While it is very unusual for me to write spontaneous notes to our parent body about events that just took place in our school, the fantastic events of this morning demand sharing and need to be enjoyed by our entire community!
First and foremost, our own Rav Adiel surprised us all and showed up at school after two months of serving in the IDF in Gaza. We have been davening for his safety every day since he left and relishing the videos and words of chizuk he has shared with us from the front lines. All of us have been very worried about him and all the soldiers defending Israel, and have wondered with amazement at the resilience and strength of his wife, Morah Yonit, and their children as they managed to carry on even in his absence. Every single member of the Moriah family — faculty, students, parents who were in the building — were overjoyed to see him. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The countless tears of joy and gratitude shed throughout the campus was inspiring.
Rav Adiel headed first to the classrooms of some of his children. They jumped into his arms as soon as they saw him. Then he found and surprised Morah Yonit. As word spread in the Lower School that he was here, all the children ran out of their classrooms to greet him.
He then headed to the shul where the entire Middle School was waiting to hear a special speaker. As soon as they saw Rav Adiel they ran up to greet and hug him, and the entire Middle School erupted in spontaneous dancing with Rav Adiel and his wife with incredible enthusiasm. After he danced with the Middle School, the Mhazri family headed to the Kukin Auditorium where the entire Lower School was waiting to continue dancing with them.
A highlight of the entire morning for me was how emotional and happy all of our students were. The genuine simcha that they displayed at watching the family reunion and the cheering for a hero who just spent the last two months dedicating his life to protecting our people, gave us tremendous pride and belief in the future of our people and the role that our students will play.
Our Middle School then heard from Shirli Pinto, a former member of Knesset and the first deaf minister in Israeli history, who is presently a minister for hasbara for the state of Israel. Speaking in sign language, with an interpreter at her side, she shared her fascinating life story with the students and described her present work on behalf of the Israeli government.
The entire morning was incredibly powerful and our students will remember these events for a very long time! Watching our children sing Al Hanisim this morning brought a whole new meaning to the song. It was truly a special Chanukah miracle for The Moriah School.
Rabbi Daniel Alter
Head of School, The Moriah School
