April Update

Hey parents and family back in Australia/New Zealand,

What’s up? That’s good. Shnat’s going great!!

March ended well with a great win by Carlton over Richmond and April began with a wedding! Hillel, Hineni’s shaliach to Sydney, invited us to his brother’s wedding. The majority of Nir went to the wedding and really enjoyed the festivities and the free food. We would like to wish a huge mazel tov to Hillel’s brother Chaim and his new wife Esther and a big thank you for allowing us to join in their celebration. The festivities continued with Daniel Grunstein’s 19th birthday. Along with other Machonikim we had a great night out on the town. Further continuing the happiness was another great win by Carlton against Brisbane. Although classes are going great and are being attended punctually by all, chofesh provided a well needed break. Everyone enjoyed the seders they attended and had a great experience of Pesach in the Holy Land – for most of us that meant one seder night! A lot of Nir went to Zorba, a spiritual music festival in the middle of the desert, which was an incredible experience. Each Nirian found their own fun during the holiday and we highly recommend you speak to your own child to find out more details.

With chofesh over and another brilliant win to Carlton, this time against Collingwood, we returned to Machon, welcomed by brand new merchandise (go Andy for organising!) and a nice picnic breakfast on the machon grass area. Yoni Genende’s 19th birthday was also celebrated in style. A majority of the group then went on a three day Israel Advocacy Seminar funded by the ZFA and run by Stand With Us. Speakers included Mark Regev, David Horovitz and Isi Leibler. It was a great learning seminar and although extremely intense, everyone enjoyed themselves and is looking forward to the second part of the seminar later on in the year.

The next week involved Yom Hashoah, on which machonkim organised a moving ceremony. The week prior we had visited Yad Vashem and the day before we went to another museum in which we explored the impact of the Holocaust on Israeli society, in particular the Adolf Eichmann trial. The night of Yom Hashoah we attended a ceremony at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, a Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz. Before the ceremony began, Nir gathered and had a moving talk about our families and our connection to this unique event in our Jewish history. The ceremony itself was in Hebrew, but nonetheless an experience we will not forget. This sadness coincided with our beloved bogan Lauren Aaron’s departure from the program. Although we all miss her dearly we wish her well on IBC and we can’t wait to see her again soon. Andy Le Bransky then returned in style a few days later. We missed her and are so happy to have her back!

Continuing the busy schedule, Yom Hazikaron followed. We attended a MASA event made especially for English speakers on their programs. Nir Cohen, the ex-Machon madrich after whom our year is named, was remembered along with all soldiers who have given their lives for the safety and security of our Jewish homeland as well as those murdered by terrorists in the past 64 years of the country’s existence. The following morning we went to Har Herzl for the annual Yom Hazikaron ceremony. The entire day was a heartfelt insight into Israeli society and each Nirian connected to the day in their own way. In contrast to the seriousness of Yom Hazikaron, Yom Ha’atzmaut was a fantastic celebration of the State of Israel. Each of us celebrated in our own way and continued celebrating when Carlton beat Fremantle.
Until next month, enjoy the diaspora and lets continue praying for Carlton’s 17th Premiership.
Amanda and Lipson and all of Nir Shnat 2012.