Schechter Community Celebrates Yom Yerushalayim

 by Rebecca Bazini, SSLI '26

On Friday, Schechter hosted a Kabbalat Shabbat service honoring Yom Yerushalayim. The service was open to the entire Schechter community, including teachers, parents, and students of all grades. The event featured choir performances honoring Jerusalem and those who fought for it during the Six-Day War.

Yom Yerushalayim is an Israeli national holiday commemorating Israel’s regaining of Jerusalem following the Six-Day War. During the war, Jordan took over Jerusalem and destroyed half of the Old City’s religious synagogues. On June 7, 1967, Israeli forces reclaimed East Jerusalem, and, ever since, Israelis and Zionists all over the world have celebrated the momentous day.

Schechter students gather for Kabblat Shabbat. (SSLI Instagram)

“[Winning Jerusalem] was a huge win, and so we’re grateful that we have this land that’s ours and so beautiful,” remarked junior Shir Levenson.

During Friday’s service, volunteer students sang as part of Schechter’s Upper School choir. The singing was conducted by Ms. Stern, the Lower School music teacher. The Upper School choir performed the songs "HaKotel," "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav," and "Lecha Dodi."

“I celebrate [Yom Yerushalayim] by singing in the choir because I’ve just been doing that since elementary school, and it’s just very meaningful for me,” said sophomore Sara Rosenthal. “Ms. Stern had us go up and sing songs from elementary school,” she continued. “It was a cool little memory, and then the little kids were singing with us, so it was like full circle.”

“We sang a song called HaKotel, which was very meaningful in elementary school and is still meaningful now,” Rosenthal added. “It’s about a friend and a mother who are missing their friend and their son, who died in the war to get the Kotel back. I think that’s especially meaningful for us now—after our Schechter community lost Omer, it hits closer to home.”

Levenson also shared, “It was a really beautiful, really moving song, and it just shows how people gave up so much to fight for our country—and how we need to be grateful for them.”

Rebecca Bazini is a writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since January 2023. Rebecca is currently a junior at the Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: rbazini26@schechterli.org.