Dear students, educators, parents,
The school year opens this year in all educational institutions on the same day: the Sunday of the week, which is both the first of Elul and the first of September.
In most years, the summer vacation does not end with the 'Bein HaZamina', and the 'Elul period' does not begin on the same day that the general school year begins.
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Thus, the girls of Beit Yaakov are granted a few extra days off, after their brothers have already traveled to the large yeshivots, or set out early in the morning for their studies in the small yeshivots, in the khaydarim, and in the Torah Talmuds.
Not everyone's vacation was a break from studies. A significant portion of yeshiva students used this interim time for enrichment studies in yeshiva between times, for reviewing the material learned, or for thorough and systematic preparation of the tractate they will memorize in the next school year.
In other educational settings, too, there are students whose vacation days have been converted into study days, to make up for material they missed during the year, or to remedial classes for the new year. Some need to achieve a certain level of grades in order to be accepted into a desirable educational institution or a program of study that sets a high entry threshold, and they also work hard to achieve it during their vacation days. Some learn another language or take various exams.
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The student who begins his studies on September 1 of the foreign year lives in a completely different world of concepts than the world of the student who begins his studies on the first of Elul.
The Israeli student will attribute the difference between a small and large yeshiva to the number of students, and "between times" will sound to him like an unfamiliar and particularly intriguing concept.
In the reality of Israeli life, the groups that make up society do not know each other. The acquaintance is partial and often distorted. Often the other and different group is judged based on the actions of individuals or through the unflattering mediation of media outlets and other interested parties.
Only sometimes do we get to know each other better, to learn more about each other's lifestyle, about the beliefs and perceptions of our friends. Often we wonder then, whether this encounter was to teach us about ourselves, or to teach us about the whole. Is it exceptional or perhaps the lack of encounter and familiarity is what needs to be corrected.
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A new beginning is also a time for new reflections. The excitement of new students is similar, whether they begin their time on the first of Elul or the school year on the first of September. The joy of parents is also the same, and even our expectations for the new year are similar.
In our hearts and prayers, we all ask for a year in which all our heart's desires for the best are fulfilled. And perhaps, after all, we are not so different.
I wish us all a year of study and deepening in love, with a heart open to the springs of knowledge and innovation, and with a soul that is willing and attentive to the others around us, to their desires and the feelings of their hearts.
