This past Shabbat, Midreshet Moriah made their way to the Gush. It was a beautiful Shabbat where we had the pleasure of hearing words of Torah from faculty and students, sing together, and most importantly take away the important message of "choices", the theme of the Shabbaton. We heard about how our choices affect us not only now, but in our futures as well. We saw proofs in the Tanach and tied them to the upcoming holiday of Purim; seeing these connections made the importance of choices more real. The Shabbat ended with a panel of Midreshet Moriah's faculty. The questions that were asked brought up funny, meaningful, and sad moments, leaving everyone in the room feeling vulnerable yet inspired. As the Shabbat concluded, everyone came back to the dorms feeling heavy yet important emotions as we realized that we are all growing up and will soon have to make important decisions that will affect us in both the present and future. Sadly, this incredible year will come to an end and we will be thrown into the real world... unless you make the important decision to stay Shana Bet!!

On Monday during Shiur Klali, we had the privilege of hearing about Gift of Life, an organization committed to finding donors for bone marrow transplants for those in need. We heard about Jay Feinberg's battle against Leukemia and his need for a bone marrow transplant; it took four years to find a match, but it ultimately saved his life. As a result of this experience, Jay started Gift of Lift in order to add diversity to the registry and therefore increase the chance of finding a genetic match for those whose lives are on the line. Jay's story inspired us all we were so happy to have the opportunity to participate in such a mitzvah. We swabbed our cheeks and filled out a form and were officially added to the registry! We truly felt like part of something incredible, and we were all inspired to do more for those around us.

The next day, we went on a trip to Sderot which seemed like a normal city, people participating in their daily activities and children playing in the playground. However, first impressions are not always right; the city has been an ongoing target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip since 2001. When driving around the city we saw the bomb shelters at every bus stop, street corner and even the snake tunnel in the playground. When going up the hill and seeing Gaza so close (less than a mile away) we could understand how the people of Sderot only have 15 seconds to run to a shelter when hearing the siren. We went to a police station, where we saw a vast collection of rockets that had been fired at Sderot, and learnt that in 2007, rockets upon rockets were fired every day from the Gaza Strip. We were particularly inspired by the story of Ella Abucasis. She and her younger brother were returning home from Bnei Akiva on Shabbat when the siren went off. She realized that there was not enough time to get to a bomb shelter and lay herself over her brother, covering him from every angle. From her active heroism to save her brother's life, her life was tragically taken after a week of being in intensive care. Her bravery is commemorated by a memorial in the center of Sderot. It's unimaginable to think what the people of Sderot go through; many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and severe anxiety, showing the constant fear people live in and the serious long term effects it has on the people psychologically. We watched a video of children playing, a siren going off and the children running towards bomb shelters. Constant terror is a normal part of the people of Sderot's lives. Children are taught from a young age how to react, even making up a song to the sound of the siren. It's so amazing and inspirational to see that despite the ongoing threat of death and destruction, people still live in Sderot and able to continue their everyday lives.

This morning we went to the Kotel to daven vatikin and welcome in Adar bet. When we returned to Midreshet, we were greeted by an omelet to order breakfast prepared for us by our very own faculty! There was great music, great food and it really got us in the mood for Purim. But more on that in next week’s news…..stay tuned!  

We can't wait for more exciting, inspiring, and meaningful experiences here at Midreshet Moriah!

Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov!

Julia Lustig, Judith Moher, and Eliana Ness