What a week it’s been at Midreshet Moriah! Last Wednesday night we had an incredible opportunity to meet a Jewish Yeminite woman. She told us how at the age of two her family left Yemen on foot, heading towards the land of Israel. She brought in authentic Yemenite wedding garbs for us to see and taught us the dances and traditions of a Yemenite wedding. We were shocked to learn that Yemenite girls get married around the age of 12 and are dressed up in layers of jewelry, testing their physical and mental strength required to endure their life ahead. The night ended with Midreshet girls dancing to Yemenite tunes. It was an incredible experience!

Thursday morning we went on a tiyul Tanach, connecting to the land through the stories we know so well. We began at the kever of Shmuel HaNavi, located on a mountain right outside of Yerushalayim.  There we learned that Shmuel ruled Eretz Yisrael from that very same mountaintop. After davening at the kever we then drove a half hour to Nachal Prat where we hiked in the footsteps of Yirmiyahu. Yirmiyahu was a man of complete faith in Hashem, who traveled multiple times up and down the side of a mountain towards a spring of water, solely because Hashem asked him to. We were able to envision and actualize the story as we hiked down the same mountain. Towards the end of the hike, girls had the option to jump off a rock and swim in the water bank below; it was a blast!

The following Monday, during Shiur Klali, we had the privilege to hear from Professor Shoshana Schechter, the director of Stern College for Women’s Mechina Program. She spoke to us about Avraham Ha’ivri and how our mission as Bnei Yisrael is to be a blessing to Hashem. We truly enjoyed her visit and thank her for coming!

Stay tuned next week to hear all about our Thanksgiving dinner! Have an amazing Shabbos!

Ayelet Berger and Ziva Bibbins, Shana Alef