On Saturday evening, September 28th, the first night of Selichot, Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls and the Stella K. Abraham Beit Midrash for Women of Yeshivat Har Etzion at Migdal Oz hosted their popular Erev Shira V’Hitorerut: A Night of Song and Inspiration. The evening started with an Erev Shira for women, which was followed by an inspiring shiur and the recitation of Selichot, both of which were open to men and women.

This is the sixth year that Ma’ayanot and Migdal Oz have co-hosted this much anticipated event, and if numbers define success, this was the most successful year yet: upward of 180 women, including Migdal Oz and Ma’ayanot alumnae, their mothers and grandmothers, current Ma’ayanot students and parents, and even community women who are not otherwise tied to the Migdal Oz or Ma’ayanot communities, gathered together to usher in the selichot season with kumzitz style singing of spiritually moving songs.

The singing portion of the evening was followed by an inspirational shiur given by Mrs. Shayna Goldberg, a former Ma’ayanot teacher and Bergen County Yoetzet Halakha who now teaches at Tanakh and Halakha at Migdal Oz, on The Place of Humility in the Teshuva Process. Finally, the shiur was followed by recitation of selichot led by Mr. Adin Goldstein, a Yeshivat Har Etzion alum and a current Columbia College student who was drafted by Migdal Oz alumnae to lead selichot using Migdal Oz tunes.

Shirley Schuster, Executive Director of the Etzion Foundation, explained that the purpose of the evening was to bring together Migdal Oz alumnae “to reconnect, sing and infuse themselves with the spirit of Migdal Oz’s Beit Midrash as they prepared for the Yamim Noraim and the coming year.

By Pam Ennis