Tens of thousands of second grade students from all over Israel are participating these days in Chabad’s Chumash Celebrations.
The Chumash Celebrations are run by the Chabad Youth Organization and give second graders, who are just beginning to study the book of Genesis at school, an opportunity to experience the study of Torah in a colorful and fun way.
The program has been running for over 20 years and this year it is being held in Kfar Chabad in central Israel.
“We give the children an opportunity to peek into the life of Avraham our forefather, who discovered G-d while all around him there were idol worshippers,” said Rabbi Moni Ender who described the program.
“We give them an opportunity to see a real Sofer Stam and to see how he works, what he has to do so that it’s done properly, the materials he uses,” he added. “The children also view an exhibition of different Judaic objects. We finish off with a dance of joy, where we go to the Kfar Chabad Synagogue, take out the scrolls from the ark, the children kiss and hug the Sefer Torah with true love and know that this is the Torah that they are now beginning to study and they have something to aspire to.”
He noted that the program is open to and attended by second graders from all across Israel and from all parts of the population.
Noa Maizlish, a second grade from Netanya, told Arutz Sheva that the program gives the students an extra value which they don’t often study at school or even at home.
“We give the children the joy of Torah. Most of the children in our school don’t experience this at home,” she explained. “It’s a state religious school but not all of the population is religious. This is an opportunity to expose them to a different kind of atmosphere. We learn in class about the Sofer Stam, but seeing the Sofer Stam actually writing is a different experience. Much better than hearing the teacher talk about it in the classroom.”