2 days at SKA: Moving from darkness to light
“We have entered that sensitive period of time where we feel our historical journey as a nation during the Holocaust and its unfathomable destruction [were followed by] seeds of reconstruction and renewal through the miracles of the establishment of the State of Israel.”
With these words, Mrs. Helen Spirn, Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls head of school, addressed the school’s reflective program commemorating Yom Hazikaron on Wednesday and Yom Haazmaut on Thursday.
Yom Hazikaron at SKA was dedicated to the soldiers who gave their lives last summer in the battles of Gaza during Operation Protective Edge, Tzuk Eitan. As Ms. Raizi Chechik, principal of grades 9–10, reflected at the day’s tefila gathering, SKA students had been dedicating their learning and tefillot each day since the beginning of the year to a different one of the soldiers killed during Tzuk Eitan, posting his picture and bio on the bulletin board and creating a day dedicated to his memory. Three SKA juniors, Henna Storch, Michal Yacker and Zehava Gros, worked to spread this program to 27 schools throughout the country so that by its conclusion, 5,500 students were participating daily in the prayer and learning dedication. The group they founded, Lev Echad, sent letters to each of the families of the soldiers, letting them know that their sons lived on in our minds and hearts.
The evening before Yom Hazikaron, many students joined in the Lev Echad conference call to hear from one of the Tzuk Eitan veterans who visited SKA earlier this year, and participated in a group recitation of tehillim with students from many other schools.
We were privileged to hear from Panim el Panim visitor Amatzia Fensterheim, a young English-speaking soldier who fought valiantly in that battle, losing many of his friends in a sudden attack. His stirring speech left the students with a sense of pride in our Israeli soldiers and awe at how Jews from all over the globe came to Israel during that time period to show their unity.
