It’s been an amazing week at Midreshet! Last Thursday night Rav Lerner brought everyone on a mini trip to do Kapparot with chickens. As expected, there were some shrieks, but that's all a part of the experience.

Bright and early Friday morning we were off to Nachal Kibbutzim for a fun water hike on our way to Bet She’an for our Shabbat Shuva shabbaton.   Rav Jason and Dara Knappel, Bracha and Rav Adi Krohn, Michal and Sam Porath Zibman and their families joined us. It was very special to daven together as the Midreshet Moriah family.

After the Seudah on Friday night, which was accompanied by Divrei Torah from Sam Zibman, Sarah Hausdorff and leibidik zemirot led by ‘yours truly’, Shana Bet, we split into 3 groups of learning sessions and learnt in preparation for Yom Kippur with Bracha, Rav Jason, and Michal. Following the learning session, Rav Jason ran a game that turned super competitive and there was a whole lot of laughing as it was going on.....He afterwards spoke to us about how the game was a metaphor for having good communication skills with one another for the coming year.  Even though it was 11 at night by the time the game was over, we continued with a beautiful tisch together with lots of nosh J that lasted way past midnight.
The next day after tfilla we had a kiddush and then once again split up into learning sessions. Lunch Divrei Torah were given by Rav Jason and Channy Cabessa and after mincha and menucha, we once again split up into learning groups. For Seuda Shlisheet we headed out to the overlook point of the Beit Shean youth hostel where Bracha spoke to us about the zchut we have to be here in Eretz Yisrael this year and we sang watching the sun set over the magnificent view.

Following a musical Havdallah we boarded the buses back to Jerusalem.

What a special weekend! It was the perfect mix of rest, inspiration, and learning.