Juniors Prepare for Mystery Maccabee

by Liba Fruithandler, SSLI '28

Yesterday, the 11th grade picked names for their annual Mystery Maccabee event. They have done this every year since their freshman year, but, this year, it is run by their grade representatives, which makes it official.

Mystery Maccabee is the Hanukkah version of Secret Santa. Everyone’s names are put into a hat or basket, and everyone picks one name. Each person is in charge of getting a gift for the person they picked, within a specific price limit. The juniors picked a day two weeks from now to share their gifts.

The small but mighty Junior class taking retreat by storm (M. Resnick)

Multiple juniors have expressed their excitement for this event. Junior Madison Hoffman said, “I’m excited about it because it’s a really nice way for us to get to know each other better.” Because their person might not be someone they usually hang out with, they are able to learn new things about each other.

Junior Ephraim Berman remarked, “It’s very fun to see on the day what people actually get [their person]…. I’ve been thinking of ideas for the person I have, and … I have a couple ideas.”

Brielle Melzer, another junior, stated, “I think it makes gift giving a lot more meaningful.” She went on to say that she thought, because people gave gifts to others they might not have in other circumstances, the event brings the grade closer together.

Liba Fruithandler is a staff writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since January 2025. Liba is currently a sophomore at Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: lfruithandler28@schechterli.org