Feb 7, 2008 -- The phenomenon of post-high school study in Israel is no longer a phenomenon. It has become a mass movement within the Orthodox community. A new Web site, www.yu.edu/cjf/gis, developed by Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF) and based on the efforts of the Orthodox Caucus, will help students and parents, and Israel guidance counselors to select the right program of Israel study from among 60 schools and to navigate smoothly through the year in Israel. The Guide to Israel Schools aims to assuage parents’ concerns about separating from their child for an extended period with research on topics ranging from the goals and benefits of the year in Israel to what to do if a child becomes homesick. The Web site also provides a valuable tool by listing extensive scholarship opportunities of which many parents may not be aware. The CJF site will help parents and students define their goals and expectations for the year in Israel: increased Torah knowledge, life skills in adaptability and independence, and a deeper connection to the land of Israel. “Programs are vastly different from one another. It is our hope that this information will help parents and students investigate the institutions’ religious and philosophical bent,” said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, dean of CJF. In addition, the site provides resources that rabbis, psychologists and social service professionals have written to assist in coping with psychological and physical challenges that may present themselves. “At its core, the year in Israel can be so beneficial for the exact same reason that the college experience can be beneficial, namely, that at this critical stage of their lives, students are ripe for separating from their families on a certain level and finding their own voice and values,” says Rabbi Jay Goldmintz, headmaster of Ramaz Upper School and a graduate of YU’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, on the Web site. The year in Israel gives students the unique opportunity to continue the process of separation individuation in a Torah environment. Schools in Israel are able to expose students to the richness and breadth of Jewish tradition which cannot be accomplished in a high school setting. Students in these programs are enabled to learn on their own and hone their skills as they nurture a lifelong commitment to learning.