The girls at AMIT Wasserman Torah, Arts and Sciences take part in an annual race, and this year they dedicated it to the memory of Ella Or, z”l, who was killed in the flash flood that struck southern Israel last month.
The competition, which is called BaDerech l’Erech (meaning “the way to value” in Hebrew), is like a values-themed color war in which the girls are divided into teams that are named for such things as love of Israel, leadership, Israeli culture, and religious Zionism.
The teams then split up into different locations in Israel and had to complete different missions: walking sightseeing trails, studying, and taking part in volunteer efforts related to their team’s value.
The winning team represented the love of Israel. They helped farmers on a kibbutz work in their vineyard, among other things.
The girls from the school in Ma’ale Adumim dedicated the friendly competition to the memory of their friend and classmate Ella Or, z”l, who was among the 10 students killed in the flash flood tragedy in April.
The school’s principal, Brenda Horwitz-Prawer, said the values that described the teams also defined Ella’s unique personality.
The values for which the different teams were named, especially the winning value—”love of the land”—were embedded in Ella’s character,” she said. “We miss her dearly, and she will continue to serve as model and set an example for all of us at the school.”