Up Up and Away!

Check out these awesome photos of our 6th grade rocket scientists launching their homemade rockets with Mrs. Wynn and Moti...

Making Israeli Pen Pals

Hello! This is Sydney Altman and Paige Epstein in Israel. We are coming to the end of our magnificent trip and will be flying back tomorrow. Despite the small amount of time left in Israel, we are still having a stupendous time. Today, we met our Israeli pen pals from Rishon Le Zion. Our group met them at their beautiful school and got to know them. Together we traveled to a beet field where we participated in a mitzvah of harvesting beets and assisting the needy by doing so. We all went out to lunch together at a nearby mall and after went to Tel Aviv with them. In Tel Aviv we made our way to a beach for activities to help us bond even more. We all had so much fun and by the end of the day, we were all such close friends. We plan to keep in touch with our new friends, and maybe see them again someday. We continue to enjoy ourselves greatly, and even though we will miss Israel, we are very excited to see you all soon.

8th Grade's Final Shabbat in Israel...

Hi, this is Jesse Kellar from Israel. We had a great and relaxing Shabbat in Jerusalem.

First, we went to Shul. We grouped off into four synagogues. There was an Orthodox, a “Feminist Orthodox”, a Conservative and a Reform Shul. The Orthodox ones were Mechizah minyans, however, in the Feminist Orthodox one, they count only a minyan with ten men AND ten women.  We learned that men and women both lead, but just different parts of the service. The group heading to the Conservative service found the school it was supposed to be in, but nobody was there and they joined the Reform minyan. There was a Bat Mitzvah going on in the Reform service and we really enjoyed listening to her read from the Torah.

After Shul we went to lunch and had free time after that. During free time, some of us swam or just hung out.  After Havdalah, we went to Ben Yehuda street to shop, this time without the danger of being sprayed with shaving cream. We went into small groups and wandered around and some people had visitors.

We got back really late, but everybody had a really fun time!

Erev Shabbat in Jerusalem

Hello. This is Jacob and Josh from Jerusalem on our eleventh day in Israel. Today, we toured Yad Vashem where we learned about the Holocaust. Afterwards we walked up Mount Herzl and saw the graves of past leaders, heroes, and soldiers. Later, we went to Machaneh Yehudah market where we had pizzur lunch, bought food and souvenirs. Then we went to our Hotel where we prepared for Shabbat, and later visited the Kotel. We are having an amazing trip and we miss you all. See you soon.

Yom Ha'atzmaut; HAMC Style

While our 8th graders were off celebrating Yom Ha'atzmaut in Israel, we did a pretty awesome job making it feel like we were celebrating in Israel.  All students and staff were adorned in blue and white clothing making it look like 200 Israeli flags were gliding through the school. The theme of this year's Yom Ha'atzmaut was "Israel; A Melting Pot", celebrating the diversity and wide array of different cultures and lifestyles that Israel is blessed with.  At one station the students could visit Morocco with Moreh Moshe and cook the delicious ethnic food, Mufleta, a soft and flat bread covered in honey.  At other stations the students admired customary Yemenite clothing, watched a Sefardic "Henna" ceremony, and tried on Ethiopian jewelry. We also had the treat of spending time with a group of young Israelis who came to visit us from their high school in Ra'nanna. They taught us how to play the Darbuka, a Middle Eastern hand-drum, and how to belly dance while wearing a special skirt adorned with silver coins that jingle. Overall, we had a wonderful day that really captured the spirit of Israel and our love for our homeland...

Happy 64th Birthday Israel!!

Celebrating Israel's Birthday IN ISRAEL!

Hi! This is Elias Neibart and Lielle Lev blogging from Israel!  We started off the day with a special morning service in honor of Yom Ha’Hatzmaut with another Jewish day school from Cleveland, Ohio.  After the nutritious breakfast, we traveled to the City of David and explored the wonderful water tunnels. We got to see the story’s of the Bible come to life. Most kids were scared in the tunnels because of the dark, but their fear faded and everyone had a great time.  Than we went to have lunch at Ein Yael, where we participated in many activities ranging from basket weaving to pita making.  After the great lunch, we went to the Tzfat hike and experienced beautiful scenery and nature.  We even got to crawl in more pitch black tunnels! After the tiring day, we returned to the hotel to eat and rest. Now we are going to our evening activity to learn and discuss our Jewish roots and heritage.  See you soon! Chag Sameach!

HAMC Remembers Israel's Fallen Soilders

Yesterday marked the day of Yom HaZikaron, the day that we commemorate Israel's fallen soldiers and victims of terror.  Our 4th graders led us in a beautiful service, capturing the emotions and words of real people who have lost loved ones in Israel.  They serenaded us with melodies of hope for the future and recited words of poetry that moved our hearts.  We concluded with the Yom HaZikaron Yizkor and sang a heartfelt rendition of the Ha Tikvah in unison, with our brethren in Israel in our thoughts.