Something Beautiful in Beit Shemesh

Most of my posts about Beit Shemesh have not been very positive. But something wonderful transpired in Ramat Beit Shemesh today. (Since I spent the day in Botswana, this report and photos comes from my wife.)
Today is the yahrzeit of the three martyrs, Eyal, Gilad and Naftali hy"d. It has been designated as a "unity day." In Ramat Beit Shemesh, the dati-leumi schools and ganim organized a chain of girls and women around a street that forms a circle. They sang, recited Tehillim, and listened to a speech by a family member of one of the boys. In these photos, you can see some girls holding a poster that states "Acheinu KOL beis Yisrael." How beautiful!


On a related note, there is a new website called "Why Beit Shemesh?", which lists the benefits of this town. It's making me homesick - though on the other hand, if I was in Beit Shemesh today, I would not have seen a newborn giraffe, five lions, a herd of sable antelope, and over a dozen elephants swimming across the river in front of our boat...