We trained rigorously for months to build up our stamina and speed, and tapped all of our resources in Israel and at home to raise money. But on March 21 we saw the fruits of our labor pay off for the kids at the AMIT Beit Hayeled that we have grown to love over the course of our year at Midreshet AMIT. On that day we proudly joined over 50 other students on Team Midreshet AMIT in the Jerusalem Marathon. Our goal was to raise money to fund bar and bat mitzvah celebrations for the children in AMIT’s Beit HaYeled. To date we have collectively raised over $16,000!
There are many schools to chose from when looking for a yeshiva to spend the year learning in Israel, but for us one stood out: Midreshet AMIT. We knew the moment Mrs. Ilana Gottlieb came to speak to us at our high school Israel night, that Midreshet AMIT would be the right place for us to learn, grow, and strive to be the best people we could possibly be.
The Midreshet AMIT program strikes the perfect balance between rigorous learning and immersion in chesed, and our schedule reflects both challenging classes and amazing volunteer opportunities. A huge component of the program is the work we do with the children of the Beit HaYeled and is what differentiates the Midreshet AMIT experience from most of the other gap-year yeshivot in Israel.
Beit HaYeled is an AMIT foster home in Israel that serves children ages 6 to 14 from troubled homes with unstable or unsafe living conditions. A total of 120 kids live at the Beit Hayeled, and are divided into “mishpactonim” or families of 10-14 boys and girls. Each mishpachton is led by an amazing and dynamic Israeli couple, as well as two bnot sherut who work together to take care of all of the children’s needs and act as surrogate parents to all of them.
In addition, five students from the midrasha are assigned to each family to provide additional help with the children. While we live in separate apartments, they are in the same building as the mishpachtonim and we thus become a constant presence in their daily lives. Our job is not to discipline kids or try to “fix” their problems, but rather to help them with homework, play with them, and become their friends.
Throughout the year, we have developed close relationships with the children, spent quality time with them, and experienced fundamental milestones together. Building these relationships and being a source of support for these children t is not always easy, however, the pleasure and satisfaction we get from their smiles, laughs, and friendship is tremendously rewarding.
Each of the Beit HaYeled children look up to the Midreshet AMIT students as role models and friends. They, like us, have good days and more difficult ones, but when they open up and we get that hug or high five from them, it’s the best feeling in the world. It’s those little moments like when they write us letters or ask us to help them that we will cherish forever. Not only do we have the chance to make a difference in their lives, but we can truly say that they have made a huge difference and impact on our lives as well.
It is in honor of the work we are privileged to do at the Beit HaYeled that we decided to run as a school in the Jerusalem Marathon and give something special to the kids who have become so dear to us. Our gift to them is a small token of the appreciation we have for the amazing life-changing experience they have afforded us this year.
By Rebecca Alenick and Lindsay Frucher
