Kita alef and kita bet students reached an important milestone in their learning as they received their very first siddurim and chumashim. But MDS celebrated a second milestone as well. With overwhelming gratitude to Hashem, this week was the first time in 14 months that students and their parents were able to celebrate together in person. They celebrated being able to come together as a community—to learn and live Torah with their children.

In kita alef, students celebrated the essential academic and spiritual achievement of being able to read Hebrew and daven from a siddur. Kita alef has learned that with their siddurim, they can thank, ask and praise Hashem each day. For many months, the students put in tremendous effort to prepare for this momentous occasion by learning how to daven, practicing their singing and developing an appreciation for prayer and an everlasting relationship with Hashem. As a parting gift, they received shtenders engraved with their Hebrew names to use while davening at home. Mazal tov to all of the students on their outstanding performance. It will be exciting to hear the beautiful tefillot of the children echo in the MDS halls as they daven from their new siddurim every day.

Kita bet students excitedly received their chumashim in a joyous celebration that they shared with their parents. They sang songs thanking Hashem for reaching this milestone and expressing their love for Israel. Each student was presented with his/her own Chumash then the entire class read aloud the first pasuk in Bereshit. Afterwards, the students lained from a real sefer Torah and were proud to participate in a hands-on experience where they saw the Torah up close for the first time. They also received shtenders engraved with their Hebrew names that they could use at home when practicing their newfound Torah skills. To complete the program, the Parents Council sponsored pizza parties for both classes, and presented Morah Nelly Brody with a special gift to honor her 22 years of teaching at MDS.