Ma’ayanot students entered Pesach on a wave of inspiration after a Tuesday, April 16, yom iyun on the subject of emunah. The highlight was a keynote address by renowned author and lecturer Rabbi Paysach Krohn, whose engaging style captivated the audience. Sophomore Elisheva Raskas stated that “Rabbi Krohn was an inspiring speaker, and I loved how passionate he was. He really taught the crowd, and shared with us how he instills emunah in his own life, and he gave real-life examples that the audience could connect to and apply to their lives.” Nili Lang, 11th grade, said that “Rabbi Krohn’s speech really made an impact on my view of emunah, and it will enhance my Seder.” The keynote was followed by faculty-led wrap-up sessions held in smaller groups. Ninth-grader Abigail Lerer shared an insight from the session led by Rabbi Donny Besser, Talmud and Halacha teacher and director of Torah Enrichment: “You can’t really latch onto someone else’s emunah. You have to grow it on your own. I thought that was really powerful because sometimes it’s hard to relate to other people’s emunah. You feel like, what’s wrong with me? Why can’t I feel this? But emunah is something you have to learn on your own and grow on your own, and you can’t take it from other people.” Tenth-grader Malky Gutnicki also attended Rabbi Besser’s session. “We had so many talks about emunah and Hashem and we had all these questions. So we had a discussion with Rabbi Besser, and he answered so many of our questions. And when I davened Mincha I had a new understanding of what I was saying and what I was asking for, and it was really amazing.”