Page 42 - issue
P. 42
ª DREAMS COME TRUE
BAT AYINMYJOURNEYTO
Wby Sara Bracha Shugarman
hat do you get when you mix together chasidut,
a desire to work the holy soil of Eretz Yisrael,
ahavas Yisrael, and creativity? The answer is
Bat Ayin! A friend of mine, who often goes to
this small hilltop yishuv in Gush Etzion for
Shabbos, had been inviting me to join her for a
while. I had many reasons for turning her down
time after time. But when I heard that Midreshet
B’erot Bat Ayin was looking for a madricha for their summer
program, I figured it didn’t hurt to apply and check it out – and
now that I’m there, the joke is on me!
As I alighted from the bus at the traffic circle on Bat Ayin’s
main road and made my way down the hill, a beautiful moun-
tain panorama lay before me, and I felt the clear air entering my
lungs. I noticed the variety of homes as I walked. Many families
live in caravans (trailers) while others occupy houses of all sizes
and types. There are small matchbox-style homes that the own-
ers built themselves and others that are large and multi-level.
Some houses are faced with beautiful stone, while others are
built from colorfully-painted cement or wood, log-cabin style.
Each home is surrounded with a bit of land, and many have
well-kept gardens. Each home is unique, attesting to the indi-
viduality of the people residing inside.
With few sidewalks in the neighborhood and homes with no
addresses, I was guided by landmarks. My destination was fairly
simple to find. I passed the shul, the playground, and the gan,
and a bit further down the hill, on the right, I saw a wooden sign
with white lettering: Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin.
The midrasha was founded and is directed by Rebbetzin
34 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
BAT AYINMYJOURNEYTO
Wby Sara Bracha Shugarman
hat do you get when you mix together chasidut,
a desire to work the holy soil of Eretz Yisrael,
ahavas Yisrael, and creativity? The answer is
Bat Ayin! A friend of mine, who often goes to
this small hilltop yishuv in Gush Etzion for
Shabbos, had been inviting me to join her for a
while. I had many reasons for turning her down
time after time. But when I heard that Midreshet
B’erot Bat Ayin was looking for a madricha for their summer
program, I figured it didn’t hurt to apply and check it out – and
now that I’m there, the joke is on me!
As I alighted from the bus at the traffic circle on Bat Ayin’s
main road and made my way down the hill, a beautiful moun-
tain panorama lay before me, and I felt the clear air entering my
lungs. I noticed the variety of homes as I walked. Many families
live in caravans (trailers) while others occupy houses of all sizes
and types. There are small matchbox-style homes that the own-
ers built themselves and others that are large and multi-level.
Some houses are faced with beautiful stone, while others are
built from colorfully-painted cement or wood, log-cabin style.
Each home is surrounded with a bit of land, and many have
well-kept gardens. Each home is unique, attesting to the indi-
viduality of the people residing inside.
With few sidewalks in the neighborhood and homes with no
addresses, I was guided by landmarks. My destination was fairly
simple to find. I passed the shul, the playground, and the gan,
and a bit further down the hill, on the right, I saw a wooden sign
with white lettering: Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin.
The midrasha was founded and is directed by Rebbetzin
34 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
