By ShinShinim, Kyla and Eden
Guest Columnists
This past month has been filled with unforgettable events and meaningful experiences. It all started with the Flavors of Israel fundraiser for our ShinShinim program, held in collaboration with an Israeli chef from Akko, our Partnership city in the Western Galilee. It was incredible to see how the community came together to support us, and we felt so grateful for the overwhelming encouragement and love. It warmed our hearts and gave us the strength to keep pushing forward.
After that amazing event, we traveled with students from The Temple to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., as part of the Holocaust education curriculum. It was a powerful and meaningful day, and it was truly moving to see the kids approach the subject with such maturity and respect. It reminded us how important it is to continue telling this story to future generations and strengthened our commitment to preserving its history.
And then…Purim celebrations kicked off! We started by teaching the children from the Early Learning Center at the Roth Family Education Center about the Megillah and making colorful masks together. Later, with the Club J after-school program, we crafted “hamantaschen” out of paper plates and tissue paper and even baked real hamantaschen with the seniors. The festivities wrapped up with a huge community Purim party at Keneseth Israel, where everyone dressed up and celebrated together. It was so much fun leading the costume contest and seeing the amazing creativity—it felt like one big, joyful community.
Moving forward, we couldn’t be more excited to kick off our newest project, “Our Israeli Story,” with the goal of showing a more personal side of Israel than what is typically found on social media and the news. We aim to share this perspective with the entire Jewish community, and beyond.
We want to invite all of you to participate in a very special event we are having on April 6. Come run, walk, swim, or bike at the Trager Family JCC in honor of a fallen Israeli soldier. [See sign up below] We have a display in the lobby with stories of fallen soldiers and you are invited to choose one to honor during your hour of sports activity. Donations made during the event will go toward helping efforts to rebuild the Western Galilee following the war in Israel.
We are also planning a “Tekes” Yom HaZikaron ceremony on April 29, a special commemoration to remember the Israeli soldiers and victims of terrorism in Israel. This is an incredibly important event for us, and we’ll be so grateful to everyone who comes and participates in standing with us on this difficult day.
In addition, we’re organizing Zikaron Basalon, a meaningful and intimate initiative where we gather in private homes to remember and reflect on the Holocaust and its impact. We will be holding two open sessions – one in Hebrew and one in English. It’s a powerful and personal way to connect with the memory of the Holocaust and ensure it continues to resonate.
We’re super excited about everything coming up, and we can’t wait to share it all with you.