Every year, Bruriah aims to develop Chanukah programs that promote student bonding, meaningful inspiration and of course, lots of fun. This Chanukah, the week began with just that.

On Monday, the grades joined together for some delicious doughnut decorating. This was a part of Bruriah’s big sister-little sister initiative, where ninth graders are paired up with 11th graders and 10th graders with 12th graders in an effort to foster friendships between lower and upper classmen. “It’s so nice to have a dedicated time where we get to bond with girls from other grades,” said senior Chaya Bernhaut. The doughnut decorating yielded some creative (and delicious) results, and a wonderful time was had by all.

On Tuesday, the programming continued with a day of Chanukah inspiration at a beautiful yom iyun. The day was spent exploring how to find the balance between the materialism that Yavan represents and the spirituality to which Yiddishkeit aspires. The program featured guest speaker Rebecca Belizon, as well as a panel of students and teachers addressing several important questions pertaining to this topic, such as: How do you know when you’re using physicality l’shem shamayim? What are some examples of where materialism and beauty clash most with Torah values? Thank you to Bracha Avraham and Amy Tropp for spearheading this thought-provoking yom iyun and providing insights that will last well beyond the eight nights of Chanukah.