YEHUDI LAUNCH 5783

Monday 23rd January saw the launch of the second year of Yehudi, a ground-breaking initiative by Mizrachi UK. Just under 500 year 6 students came to JFS to start their Yehudi journey in spectacular fashion. They were joined by over 100 year 12 students and their universitystudent Mentors for an action-packed afternoon.

A lively concert from Eli Tamir kicked off the proceedings with an immense amount of excitement, which saw everyone singing and dancing. Eleven primary schools from across London were welcomed to the launch, with a further four still due to have their own launch events in Manchester and Leeds.

The year 6 students were grouped into their designated teams and then introduced to their leaders before getting stuck into their first challenge of the year: an escape room. The children had 45 minutes to solve all the clues that gave them the secret code to unlock the prize! Team 1 from Yavneh finished first, completing the escape room in a remarkable 23 minutes and 45 seconds!

Over 200 parents came to hear Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and Rabbi Andrew Shaw, CEO Mizrachi UK, explain more about Yehudi and what it entails.

The Chief Rabbi addressed all the parents and said:

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One of the great elements of the Yehudi programme is that it brings school, shul and home together. It provides mentoring from other older children, and we know that the most successful influences can be one’s contemporaries, and that is what the Yehudi programme is striving to achieve.”

The launch concluded with over 800 people present to hear an address from the Chief Rabbi, sing the Yehudi anthem and celebrate together. It was a truly magical end to a wonderful launch of Yehudi, which will be beginning the monthly challenges in schools very shortly!

Everyone had a truly amazing time, with Kyla from MMK saying that she “loved the Yehudi event, especially the dancing!”, and that she is “really excited for the next one and the idea of having an older mentor to get to know and share memories with.”

One of our amazing leaders, Liat, said that “Yehudi is very inspiring for me, it was my first time being a Madricha, and by singing and dancing with hundreds of kids from all different primary schools, it provided me and my peers with a sense of unity and community.”

Rabbi Shaw said: “This ground-breaking initiative has the potential to change the face of Anglo-Jewry, engaging our children, youth and young adults alike.”

This is just the beginning of their journey in Yehudi, and we can’t wait to see what lies ahead!