Youngsters Enjoy Seders Inside and Out

This year our children were lucky to be involved in two amazing mock seders, even before the actual holiday.

Kiryat Nordau: The mock seder was organized by Kiryat Nordau Community Center in Netanya and included students and pupils from ESRA's Students Build a Community Project. We have 9 students and 36 pupils participating in this project. Various other youth groups took part in this wonderful event and most of the community was there. Due to our close cooperation with the Community Center and the increasing involvement of our students in the community, Hagai Edry, one of our students, was invited to lead the seder. This he did with great aplomb, asking the kids questions and soliciting answers and interest in the relevance of past to present day celebrations of Pesach. Ofer Orenstein, head of the Community Centers for the Netanya Municipality, and Einat Lavy, our project coordinator, gave their greetings. The seder was followed by a meal for all the community and was a very bonding and emotional evening.

Waste Separation Facility: This event was organized due to our cooperation with the Environment Department of the Netanya Municipality and an organization called "The Green Network". In thanks for the help of our students and children on Good Deeds Day, these two organizations arranged a day's outing for all the participants of our three Students Build a Community projects. Over 90 kids and almost 30 students were taken to visit the Waste Separation Facility of Zvi Cohen in Netanya. The groups were given a tour of the facility and shown how the trash is separated and prepared for recycling. They then spent a fun and interesting day at Nahal Alexander learning about the environment and how they can help protect it. 

The day ended with an impromptu Pesach seder for all the participants on the green lawns of the Rehabilitated River where the kids played games supervised by the students. Once again Hagai Edry led the very short seder – and the kids ate symbolic eggs and matzot. Thanks to the Environment Department and to Ayelet of The Green Network for giving us the opportunity to have an outing with all three of our projects together – wonderful to see the kids and students all getting together.

Thanks go too, to our two wonderful coordinators of the these projects - Einat Lavy and Hila Levy who are interested and involved in, and game for, anything that will improve these children's lives.