Bnei bowled over by Adelaide
A GROUP of more than 20 Bnei Akiva Melbourne members and leaders travelled to Adelaide last month to show their support for the small community and help spread some extra Shabbat cheer.
A GROUP of more than 20 Bnei Akiva Melbourne members and leaders travelled to Adelaide last month to show their support for the small community and help spread some extra Shabbat cheer.
About 20 year 9 boys were accompanied by seven leaders and a shaliach to the South Australian capital, where they shared meals on both Friday night and Saturday, and hosted activities for the locals.
“In Melbourne, we recognise how lucky we are to have a thriving and vibrant community, yet at the same time we see that others in Australia do not have the Jewish luxuries that we may take for granted,” Bnei Akiva spokesperson Daniel Weil told The AJN. “These visits are important as it is not often that groups visit the smaller communities.”
Arriving on Friday morning, the group travelled straight from the airport to local Jewish school Massada where they ran a number of activities,  including Shabbat programs and fun sessions.
A bowling match with local families was also arranged after Shabbat, followed by a barbecue dinner.
“The feedback we received was very positive,” Weil said.
The inter-community visit was a joint initiative between the Bnei Akiva shaliach and a local Adelaide rabbi, who became close friends while living in Israel.
The trip is part of the Zionist youth movement’s plan to show its support for small Jewish communities around the country, and according to Weil,¬† it was just as meaningful for the Bnei Akiva group as it was for the Adelaide participants.
“It allows them to show us that, despite their small size, they are just as passionate about leading Jewish lives as we are. Even though it is immensely harder for them to do so, it serves to show us how lucky we are with everything that we have in our community,” he said.
“We know this endeavour has proven extremely beneficial for both the Adelaide community as well as the Bnei Akiva chanichim.
DALIA SABLE
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