Hadassah / Meir Shfeyah Youth Village

11/09/2026

This is how our wine begins ☺️
Before dawn even broke, students from the 11th and 12th-grade Vineyard & Winery program headed out to harvest the grapes as part of their curriculum.
They were led by the program’s guiding winemaker, Ruth Ben Yisrael.

With industrious hands, great enthusiasm, and—above all—plenty of teamwork and volunteer spirit, they harvested the grapes and returned to school to continue the process: preparing the initial must, the first step on the journey to the finished wine. 🍷

It was inspiring to see the students step up, collaborate, and simply enjoy a meaningful, shared experience. ❤️

And now... we wait patiently for next year, when it will be ready. A huge thank you to everyone from Shefeya who took part in this wonderful harvest.

See you at the next harvest—and until then, *L'chaim*! 🍇🍷

11/09/2026

12th-grade biotechnology students have set out to conduct the practical phase of their research project!
The project is taking place at the Tel Aviv University Youth Laboratories unit, in collaboration with the laboratory of Prof. Noam Shomron from the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University—a lab that integrates computational and biological tools to study genetic processes and diseases.
As part of the research, the students are examining how disrupting the *Palladin* gene (which affects the cytoskeleton structure) impacts key characteristics of murine breast cancer cells: migration, proliferation, cell death, and intracellular cytoskeletal organization.
Many thanks to the university and laboratory teams for the partnership and guidance! We are proud of our students for their curiosity and dedication, and we wish them continued success in the data analysis phase!

11/09/2026

🍎🍯 Starting the New Year Together at the Village 🍯🍎

After an initial two weeks of getting to know one another—marked by new beginnings, encounters, challenges, and many shared moments—we paused to celebrate Rosh Hashanah together and welcome the new year in a festive, moving, and family-like atmosphere. ❤️

The evening began with a touching ceremony that invited everyone to reflect on the past year, wish one another a good year, and start the new year with hope, renewal, and faith in the journey ahead.

Following the ceremony, we gathered for a delicious festive meal at tables that brought the entire Village community together: students, alumni, day students, parents, teachers, and all the staff from both the school and the boarding program.

We were especially delighted to host the parents of our new students, who joined the evening after participating in discussion circles to get acquainted with the boarding program and the staff. It was an opportunity for them to get a closer look at the place where their children are beginning a new chapter, meet the people who will be guiding them, and feel like part of our community right from the start.

It was an evening of connection, getting to know one another, and shared emotion—an evening where we were reminded once again of what makes our Village a true community: diverse people and different stories, all united within a single, connecting space.

🌟 We wish us all a year of growth, success, new friendships, meaningful moments, and plenty of reasons to smile.

A happy and sweet new year from the entire Shefeya family! 🍎🍯❤️

11/09/2026

16/06/2026

24 hours after the graduation was cancelled because of security restrictions and 24 hours before the ceremony was originally scheduled, we were given permission by the Ministry of Education to hold graduation. We are so grateful to everyone who made this possible and we are hopeful that these amazing young people will experience success, peace, security and thrive as they leave us at Meir Shfeyah and begin this new part of their lives. Thank you to Hadassah for your unwavering support during the best and worst of times. Special thank you Barbara Goldstein, Gidon Melamed and Lapid Levy from the Hadassah Offices in Israel for being with us for graduation, thank you Heidi Natan and Phil for your generous scholarships . Wishing us all safety , peace, good health and the opportunity to help make things better.

08/06/2026

8 June 2026
Dear friends,

Because of renewed attacks by Israel and from Lebanon, Iran and Yemen, schools throughout Israel are closed . We are sending students home who want be with their families and about 50 students will remain at Shfeyah, near shelters, with friends and staff who love and care for them.

Graduation ceremony scheduled this week will be postponed. Bagrut exams will be rescheduled. It is devastating. I am thinking of Darya whose mother was supposed to arrive from Ukraine tomorrow for graduation and then take Darya for a visit home to see her father and grandmother before she begins mechina. And all of the hardships and disappointments they have all experienced.

We are fortunate to be part of the good things that Shfeyah and Hadassah are doing to help assure our children are safe and to protect the people, places and values we love.

🙏❤️🙏
Lauren Stern Kedem

20/05/2026

Dear friends -
What a crazy, exciting and proud evening we had together yesterday.
The volunteer award ceremony and scholarship distribution ceremony was much more than a ceremony - it was an evening of community, values, giving and great love for the village and our young people.
We were privileged to host the friends and family of dear Zeev Sobol, together with the people of the foundation, and to feel once again how much his heart and vision continue to live here in every student, every graduate and every activity.
During the evening, we awarded almost 25 scholarships to our graduates, scholarships to graduates of preparatory schools and service years, and proudly noted our student and soldier who received the President's Distinguished Service Award on the recent Independence Day.
We awarded prizes to the academy runners who finished the Tel Aviv Marathon and were a tremendous inspiration to all the village students, and we also awarded grants and support to students of the various academies.
At the Horse Academy, two students won a horse training course, and two more students won a Western riding instructor course.
At the Cycling Academy, scholarships were awarded to outstanding students, and an award of appreciation was given to a boarding school student who is completing a research and thesis project.
Along with all this excitement, we also said goodbye to our three soldiers in a particularly moving ceremony.
And at the end, the 12th grade students took to the stage and received a bag for the army as a gift and recognition from the Sobol Foundation in preparation for their military service.
A huge thank you to everyone who took part, organized, donated, came, supported and got excited with us.
And a special thank you to the late Zeev Sobol and the Sobol Foundation, thanks to whom all this goodness continues to happen and have an impact.
happy holiday

15/05/2026

This morning 120 runners from Hadassah / Meir Shfeyah Youth Village participated in the Carmel Coast Run in memory of Simon Shlomov z"l beloved Shfeyah graduate who was killed in Gaza in 2024. We will continue to honor Simon's life and the many ways he touched our lives at Meir Shfeyah.

13/05/2026

As part of the "Tikkun Olam" project that exposes students to people living with disabilities, ninth grade students had the opportunity to meet Alon Dor On, former captain of the Israeli Paralympic basketball team, who shared his inspiring personal story, and how the injury that led to him losing his leg in his youth did not prevent him from fulfilling his dream and becoming a leading, award-winning basketball player. Alon let the children try out the game in wheelchairs to experience disability in a small but enlightening way and our students responded wth enthusiasm . 💜

11/05/2026

Today the national finals of the Israeli School Navigation / Orienteering Championship were held at Kibbutz Magal and our team proved that with determination, a map and a compass, the sky is the limit!

Our new titles won at the competition are :

🥇 Israeli Champions (Upper Division): First place for boys and girls in grades 10-12!
🥈 Israeli Runners-Up (Middle School): Second place for girls in grades 9 and girls in grades 7-8!
🏅 Huge honor for the boys' 9th grade: We put up a great fight and finished in a respectable 4th place, just a touch away from the podium.

🏆 שפיה על המפה - ובמקום הראשון בישראל🏆
קול ששון וקול שמחה – כפר הנוער מאיר שפיה הוא אימפריה של ניווט! 🧭💙

היום נערך הגמר הארצי באליפות ישראל בניווט לבתי ספר בקיבוץ מגל, והתוצאות? לא פחות מהיסטוריות. הנבחרת שלנו הוכיחה שעם נחישות, מפה ומצפן, השמיים הם הגבול!

התארים החדשים שלנו:

🥇 אלופי ואלופות ישראל (חטיבה עליונה): מקום ראשון לבנים ולבנות כיתות י’-י”ב!
🥈 סגני אלופי ישראל (חטיבת הביניים): מקום שני לבנות כיתות ט’ ולבנות כיתות ז’-ח’!
🏅 כבוד ענק לשכבת ט’ בנים: שנתנו פייט אדיר וסיימו במקום ה-4 המכובד, מרחק נגיעה מהפודיום.

סיכום עונה של אלופים:

לאורך השנה, ב-3 תחרויות ארציות, חברי הנבחרת המונה מעל 60 משתתפים ומשתתפות גרפו הישגים פנומנליים:
🥇 3 מדליות זהב
🥈 3 מדליות כסף
🥉 5 מדליות ארד

🌟 תודה ענקית לאייל רונן, המאמן האגדי שלנו, על הליווי המקצועי והאמונה בכל תלמיד ותלמידה. תודה להנהלת הכפר ולצוותים המלווים על הרוח הגבית וההשקעה הבלתי פוסקת לאורך כל הדרך.

גאווה גדולה לצוות חינוך גופני המנצח💙💪

שפיה, אתם אלופים! נתראה ביעד הבא🏁

#כפרהנוערמאירשפיה