Shirley Ellis’ Bat Chayil course of 2015 have worked hard throughout the year to ensure they graduated without problem.
The 2015 Leeds Bat Chayil course, led by Shirley Ellis, have incorporated the EBBM programme into their studies this year. The girls have had both a serious and a fun year of learning not only about their Judaism, but also about their twin Abeinesh Albatzoh from Ethiopia and the difficulties she faced adapting into a new way of life after making Aliyah into Israel together with her family.
All the girls also prepared their own project on different Jewish women characters ranging from biblical to modern, such as Anne Frank and Hannah Senesh. Festivals such as Pesach and Shavuot were also covered. The group made paper flower arrangements for Shavuot and Seder Plates for Pesach and also visited the Street Lane Kosher Bakery where they had a challah making demonstration and baked challah themselves.
On 14th July, the course did a sponsored walk, trekking around six miles on a rainy day. Despite the miserable weather, many of them linked arms and sang songs as they walked to boost morale. They raised £2,000; the proceeds of which will go towards the UJIA Ethiopian Bar/Bat Mitzvah programme meaning their twin Abeinesh was able to have her own Bat Mitzvah celebrations at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem in July.
The girls had a graduation and certificate presentation on 3rdJuly at the Beit Hamidrash Haggadol Synagogue. A special Leeds Bat Chayil Shabbat Service took place on 4th July in honour of their achievement.