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At Shulamith MS Shabbaton, ties bind

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The Shulamith Middle Division Shabbaton took place on Parshat Chayei Sara, in Woodmere.

On Friday morning, exuberant seventh and eighth grade students arrived with luggage in tow. They created challah covers while Shabbaton heads Sarah Leah Herman, Adina Lazar and Kayla Wilamowsky, along with the decorating heads Meira Max and Shirley Shayesteh, left school to completely transform up the simcha room in Congregation Aish Kodesh.

A few hours later, faculty and students began arriving at the shul, dressed in their Shabbat finery. Earlier in the week, tefillah leaders Shira Borochov, Rachee Ganchrow and Yehudis Herschberg reviewed Kabbalat Shabbat with their peers, which allowed everyone to appreciate the tefillot as they davened with the kehillah.

After davening, students headed to the simcha hall to enjoy a delicious seudah catered by Traditions. The evening’s activities included divrei Torah, a spirited kumzitz, and a choir presentation headed by seventh graders Ariella Borah and Priva Halpert. Participants heard spellbinding midrashim and stories about the Jewish city of Hevron and its heroes and heroines from Leah Feinberg, parent of Shulamith sixth grader Elisheva Feinberg and longtime judaic studies teacher in the Five Towns. Soon parents were arriving to escort students to their hosts’ homes.

On Shabbat morning, students reconvened in shul for Shacharit, during which Rebbetzin Weinberger encouraged the girls to follow in the footsteps of our Imahot, and shared details from the exalted life of Rebbetzin Henny Machlis, a paragon of chesed, who did just that.

Our final guest speaker was Rabbi Shmuel Klammer, principal of Shulamith School for Girls of Brooklyn, who described individuals such as Thomas Edison, Eleanor Roosevelt and Albert Einstein, who were told as youngsters that they were intellectually impaired, but did not accept those labels and went on to achieve greatness. Rabbi Klammer also told stories of gedolim and of the medrash, to inspire each student to always believe in herself and to strive to do her very best.

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