Dear Parents,
Moadim L’Simcha!
It has been an amazing week full of activities keeping us busy from morning until night every day.
The week was mainly dedicated to Sukkot and the students had a blast with all of the different activities.
On Sunday we began the day with an activity at the Tel Aviv Port. We visited the big Sukkah that was built by “Beit Tefila Israeli” at the harbor. We took part in morning prayers (Shacharit) and had a meeting with representatives from the organization. At the meeting we learned that the Sukkah was built with help and cooperation from many different groups in Israel and learned about the organization itself. After the activity, we gathered for breakfast while singing and playing the guitar. It was spiritual moment!
Later that day the sea sports group had a surfing session on the Goliath board. It was a challenging experience and the students had a great time. The entrepreneurship group enjoyed a movie presentation about one of the world’s biggest and most successful businesses, McDonalds! I do not know if you have seen the movie “The Founder”, it depicts the events that brought the company to prominence and it is a fascinating case study.
On Monday morning the students met with the Madrichim in the Moadon for the Sukkot Workshop. The activity was about the differences between the four species of Sukkot. The students were divided into four groups and just like the differences between the species, each group was given a different limitation. The students had to work together to overcome their given limitations in order to succeed in the different missions they were given.
Later that day, in the evening, the group traveled to “Moshav Mevo Modiyim” for a Country Fair Festival. The festival was packed with spiritual and Jewish activities such as concerts, a healing tent, art and craft stands, and different kinds of workshops. It was a great experience that also gave the students the chance to see different parts of Israeli society.
On Tuesday we had a field trip to the Palmach Museum. Palmach is an acronym for Plugot Mahatz or “strike force”. It was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The museum offers an amazing experience complete with exhibits from the time of the British Mandate and the Palmach underground as well as a movie about real characters from the Palmach. The students walked through the different rooms that represent different scenes from the movie. The combination of the movie and the exhibitions helped the students to connect to the story of the Palmach and the Jewish fighters that made the independence of Israel possible.
If you would like to read more about the museum, please click here.
This week in Parsha and Pizza we sat in the Aardvark Succah and explored the theme of happiness with Rabbi Marc. We learned about the book of Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, and the story of King Solomon’s quest to find meaning in life. It was a very provocative conversation and everyone was invited to think about what makes them happy and if happiness is something real or achievable. We finished off by playing some contemporary pop songs about happiness before Rabbi Marc spoke about our need to find purpose in life.
Next week we are returning to our weekly routine. We will be going to the Antipatris Fortress for a hike and enjoyable activity in nature.
The Madrich on Call for Wednesday and Tuesday is Daniella and the Madrich on call for the weekend is Sahar.
Chag Sameah,
Eyal
