Yom Ha’Atzma'ut Celebration in Tel Aviv School
By Chesky Kopel, Shana Bet
This year’s Yom Ha’Atzma'ut festivities were particularly special and memorable for a group of several dozen Har Etzion students. The group, which included about 20 Shana Bet overseas students, traveled to Tel Aviv on late Yom HaZikaron afternoon and arrived at the Reishit school in southern Tel Aviv around nightfall to participate in the Tekes Ma’avar (or “crossover ceremony”, in which the crowd first solemnly commemorates the fallen Israeli soldiers for Yom HaZikaron, and then begins joyful celebration of Israel’s independence for Yom Ha’Atzma’ut). The school, which is Mamlachti Dati (a religious public school), is in a particularly secular and impoverished area of the city, and is run by Yeshiva Alumnus Rabbi Sefi Sherman (Hesder Machzor 18). Due to its unique identity and location, the school grounds and resources double as somewhat of a religious community center, in a region that is all too often sorely lacking in such institutions. The Har Etzion students watched and applauded as the Reishit students performed in honor of the holidays, and then helped give life to the dancing, the crowd, and the festive Ma’ariv (led by Har Etzion student Gilad Brounstein (Hesder Machzor 41) as the Yom Ha’Atzma’ut part of the ceremony commenced. Members of both groups greatly appreciated the experience, and for the overseas students in particular, the encounter with the Tel Aviv community served as an important exposure to the diversity of the communities in
- 6 Iyar 5770
