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Chanukah |
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In preparation for Chanukah, and during the Chag itself the students had many classes
covering the practical halachot of Chanukah as well as a variety of theological
and spiritual aspects and teachings of the Chag.
Some topics were "Chanukah-the light of the exile." "Which is the greater miracle,
the war or the oil?", "The three approaches to life hidden in the three options
as to how the oil miracle actually took place." “The western culture and us.”
On the first night, after the students went to meet a group of people with mental
disabilities, such as schizophrenia, who came to the Moshav from the hostel that
they live in together in Tzfat.
One of the members of the Moshav built a large "chabad style" Menorah and everyone
stood around together as it was lit and then sang hanerot-halalu and maoz-tzur.
After that we all had some fresh hot soup, hung out for a while and then regrouped
in a large cozy tent where every 3 or 4 students or so, were teamed up with a few
of our guests from Tzfat and together they had to study and then act out in Charades
style an important story that has to do with Chanukah. The rest of the crowd had
to guess what it was and there was lots of laughter and bonding between them and
us.
Following that the talmidim all danced together to live Chanukah music and shareed
some of the Chanukah "ruach" with our new friends. The evening ended with a large
dinner, and everybody was in quite a cheerful mood by that time.
The next morning bright and early there was another special event, the “Flag Run.”
The tradition in LYA is that on Chanukah or immediately after, there is a very meaningful
run to Gamla. (Which, if you remember, is a place where during the revolt against
the Romans, Gamla was a stronghold for many Jewish fighters).
The students ran in pairs holding the Israeli flag up high for a few kilometers
each from Avnei Eitan till Gamla. Once they reached Gamla they had a little ceremony
where they declared our commitment to Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael.
The reason they do this during Chanukah time is obvious, Jewish pride, fighting
for Torah values, and standing up when needed, to protect that which is dear and
important to you. Students said that is was a very meaningful and powerful experience
for them.
On Shabbat, the students all davened and ate a specially catered meal together,
the staff, their families, and all students in the Yeshiva. Needless to say for
desert we enjoyed the traditional fresh Sufganiyot (jelly donuts). The festive meal
was followed by an Oneg Shabbat of Dvar Torah’s, personal stories that the students
shared about miracles that happened to them, and of course lots of singing.
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Yam LeYam |
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Last week we had our Yam-Leyam (coast top coast trip), which was a great success.
After many preparations the students left (by bus) the Moshav early Tuesday morning
December 28th. They were dropped off at the beginning of the route at the Chziv
River, which is about 6 kilometers inland from the Mediterranean Sea, and from that
point on it was all by foot.
They got there just in time for Vatikin Shacharit, had a great Tefilah and then
had some breakfast. I’d like to point out that many of the responsibilities for
the trip were taken care of by the students themselves. They were responsible for
the meals, what kind of food we’d be eating, when, how much, cooking/barbecuing
it, and so on. They were the navigators for the trails, and a number of students
were responsible for teaching everybody else about the many fascinating places in
which we stopped during our three days of hiking.
On the first day they hiked through beautiful warm weather, explored ruins of an
old crusader castle, went swimming/Mikvah in the nearby river, had lunch on the
riverbank, and about twenty kilometers later reached the camping ground where they
set up tents, a bonfire, and prepared dinner.
After Arvit, a meditation activity, and a delicious dinner of meat stew slowly cooked
over the bonfire, known in Israel as a Poyke dish, which was eagerly polished off
by all, they went to sleep, exhausted yet happy and content.
Early next morning they davened Shacharit, folded up the tents and gear, had breakfast,
and were off. The group stopped during the day a few times, dipped in an ancient
natural spring Mikvah, admired the cows grazing in beautiful green valleys, had
lunch and davened Mincha at the foot of Mt. Meron, and then climbed up Mount Nerya.
On the top, 1050 meters high above, there was a beautiful view of the upper Gallil
and Lebanon. They climbed down the other side, got dinner cooking over the fire
and then went to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s gravesite to daven Arvit, sing some songs,
and say Tehilllim.
Everyone woke up once again with the sun, davened Vatikin in the nearby Beit Knesset
at the gravesite, had some cake and coffee, some guys went and dunked in the local
heated Mikva, then had some breakfast, packed the gear and got on the move once
again for another twenty kilometer hike mostly in the Amud river nature reserve.
Then came lunch, “helped” rescue a horse who had fallen in to a pit, davened mincha,
and kept on walking till we reached Kibbutz Chokuk, near the Kinneret, where we
had a breathtaking view of the Kinneret, and to make a long, and happy story very
very short were picked by bus and driven home for a hot shower and a good warm meal.
Many of the students said how the trip was truly unique and a special experience.
The many sites of Israel’s nature we got to see and explore also amazed many, and
all in all it was a bonding, fun, and educational experience.
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