The magic of Shiriyah returned to Yeshivat Frisch in its full glory last Friday, the week before winter break, amid much anticipation among students and the entire Frisch community. The yeshiva overflowed with creativity all week, as Frisch’s over 900 students brought to life their Torah theme with activities and competitions in just about every field imaginable. This year’s theme focused on the meaning and significance of bayit—from the bayit ne’eman b’Yisrael to the beit knesset, the beit midrash to the Beit Hamikdash.

What makes Shiriyah so special is that every student has an opportunity to shine, express their talents and contribute to their grade’s amazing Shiriyah effort. This year’s roster of activities was the best yet, with floor-to-ceiling murals, painted banners, themed hallways, a box car derby, Rube Goldberg machines, Escape the Room, Lego construction, decorated cakes, fashion design, videos (both live-action and stop-motion) and more. In addition, the week of Shiriyah featured a variety of activities, including Torah Bowl/Chidon, a beit midrash scavenger hunt, Family Feud, dodgeball, chess, a grade vs. grade Chopped-style competition, and—new to this year—an Iron Chef competition with talented faculty home cooks serving as the iron chefs! Throughout, students connected to Torah through shiurim about their grade’s theme and independent learning with meforshim. In addition, each grade collected winter coats for a coat drive and sold snacks to raise money for tzedaka.

This year’s Shiriyah honors the memory of Frisch parent Elaine Mehler z”l יהודית ברכה בת נחמיה ז״ל. Elaine loved Shiriyah. (Legend has it that Elaine even attended Shiriyah when she didn’t have children in the school.) May the ruach, achdut and Torah in the yeshiva this Shiriyah be לעילוי נשמתה.

Shiriyah culminates in a school-wide celebration on Thursday night, which showcases many of the week’s finished projects, songs and stomp performances. Stay tuned for the full recap!