Passover is best spent in the company of family and friends, but this year not everyone at Meir Shfeyah, Hadassah’s Youth Aliyah Village, got to celebrate with their family. More than 40 students from Ukraine and Russia have no family in Israel and remained in the village during the two-week holiday. Special activities, field trips and work opportunities were planned for them, and each got to attend a Seder with a local family.
Before the holiday, all the students at the village enjoyed Shfeyah’s annual pre-Passover Seder, celebrated in the Marcie Natan Dining Hall. Last year, 29 Ukrainian youth escaping from harm’s way and arriving at the village only a few weeks before sat at their first Seder in Israel not really understanding Hebrew and still in shock from the trauma of leaving their homes and families. This year the same students and another 50 new students from the FSU who arrived in September celebrated joyfully, participating in the ceremonies as narrators, singers and members of our orchestra.
Barbara Goldstein, deputy director of Hadassah Offices in Israel, led the children in song. Her enthusiasm got the kids singing and laughing and clapping, making this a Seder they will never forget.
After the reading of the Haggadah, 15 students were recognized as the recipients of scholarships to the newly created Shfeyah Western Riding Academy, funded by a gift from Hadassah. These students will begin training for national competitions and the opportunity to be certified as therapeutic horse trainers.
Asaf, an 11th-grade student who has lived and studied at Shfeyah for two years, presented special recognition to soldier/teacher Daniel, who has fulfilled his army service as a mentor to our students during the past two years. Asaf thanked Daniel for his leadership, for being a role model and for providing him with support and opportunities to give back to the community. Asaf then announced that Daniel will be honored for his army service during national Yom Ha’atzma’ut ceremonies this month.
The holiday meal was prepared by the kitchen staff and kitchen manager Sami, who is observing the Ramadan fast while preparing daily meals and holiday feasts for the village.
“I continue to be amazed and inspired by the village, our students and our staff, and of course by our friends at Hadassah whose support makes this all possible,” says Lauren Stern Kedem, Hadassah liaison to the Meir Shfeyah Youth Village. “In 2023, 100 years after the youth village was created, Shfeyah continues to provide a home, to educate and to change the lives of children in need. As the needs of the country change, so have the students we care for. Now, as we did 100 years ago, we absorb and care for refugees of war, new immigrants and Israeli kids of all backgrounds. Our success is a result of the things that haven’t changed—our commitment to respecting, accepting and appreciating children because of their uniqueness and diversity; our respect for the values of democracy, pluralism and civil rights; and our commitment to recognizing strengths, encouraging self and mutual respect, and never giving up.
“Because this is what we do.”