Ariel Magal is the director of Young Judaea, Israel's Year Course. He lives on Kibbutz Regavim, about 40 miles north of Tel Aviv, with his wife, Shira, and their three kids – Yael (13), Rotem (10) and Omri (7). His most recent role was a senior Jewish educator in BINA, an organization that promotes Jewish education in Israel for Israelis. Before that, Ariel served for two years as Shaliach, emissary, of the Jewish Agency on Long Island. Before that, he worked for many years at Young Judaea Israel in different roles. For Ariel, the beginning of my tenure as Year Course director is actually a homecoming. He believes in Jewish and Zionist education as a tool for personal growth.