ack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy in Bryn Mawr
and Jewish National Fund-USA announced on
Dec. 18 the establishment of a $10 million
endowment to fund Barrack’s study abroad partner-
ship with Alexander Muss High School in Israel.

The endowment is funded by philanthropic gifts
from Leonard Barrack and the Max and Bella Stein
Charitable Trust (Stein Trust) as well as other donors
from the Barrack community and matched by
JNF-USA. The largest of its kind, according to a press
release, the endowment will ensure the continua-
tion of a trimester-long study abroad program for
Barrack’s 11th graders. The partnership between
Barrack and Muss, a JNF-USA-operated school, was
established in 1994, according to Barrack Head of
School Marshall Lesack.

“Our school, which began in 1946, has been
committed to Israel and has grown up — I think it’s
fair to say — side-by-side with the state of Israel,”
Lesack said. “We have believed for a long time,
especially when we started sending groups to Israel,
that immersive Israel experiences are essential for
the strengthening of Jewish identity, for the commit-
ment to the Jewish people worldwide and for the
long-term strength of our Jewish community.”
“Creating an endowment assures that funds will be
available in perpetuity for all students participating in
this life-changing experience,” Barrack added.

Over an 11- or 12-week period, students from
Barrack are immersed in an “experiential education”
of Israel, according to Muss’ website. In addition to
fulfi lling their secular and Judaic studies, students
travel to the historic sites in Jewish and Israeli history.

“Imagine sitting on a hill in Israel and hearing about
the battle between David and Goliath, to a location in
Israel and seeing where in 1948 it was a major battle
founding the state of Israel,” said Joe Wolfson, the
Muss board of governors chair. “You learn it, but you
live it and visualize it.”
For Barrack alumni, the trip had a profound impact
on their Jewish identities.

Mike Stein of the Stein Trust said that not only did
his daughter, who attended Barrack, return from a
semester at Muss transformed, but her experience,
in turn, transformed the family.

“She returned with a deeper bond to not only her
Judaism but to her classmates,” Stein said.

According to Russell Robinson, JNF-USA CEO, the
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy students have participated in a study abroad program at
Alexander Muss High School in Israel since 1994.

Muss study abroad program has practical implica-
tions as well. He said that abroad programs in high
school are growing increasingly popular and refl ect
well on college applications.

“The whole idea of leadership of being away
from home, of having to do your own studying, how
you deal with dorm environments — all that gives
you much more ability to develop better students,”
Robinson said.

Robinson’s goal for the endowment is to not
only have it sustained indefi nitely but for it to
be integrated into Barrack’s tuition, putting less
pressure on parents to have to pay for the program.

Lesack agreed that the need for the endowment is
there. About 50% of Barrack students receive some
sort of fi nancial assistance.

“We are committed to Jewish education,” Lesack
said. “We have families from across socioeconomic
backgrounds, as well as across the region.”
Alexander Muss High School was created in 1972
as a way for students from both secular and religious,
public and private schools to complete an immersive
educational experience in Israel. Since its founding,
the school has hosted more than 40,000 students.

In addition to its trimester-long study abroad
program for 11th graders, Barrack holds a shorter trip
for eighth graders. While Lesack sees the trip as a
way for the school to show its commitment to Israel,
Robinson sees it as Israel’s investment in the future
generation. “We’re just going to build the leadership for the
Jewish organizations of tomorrow,” Robinson said. ■
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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