Tefillah, the morning of Yom Ha’atzmaut was a blue and white beautiful haze. Hallel was b’yachad outdoors which put everyone in a joyful spirit to celebrate Medinat Yisrael! What a fantastic day! Hebrew music was playing throughout the building. The elementary school students enjoyed a visit to Angel’s Bakery in Yerushalayim and even made their very own chocolate rugelach, rolling out their dough! With satisfied tummies, they drummed on their tofim to Israeli songs. The beautiful artwork they created on hats protected them from the hot sun in Eilat and the water bottles that they decorated quenched their thirst as they traveled to Tel Aviv. The students created stunning artwork using clay and paint and planted during their visit to the kibbutz.
Gathering around the medurah (bonfire), third-fifth graders made homemade pita and added chocolate spread! At the pardes (orchard), they freshly squeezed OJ. During their IDF basic training, they learned salutes, Hebrew commands and had a workout! The students were so creative decorating their own T-shirts, and beading with kachol v’lavan beads.
The middle school students joined together in answering trivia questions about the map and land of Israel. They created 3-dimensional Israeli artwork. They got a bit rained on (army-style) while outside following the commands from their mefaked (commander). Running, executing drills and working as a team they got a taste of what it’s like to be a chayal/chayelet. They were delighted to taste freshly baked pita, shakshuka and rugelach! The students were full of ruach during rikudei am.
After getting their passports stamped,early childhood friends took off to Eretz Yisrael on an airplane! They toured from the north to the south, learning about each city. They milked a cow on a kibbutz. They made their own pita—and what’s pita without chocolate spread?! During their visit to the Dead Sea, they colored salt with chalk and took home necklaces with the colored salt inside and painted Israeli flags. Lastly, they stopped by a photo booth to capture all the fun they were having!
It was truly an amazing Yom Ha’atzmaut at BPY! Am Yisrael Chai!
