This week in Midreshet Moriah was really an exceptional one!

It was an extremely studious week at Midreshet Moriah. Due to the snow days, it's crunch time for all of our teachers. The first semester is winding to a close and we're trying to complete all the subjects on our curriculum. With such intense learning, Shabbos came right on time and we left early Friday morning for a three hour journey to our Tzfat shabbaton.

Upon our arrival, we dropped off our belongings and took a walking tour of the city. We learned about many of the old Shuls, where the Shulchan Aruch was written, and more history of the beautiful city. One of our favorite stops was the famous Safed Candle Store. There, we learned some of the techniques used when making these elaborate candles.

Of course, Shabbos was beautiful. We heard from three inspirational speakers along with having fun and bonding with our teachers and friends. Thank you to Lauren Goldschmidt, Leora Bednarsh and Rav Lerner for bringing your families along on this Shabbaton and making it so special.

After an exceptional Shabbos experience came Monday which was our Yom Iyun on Tzniut (modesty). We learned the definition of tzniut and the practical halacha, but it was also taken further by explaining that tzniut is also about modesty of what is on the inside. We had many sessions with video clips, articles, and sources teaching us about modesty. The morning was focused on outer tzniut, while the afternoon was focused on self-image and connected us back to the whole concept of tziniut.

After a day of learning, came a night that was super exciting and fun! Shana Bet organized and ran a fundraiser for the organization “JobKatif“. This organization finds jobs for the people of Gush Katif who were evicted from their homes in 2005 and still cannot find work. There was a Chinese auction with gifts that were generously donated for the cause. There were also live performances by 'Kippa Live', former contestants of the Israeli X Factor, and Ilan Eckhart, a former contestant of Kochav Nolad (Israel's 'American Idol'). We are so grateful that the money that was raised (over 10,000nis) will be tripled by the Israeli government. Thank you Shana Bet and Leora for working so hard on this super successful event! 

Emma Rubenstein and Efrat Secemski, Shana Alef