From Our Rabbi…..
To all of our friends overseas,

The spring is in full bloom in Israel and the hillsides of Modi'in are literally flowing with wild flowers. We view the natural world around us renewing life, and we are reminded to count our blessings.

As Pesach approaches and our thoughts are focused on celebrating the importance of freedom, we turn to those who support us around the globe and thank you for helping to sustain our freedom to continue to promote Progressive Jewish living in our city. Your kindness throughout the years has allowed us to grow, develop and guarantee a bright future for YOZMA.

I would like to bless all of us with a quote from a "techine'" (a personal devotion of women's prayers in Eastern Europe) that we have adopted into our family Seder:

"Remember us with goodness and long life, and grant us abundant blessing in the places we call home. May those we nurture light the world with Torah and good deeds. May your Presence dwell among us as we gather to hear the story of emerging from bondage into freedom."

Wishing you a fulfilling Pesach from all the members of YOZMA,

Building and Educational Funds: A Special Appeal
With the historic land allotment and approval from the City of Modi’in to finally build our own synagogue and preschool complex, and their deadline to prove secured funds for these projects looming, our fundraising is currently focused on making this dream a reality.
We have recruited a designated group of YOZMA members to concentrate on upgrading and intensifying fundraising efforts from within the community. We have initiated a special program to direct local donations to this project and the response has been impressive.
We turn to you, our overseas membership and supporters, to join us in this effort. We have established dedicated funds for our immediate building and educational needs:
The Building Fund’s goal is $375,000 by the end of the year. Already $100,000 has been raised.
The Education Fund’s objective is $170,000 by the end of the year with 10% having already been raised.
To better effect social change and to enhance our spiritual presence in Modi’in, YOZMA has been praying and working towards the autonomy of our own home since its inception, – and this new era is almost here!
Please renew your overseas memberships and donate earmarked to our Building and Educational Funds today!

Getting ready for Pesach at YOZMA
YOZMA led a local "Kimcha DePescha" (Pesach collection for the needy) campaign, as part of the overall annual initiative run by the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ). This drive, run each year before Pesach, entails raising funds from within the YOZMA community, in order to provide food and clothing for families that are facing financial difficulties. Approximately 45 packages of food and 15 clothing gift certificates were distributed by YOZMA volunteers to appreciative families.

A variety of activities were held in our classes to teach the students different angles about the holiday. A three month program was held in the first grade about mutual responsibility learned from Miriam watching her brother Moses placed at the Nile. The final musical pageant was presented to the parents and the educational team. Children in the pre-schools made cups for Eliayahu HaNavi. Just before breaking for vacation, the classes held mock-seders. See the following story about a special study undertaken in our after-school enrichment program. And not just the children in our educational system had the opportunity to learn about Pesach at YOZMA -- Rabbi Shiryon held a learning session for adults about creative ways and out of the box thinking of how to make a seder.

From the children of Israel in Egypt to the Civil War in America
A study of slavery
The 2^nd and 3^rd graders in Kehillat YOZMA's after-school enrichment class studied the concept of slavery through the three opening parashot of the Book of Exodus - "Shemot", "Va'era" and "Bo'e" (sections 1 - 13), which talk about Israel's enslavement in Egypt, and through the book Uncle Tom's Tent (based on the original book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin). This book, which considerably furthered the freeing of the slaves in America, describes the suffering of a black slave who under the most inhumane circumstances was transferred from master to master. Even when serving the most cruel and difficult master, the slave does not revolt nor question the terrible injustice that has been done to him.

The parashot of Exodus the children studied covered the migration of the Israelites to Egypt, how they prospered, and the subsequent concern of the Egyptian Pharoah, causing him to impose oppressive measures in order to weaken them – harsh slavery and killing of the first born Israelite sons. The third parasha ends with the description of the exodus of the Israelites from slavery to freedom.

YOZMA students experienced the suffering of slavery through their identification with the various characters in the story. The children related to the character of Uncle Tom, who remained a slave until his death, and to Aliza and her son Harry, who succeeded in escaping to freedom. The children learned that the horrible institution of slavery does not belong to the distant past. While the children of Israel were enslaved nearly three thousand years ago, the blacks in America were enslaved only two hundred years ago.

As part of the students' final project, the children drew charcoal drawings of Aliza and her son Harry leaving slavery for freedom.

Here you can see some of these moving drawings.

Purim at YOZMA
Purim, and the days leading up to it, was a busy and fun time for Kehillat YOZMA. In the week leading up to the holiday, the children in YOZMA’s educational system left school each day “made up” in different ways (cats, dogs, pictures of butterflies on their face, etc.). The children learned about the holiday in many ways, including through their weekly drama activity, in which several children are dressed up and play the characters in the story.
On the day before the holiday, the children came to their classes dressed up in a wide range of costumes. Each child brought 2 “mishloach manot” (basket of food) – one to be part of a grab bag among the students, the second to be brought to the children at Beit Eden.
YOZMA’s reading of the megilla on Saturday night was held in a local school building to accommodate the many hundreds of participants. The YOZMA band opened the ceremony. The community’s invitation to all to participate in chanting a piece of the megilla was well heeded, with some 15 members of the community participating in reading a section. A “play-back” group of actors was part of the evening, acting out each section after it was read. The entire evening was simultaneously conveyed in sign language as well. The evening closed with YOZMA’s first graders helping to lead havdallah.

The celebrations continued on Sunday when Rabbi Shiryon and a group of volunteers brought Purim cheer to the children at Beit Eden, the home for mentally challenged children in Ramle that YOZMA has adopted.