This past week at Midreshet, we welcomed in the new semester, and said our goodbyes to our beloved Shanna Bet. 

We began the final week of our fall semester with an incredibly moving and emotional Mishmar, given by our very own Michal.  Her beautiful words were shared in the beloved memory of her dear friend, Mikey Butler, along with eleven victims of terror murdered in Yerushalayim on that same day. In a room overflowing with passion, we celebrated the inspiring life of Mikey Butler through videos, songs, poetry, biblical sources, and excerpts from his Eulogy.  We all walked away with such a positive and empowering message that inspired each of us to take the most out of each one of our days. 

This motivation gave us inspiration to learn with Rav Eitan’s “Adam to Avraham” class for his Annual tradition to learn through the whole night!  With cookies, kugels, coffee, and ice cream, we powered through the night, enriching our minds with the fascinating new complexities to the stories of our forefathers we all grew up exploring.  The learning commenced after seven hours, at 5:30 A.M. and we were then able to rejuvenate before we welcomed in the Shabbat.

Once Sunday arrived, and we all got the rest we needed to recharge our excitement for the upcoming semester, the entire student body buzzed away on all of their phones as they rushed to register for the new classes offered in the spring. While we grew with anticipation for the upcoming Shiurim, the semester’s end was nothing short of bittersweet as we sent off our Shana Bet, with whom each one of us shared a special bond. 

We officially said our goodbyes at the Shanna Bet Preida on Monday evening.  We heard from Rav Eitan and Leora Bednarsh just what made each Shana Bet girl special, unique, and incredible. Dara Zukerman spoke about the Shana Bet's Mishna project and Rachel Salutsky finished the siyum.  Adi Shulman represented Shana Alef with a farewell speech and we also heard from Shana Bet's Julia Kandel, Rebeccah Sharbat and Yael Hausdorff.

It was an emotional day saying farewell to our “older sisters,” but an exciting next few months are on the horizon and we can't wait to explore them with the rest of our Midreshet family!

Megan Wasserstrom and Vanessa Shnay, Shana Alef