בין חֵרוּת לחָרוּת

On 29 Iyar (May 21), Orot Israel College held its traditional Yom Yerushalayim celebration for the student body, the staff, and the administration, at the Elkana campus. The event began with a festive dinner on the campus lawn and culminated with an awards ceremony and an artistic program in the auditorium.
Rav Professor Neria Guttel, president of Orot Israel College, and Professor Yosef Rivlin, chairman of the academic council, greeted the attendees, and then the award ceremony began.
First, the Ron family (together with the Betzer and Frankel families) presented a number of students with the Tzippi Ron Memorial Scholarship. Mrs. Ron spoke lovingly about Tzippi z”l, her generous spirit, and her many acts of kindness, which inspired the family to perpetuate her memory in this fashion.
Next, three outstanding Orot students received Awards for Excellence for their Judaic studies research papers. Twelve students reached the finals, and after three rounds of judging, the winners were selected. First place went to Ortal Flora Sheier-Darmon, who wrote about Rav Kook’s poetry and modern literary analysis. Finally, the board members of Orot’s Student Union were given an award for their significant contributions to student life on campus.
After the awards ceremony, the audience was treated to a fascinating presentation by Yerushalayim’s City of David Foundation and then enjoyed a lively communal sing-along.

Yerushalayim Comes To Rosh HaAyin

Meital Chori, Naamah Kusten, and Tamar Cohen
Third-Year Students, Social-Communal Education Department

In honor of Yom Yerushalayim, the junior high school students at Ulpanat Zevulun in Rosh HaAyin went on a magical “journey” to Yerushalayim. This very special program was organized by second- and third-year students from Orot Israel College’s social-communal education department.

Several days before Yom Yerushalayim, the second-year students delivered a shiur – which was prepared by the third-year students – entitled, “The Importance of Yerushalayim.” The shiur focused on questions, such as: Why do we have Yom Yerushalayim but not Yom Tel Aviv? What are the sources of Yerushalayim’s sanctity for the Jewish people? What does Yerushalayim mean to me?

Then, on Yom Yerushalayim itself, the seventh, eighth, and ninth graders took part in an entertaining treasure hunt, run by the Orot students. Each of the Ulpanat Zevulun girls had to stop at six different stations, where they solved secret codes; learned about Yerushalayim’s many names; studied psukim from the Tanach which pertain to Yerushalayim; watched a slide show; identified Yerushalayim’s neighborhoods and gates; “visited” the Machaneh Yehudah shuk; and heard stories about many of Yerushalayim’s famous residents.

The girls had a wonderful time uncovering many of Yerushalayim’s fascinating secrets.