On the Monday evening prior to winter break, members of the Yavneh Academy Chesed Team joined together to support our brothers and sisters in Israel during our “Hats and Hearts” Chesed Team event. The evening began with videos and an explanation of why the Israeli soldiers are requesting warm winter hats and the joy they receive along with the hats. Students each got a winter hat and a label with the title: חָבַשׁ כּוֹבַע יְשׁוּעָה בְּרֹאשׁוֹ הוֹשִׁיעָה לוֹ יְמִינוֹ וּזְרוֹעַ קָדְשׁוֹ-Salvation like a hat was worn on God’s head, God’s right hand and holy arm achieved great victory—a sentence from אנעים זמירות. Students took these “hats of salvation,” placed them in a gift bag and then wrote a personalized letter to the soldier who would receive the hat.

The team then learned about the power of tefillah for the soldiers and the State of Israel, and the custom of putting notes in the Kotel. Each student received a piece of paper and wrote a note of tefillah. The hats, notes for the Kotel and encouraging letters to chayalim and displaced families were delivered in Israel during winter break.