A major pre-holiday fair took place at the Levi Yitzchak Schneerson Jewish Lyceum No. 144, a leading educational institution of the Dnipro Jewish Community. The event was prepared as part of a large project initiated by the Judaic Studies department.
The fair marked the culmination of an extensive pre-holiday marathon. As part of it, each class was tasked with preparing specific items related to Rosh Ha-Shanah for the fair. Some classes prepared greeting cards with wishes of “Shana Tova Umetuka,” others decorated pomegranates – fruits containing numerous sweet seeds, likened by the sages to the commandments of the Torah – while others prepared apples and jars of honey for the joyous event, which are also among the brightest and most well-known symbols of the Jewish New Year.
The children presented the prepared holiday items at a large school-wide fair held at the lyceum in the last decade of the month of Elul. The fair became a significant and joyous event for students, teachers, and administration, bringing much happiness to all attendees.
“Our department prepared this pre-holiday marathon with great care and thoroughness,” says Leah Lazareva, a teacher of Jewish traditions. “In addition to preparing and conducting the fair, we told all students about the importance of checking tefillin and mezuzot during the month of Elul. Furthermore, in two classes, we solemnly affixed new mezuzot, and this ceremony was conducted for us by Arye Ivakhnenko, a student of the ‘Stars intensive’ project and a new madrich in ‘DJCY – STL Teens – EnerJew’.”
