פִּיהָ פָּתְחָה בְחׇכְמָה וְתוֹרַת חֶסֶד עַל־לְשׁוֹנָהּ
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and a Torah of kindness is on her tongue.
Sending a daughter abroad for a year is a big decision, and seminaries expect parents to ask hard questions. This page points you to official sources and gives you a list to work from. It doesn't tell you what to decide.
Official safety information
We don't assess risk. These government pages do, and each is updated as things change:
- US State Department travel advisory for Israel (opens in a new tab): advisory levels by area, and the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which sends embassy alerts to your daughter and to you.
- UK Foreign Office travel advice for Israel (opens in a new tab): safety, entry rules and health, with email alerts when the advice changes.
- Government of Canada travel advice (opens in a new tab): advisory levels by region and embassy contacts.
- Australia's Smartraveller page (opens in a new tab): advice level, health and local contacts.
- Israel's Home Front Command (opens in a new tab): what to do during an alert and how to choose a protected space. This is the body that issues instructions inside Israel.
Numbers for her phone
Israel's emergency numbers, as listed in an Israeli government guide and on the Canadian and Australian government pages:
- 100: police
- 101: Magen David Adom (ambulance)
- 102: fire and rescue
- 104: Home Front Command
She should also save the school office, the dorm counselor (madricha) or house mother, and her country's embassy.
Questions to ask the school
Safety and supervision
- Where is the nearest protected space to the dorm and the classrooms?
- How do you reach students and parents in an emergency, and how quickly?
- What are the rules for leaving campus, traveling on free weekends and overnight trips? Which areas are off limits?
- Who is on site at night, and who does a student call at 2am?
Health and wellbeing
- Who takes a student to a doctor, and is there an English-speaking doctor the school uses?
- Is there a counselor or psychologist on staff or on call?
- How do you handle a student who's struggling, homesick or not attending class, and when do you call parents?
- How are allergies and other dietary needs handled in the kitchen?
The practical side
- What's included in tuition, what's the payment schedule, and what's refunded if she leaves early or the program is cut short?
- Is the dorm open on Shabbat and during vacations?
- How do students get around? Public transport in Israel runs on a rechargeable card called a Rav-Kav. A personal card has her photo on it and its balance can be restored if it's lost.
- How often should we expect to hear from the school, and who is our contact?
The printable version of these, plus the questions students should ask, is on questions to ask a seminary.
Sources
Read on 2 and 3 October 2026. Open them to check a figure or see whether it has changed.
