An estimated 4.8 million tourists made the journey to Jerusalem in 2019.

Of those 4.8, thousands were a part of a birthright Israel trip.

Birthright Israel launched in 1999.

It's a program that offers a free 10-day trip to Israel for Jewish young adults,

usually between the ages of 18 and 26.

The idea grew out of concerns that younger generations

in the Jewish diaspora were becoming disconnected from their heritage and from Israel itself.

Two philanthropists, together with the Israeli government and Jewish communities worldwide,

created the initiative to strengthen identity through this direct experience.

The name birthright reflects the belief that every Jewish person, no matter where they live,

has an inherent connection to the land of Israel and the right to explore it.

What began as an experiment has since become one of the largest Jewish educational programs in history

with hundreds of thousands of participants walking its landscapes,

learning its history, and engaging with its people. In today's Bible story, we follow along with

pilgrims from thousands of years ago who made journeys to Jerusalem and sang along the way.

Today we explore the songs of Ascent.

Music Today we explore the songs of Ascent. Hello and welcome to Bible Stories. We are your hosts, Matt Mollins.

Hello. My name is Todd Heymans and we're two ministers slash buds who love telling the stories of the Bible and we can't wait to share this one with you.

That's right, Todd. Today we are ready to start something new. So last week we closed up our Back to School series.

And next week we begin a new series.

And this one, Todd, was chosen by listeners.

I love it.

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