First solidarity community Kabbalat Shabbat

Emanuel School recently brought its community together at its first ever Solidarity Community Kabbalat Shabbat, with more than 500 students, parents, grandparents and staff gathering on campus for the event

The event centred around the theme “The Heart of Emanuel is Community”, reflecting the school’s core values of community (kehillah), kindness (chesed), inclusion (hachalah), respect (kavod), and excellence (metzu’yanut).

Conceived and brought to life by the school’s P&F, co-presidents Amy Friedlander and Lynn Ross said: “Following the events at Bondi, we felt strongly that gathering as a community was more important than ever.

“We wanted everyone to feel welcomed, embraced and supported by the amazing Emanuel community, and we are so grateful for the support that helped bring this vision to life.”

Families enjoyed a pre-Shabbat meal seated at long communal tables and colourful picnic mats designed by years K-6 students, each decorated with hand-coloured hearts. Music from the student Klezmer band set the tone, followed by a performance from Hylton Chilchik that inspired everyone to form circles and dance horahs.