We went out to a sports day in Gan Sacher in Jeruslem,this is the first time we attmpted this type of activity and I must thank Rabbi Yosef Palavani for the initiative.

we started the day at the Yeshiva with a short class. Around 10:30 we w

ere on our way, by foot, to Sacher Park. It took us about 25 minutes through a beautifull hidden walkway. When we finally arrived we took out the soccer ball. One of the students wanted

to demonstrate his kicking skills. he definatly had skills, he kicked the ball

so high, it got stuck on a very tall tree. We attempted to throw another ball up to the tree to try and get the ball down from the tree, for about 15 minutes we threw and kicked the ball up in our attempts to rescue the ball and finally... the other ball got stuck as well... we thought that this may be it for sports day buy then we managed to hold on to one of the branches. we shook it down and finally both balls fell down.

We split into two groups and the rabbis showed incredible soccer tallent as they be

at 7 teams of contenders in a row. We also had frisbees for low intensity workout. Oded showed great skill and some amazing moves.

At the end of the day we split into two groups and had a running contest and found some surprise sprinters between the students. We sealed that part of the day with baguettes, hummus, hamburgers and fries.

After the bountyful meal, we dragged ourselves up the hill to a hidden spot where a great Tzadik is burried, we prayed there, asked god to deliver our wishes and left from there. It was an exciting day, capping off a most amazing week. None of us can wait to do this again.

Dear Friends,

Today is a great day. Today is a milestone for our program as it marks the opening of our second center. From our modest beginning a year and a half ago, with 6 students, pushing towards a new frontier, today we counted 30 students in Jerusalem and an 8 student nucleus in out new Ramat Gan center. Today, sitting on the bus to Ramat Gan, I had the pleasure of sitting next to one of my veteran students. I listened to him as he told me about his plan to join a gym and his longer term plan / dream to start a small business. I was elated as he thanked the staff of the Beit Midrash for helping him find the strength within to bring forth his potential. When he told me that he gets up every day to pray before starting his day, I couldn't help but swell with pleasure as I remembered the student that walked into our program a year ago, contending everyday with the seemingly simple task of getting up out of bed in the morning. As you can imagine, it was a wonderful boost of confidence for me as I literally and symbolically rode forward to try and bring more hope to people.

I would like to end by thanking you for being a part of this endeavor and thank you for your support, both financial and emotional. If you know of more people that would like to partner with us in this life altering program, please send them for a visit. www.shafyativ.com