The freshman pre-Pesach trip to Brooklyn brought students to a variety of places, each offering a special opportunity to learn from people who are dedicated to doing God’s work.

One group met with Rabbi Shimon Deutsch, curator of the “Living Torah Museum” that displays ancient artifacts mentioned in the Torah, many more than 2,000 years old. The students also visited the Rabbi’s newest “Torah Animal World” which houses almost every animal mentioned in the Torah, preserved by taxidermists, including those used in Korban Pesach.

At the “Oneg Shabbos Program” and the “B’nai Raphael Pantry” groups of students prepared Pesach food packages for clients in need, stocked shelves with Pesach products, and hauled away the chometz. (See NY Times, Sunday, March 29th : “Manna From Heaven ? Try Brooklyn Instead”)

Rabbi Pincus of "Sofer Stam" showed our students how cowhide becomes parchment and how quills with feathers will be used by scribes to meticulously write a holy sefer Torah. The Rabbi also told us an inspiring story of a Holocaust survivor who, when he saw the many sifrei Torah that had been desecrated and used by the Germans to line the inside of shoes, his among them, decided to write a sefer Torah.

Rabbi Yonah Weinreb, world renowned artist, spoke about his project, "The Illuminated Torah," 400 pages of art, research and commentary with English translation; he explained the nuances of his artwork depicting the events in sefer Shemot. The illuminations are beautiful and the calligraphy and micography exacting.

Hasidic Rabbi Mordecai Twersky had our students singing Leshem Matzoh Mitzvah as they measured the water, filled the flour pitchers with exactness and rolled the dough into thin, round shapes. Others rushed to bring newly shaped dough to the large oven where they timed (18 minutes!) the baking of their matzot.

Lunch on "The Avenue" was loads of fun for our students. Whether they chose Subway sandwiches, shwarma, Chinese, pizza or Chicken Delight, all was kosher and available, a welcome treat.

Click here to view photos from the trip