The Optimist

Stewart Rickert

Staff Writer

Sophomore Daniel Frohman has been downtown during fifth period for the past couple of months now. However, instead of hanging out at People’s Park, he has been in the library, studying Hebrew.
  Frohman has been able to rearrange his schedule so that he can miss fifth period and take Hebrew as an independent study. He is taking Hebrew because he wants to move to Israel after graduating from high school.
      Frohman said that he begins his day by waking up at 6:40 and then “taking about 10 minutes to ask myself why I’m waking up.” After this, he walks to school and goes through his day normally until fourth period ends. Instead of going on to his next class, Frohman walks home and proceeds to go for a jog. Then, he heads downtown to the library to get ready for his Hebrew class.
      His Hebrew class takes one hour and is taught by Svi Gilboa and his wife Revital, both of whom are fluent Hebrew speakers. Frohman describes his teachers as “very particular, every time I leave I feel like I have been made fun of profusely.” However, Frohman says that “it works, because next time, you can bet that I won’t make the same mistake.”  Some days, after his lesson, he practices Hebrew with friend and neighbor Maya Warhman, who is already fluent in Hebrew.
      Frohman originally became interested in Israel in fifth grade, when his older brother Ben returned from a trip there. “Ben brought home some music from Israel and after listening to it and liking it, I decided I wanted to learn more about Israel,” Frohman said. However, after spending a couple of months learning about Israel, he soon felt that he had reached a point where the only way he could learn more was to experience it. So, the summer before eighth grade, Frohman decided that it was time to go to Israel. His parents agreed on the condition that he pay his own way there. Frohman was able to fund his trip by mowing lawns and selling goat cheese at the Bloomington Farmer’s Market. Frohman said “sometimes working at the goat cheese market sucks, but it is a good experience and it pays well.” After all of his hard work, Frohman was able to make his way to Israel.
      He stayed at the UIpan, an intensive language school in downtown Netanya, a city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and fell in love with the city and the atmostsphere. “I learned about the culture, the history, and the problems; then, I came back and continued to take Hebrew,” Frohman said.
      After graduating from high school, Frohman plans on moving to Israel to go to college and maybe even to live. This means that he will be required to join the Israeli army, as all citizens in Israel are required to spend at least three years in service in the military. However, Frohman is willing to enlist. “I feel like if you want to live in a country, you might as well go through what everyone else does,” Frohman said. After finishing his time in the military, Frohman plans to go to college in Israel. The college system in Israel is very similar to the one in the U.S. and he hopes to attend Hebrew University of Jerusalem, one of his favorites.
      Frohman wants to live Israel because of his Jewish roots. Many Jewish people feel an attraction to Israel and Frohman is no exception. He views Israel as a “home place, sort of where I belong”.