Hello Parents and Students,
This week was the last full week of the semester. It was filled with final activities and opportunities to enjoy each other as a community.
On Sunday, we discussed Tisha B’Av. The groups had an activity with their Madrichim in which they spoke about what this day represents, the reasons that Tisha B’Av became a day of fasting, and the meaning of gratuitous hatred. We had some interesting discussions about where we see gratuitous hatred in our own lives today, if it’s something we experience in social media, if it’s even something that we do sometimes, and about the ways to avoid developing that kind of hatred toward others.
On Monday evening, our final Faces of Israel was a session with all the Madrichim. Each one told their personal stories. The Madrichim spoke about their families, how they arrived in Israel, where they grew up, their army service, and their plans for the future. They spoke about what builds their Israeli identity and shared the history and character of the community where they grew up.
Next week, our students will be leaving the program. We’ve had the most amazing semester as a community, we learned so much about one another, we gained new friends that will stay with us in the future, we learned about our Jewish identity, understood more about Israeli society, enjoyed beautiful Tel Aviv, and so much more.
This weekend Stav will be on call.
Have a great weekend,
Gili
