Dear Shvilei HaTorah Family,

I would like to open with a special Yasher Koach to Yitz Kowalsky, our intrepid madrich, and Bobby Dolitsky for completing the Jerusalem 1/2 marathon which for those who have been in the very hilly streets of Yerushalayim during a warm stretch can imagine is no easy task.

This week, the final week of Choref Zman and the last days before Pesach vacation, was devoted to preparations for the holiday. On top of the long-overdo cleaning of the rooms, and the meetings for those attending Heritage in Poland, the pre-Pesach Torah, from staff and students, was impressive.

On Monday afternoon, four sessions of interactive, multimedia practical halacha were held. One dealt with the issue of how much Matza to eat and how much wine to drink; the second simulated Tevilat Keilim and some of the most pertinent rules; another demonstrated kitchen Kashering, including microwaves and countertops;. Finally, Rabbi Mann led a session on properly cleaning and Kashering ovens, sans the blowtorch, unfortunately.

On Wednesday night, we had the truly distinct privilege of hearing from Rav Assaf Bednarsh, a Rosh Yeshiva at YU's Gruss Kollel in Israel.

Most importantly, though: throughout this week and last, the students have been preparing divrei Torah about the Pesach Seder. These fine works of Torah exposition have been compiled in a packet and distributed to the students; additionally, they are available on the website and via email. Here at the Yeshiva, we are very proud of all our students and their efforts for this project. We hope that everyone will enjoy these precious words of Torah and use them to enrich their Seder night/s.

Wishing you and your family a healthy, happy, and kosher Pesach.

Naftali and Rachel Balanson
Av and Em Bayit