January 13, 2026
In November, Revi Ruth returned to Israel carrying two perspectives at once: who she was when she first arrived years ago as an HMI participant, and who she has become since. What followed was a reminder of how one experience can open the door to belonging, community, and a Jewish life that continues to unfold long after the journey ends.
This is a story about what becomes possible when couples say yes to Honeymoon Israel.
Written by Revi Ruth, HMI NYC Alum and HMI Trip Staff
In November 2025, I returned to Israel — but this time, I wasn’t a participant.
I stood at the front of the bus as a Trip Staff member, watching a new group of New York-area couples step into something big, even if they didn’t quite know it yet.
And in that moment, something felt beautifully full circle.
Eight years ago, my partner Dave and I were just like them: a couple searching for something we couldn’t name at the time — belonging, connection, language for who we were and who we wanted to be. We didn’t know many Jewish couples. I didn’t have a Jewish background. And we didn’t yet understand how Judaism could feel both deeply personal and joyfully communal.
But then came nine days with Honeymoon Israel.
And everything quietly — radically — began to shift.
I still remember telling a friend, shortly after we got home in 2017:
“I think this trip changed my life — I’m just not sure how yet.”
I couldn’t have imagined then what my Jewish home and family would look like now.
The first change was simple and immediate: we suddenly had couple friends. The kind you stay up late with asking the big questions — not what someone does for work, but what holidays could look like in a multifaith home, how to teach meaning to future children, how identity evolves in partnership. We had conversations that skipped past small talk and went straight to soul-level.
Now, years later, Jewish rhythm, ritual, and community aren’t events we “add in” — they are part of who we are. Shabbat anchors our family every Friday night. And I’ve found a personal language and identity I didn’t know existed: someone who is Catholic, who has not converted, but lives joyfully and proudly within a Jewish family and Jewish communal life.
HMI didn’t hand us a script — it gave us space to write one.
And that is why I give back.
That is why I lead trips.
That is why I believe so deeply in this work.
Because every couple deserves the chance to build their story of belonging — in whatever way feels right and true for them.
And because this isn’t just a trip.
It’s community.
It’s identity.
It’s continuity.
It’s the next generation sitting at a seder table — or lighting a menorah — and knowing they belong.
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