Jewish day schools and high schools remember

October 7 had a profound impact on Chicago area Jewish day schools and high schools.

Shortly after the devastating attacks, school communities rallied and brainstormed about how they could help impacted Israeli communities and show support. Service projects included writing letters to IDF soldiers, hosting displaced students, clothing drives, mission trips, and more.

Educators shared how their schools have united to memorialize and give back.

Arie Crown Hebrew Day School

Over the past year, Arie Crown Hebrew Day School has engaged in an array of meaningful activities. Among their efforts: Daily recitations of tehillim (psalms), writing letters to IDF soldiers, supporting displaced families, and collecting art supplies, toys, and books for Israeli children. They also raised money for Eishet Chayil, which aids women whose husbands are serving in the IDF.

Middle school students heard stories from Nova Music Festival survivors and participated in educational programming from Eretz Chemda Mitzvos Hateluyos Ba’aretz and Yeshiva University Kollel Torah Mitzion. Students of all ages engaged in learning that emphasized the importance of connecting with Israel.

Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School

Unity was paramount at Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School in the days and weeks following October 7. The Parent Teacher Council delivered Shabbat dinners to Israeli families and hosted a Zoom Shabbat to bring the school community together. Eighth graders visited the lakefront path to hang hostage posters and recited a prayer, as well.

Bernard Zell also welcomed nine Israeli students displaced by the war. “Bernard Zell became an island of kindness, stability, and support in a stormy emotional sea,” one parent shared.

Chicago Jewish Day School

Chicago Jewish Day School (CJDS) faculty and students have united in two critical areas: supporting Israel and further connecting students to Israel as well as the added challenges Israelis are facing.

Several CJDS families attended the March for Israel in Washington, D.C., students created kites with messages of peace for the Kites for Hope Campaign, and parents participated in a Hafrashat Challah (mitzvah of separating challah). CJDS also participated in the Bring Them Home Now Yellow Ribbon Project, tying yellow ribbons with hostages’ names to trees on campus.

In the spring, eighth graders and their parents traveled to Israel to get a real-time glimpse into Israeli life post-October 7 and volunteer in the hardest hit communities.

Hillel Torah  

The Hillel Torah community emphasized an unwavering commitment to support Israel throughout the school year. Students and faculty demonstrated a steadfast dedication to Israel with increased tefillot , mitzvot , and solidarity initiatives for Israel.

The student body also wrote letters to IDF soldiers and participated in several chesed projects, making tangible impact on soldiers and their families.

Ida Crown Jewish Academy

Inspired by the school’s history of support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War, Ida Crown Jewish Academy’s high school seniors traveled to Israel on a month-long mission in December.

Back home in Chicago, students volunteered for local Jewish charities, lobbied their representatives not to forget the hostages, wrote letters to displaced Israeli children and soldiers, held fundraisers prayed, learned Torah in the merit of the hostages and of Israel, performed extra mitzvot, and educated their peers about Israel and Judaism.

“This generation of students had an epiphany that the world is more complicated than they’d ever seen before,” said Rabbi Leonard Matanky, Dean of Ida Crown Jewish Academy. “To be a Jew didn’t mean that you were just one of everyone else. You had to take stands. We immediately had to make the difference. You had to be different, and you had to stand up.”

Yeshiva Ohr Boruch, the Veitzener Cheder

Since October 7, students at Yeshiva Ohr Boruch, the Veitzener Cheder have recited tehillim (the Book of Psalms) twice daily, followed by a special prayer for our brethren in Eretz Yisroel (Israel) and the hostages.