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Seminary Guide

Your first week in Israel

The small jobs that make the rest of the year easier, to do in the first few days.

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Written for students

Your seminary will walk you through most of this at orientation. Tick things off as they happen and ask a counselor about anything that is left.

Day one
  • Message home that you have arrived
  • Learn the dorm address in English and in Hebrew
  • Find out who to call at night: the house mother, counselor or office
  • Ask where the nearest protected room or shelter is, and how long you have to reach it
Phone
  • Set up your Israeli SIM or eSIM
  • Save emergency numbers: police 100, ambulance 101, fire 102
  • Install the Home Front Command app and set it to your area and to English
  • Share your Israeli number with your parents and the seminary
Getting around
  • Get a Rav-Kav, the card used on buses and trains across Israel
  • Install a bus and train app and the Rav-Kav loading app
  • Learn the bus or train route from the seminary to the nearest shops
  • Remember that most buses and trains stop for Shabbat, from Friday afternoon to Saturday night
Money
  • Take out some shekels and check what your card charged
  • Find the nearest supermarket and pharmacy
  • Keep a note of what you spend in the first two weeks, then set a budget
Health
  • Find out which health fund or insurer covers you and how to see a doctor
  • Keep your insurance card or policy number in your wallet and your phone
  • Tell your counselor about allergies or medicine she should know about
Settling in
  • Get the school calendar: Shabbatot at school, free Shabbatot, trips and vacations
  • Plan where you will be for the first free Shabbat
  • Collect the phone numbers of relatives and family friends in Israel
  • Put the holiday dates in your calendar (see the year calendar)

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