Passover links the miracle of a great exodus in our Jewish history with the promises of freedom and a productive life for the Village’s 
youth today. The story of Yemin Orde, for me, is the story of Zionism and the Jewish people.
The Passover story provides opportunity to link our personal narratives with the collective history of the Jewish people. Through the traditions, prayers and songs during the Seder, we link our past with the present and the hopes for the future.
The challenge of connecting our immigrant youth to the national ethos of Israel is one of the most prominent challenges with which we confront on a daily basis at Yemin Orde Youth Village. Passover provides lessons where stories of struggle from Jewish history resonate with our immigrant youth who have overcome personal struggles to be shining examples of achievement.
During the Passover Seder, we will all sit together, children whose families are not in Israel and children who come from a complex family background which does not make it possible for them to go home, and we will talk about our togetherness. Youth and staff from different countries will talk about our personal Exodus, about our story of Aliyah to Israel, about “crossing the Red Sea” which symbolized the challenges each one of us is facing.
We will speak about the strength in being part of a nation and the things one absorbs while being part of a nation alongside the things they wish to preserve which makes them unique.
When we see graduates, who arrived at Yemin Orde with almost no Hebrew, and they leave knowing that they are now part of Israeli society, that they can contribute and make a difference, then we know we have made a difference.
Thank you for all of your support which allows us to succeed in our mission to give hope to our youth for a bright future. There is so much hope in knowing that it is in each and every one of us to make an Exodus and to realize and fulfill our personal dreams.
“L’shanah haba’ah b’Yerushalayim Ha’bnuya” ( “Next year in Jerusalem”)
Shumli Bing
Director, Yemin Orde Youth Village