Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
I had planned on writing about my Shabbat here in New York, but on Motza'ei Shabbat I heard about something that happened in America that deserves more attention.
A group of Israeli teenagers were competing in an international competition in robotics in Houston, Texas. Their team consisted of students from the Amit High School in Modi'in. They had succeeded in reaching the final stage of the competition which was held on Shabbat.
They wrote a letter in which they explained that they observed Shabbat and were not willing to compromise their values for the sake of the competition. In their otherwise empty booth, they had left Shabbat candles, challah, a Kiddush cup, and an Israeli flag, together with a short explanation of what Shabbat is all about.
The announcer at the competition read their letter in front of all the other competitors and then something surprising happened. Students from all over the world stood up and applauded. The announcer then spoke these words: "Thank you for the reminder that there are other things outside the world of robotics that are also important."
Shavua tov.
