Yesterday we drove down to S. Diego where the final round of Maccabi games were being held. Since we knew a number of the players from the Richmond, VA soccer team, we went straight to the soccer field.

This was the final game and Richmond was loosing 3-1. The air was thick with tension.

The boys from Richmond came over to us and asked us to assist them with the proper blessings to be recited on water and to make sure that we would stick around and lay Tefillin with them after the game.

Well…Richmond scored five more goals and walked off with the gold medal!

Back at the JCC, the boys came over to put on the Tefillin, along with hundreds of other young men.

Over the course of the past week close to 1,000 boys put Tefillin on at the games – a few hundred of them for the first time.

Then it was time for the closing ceremonies and goodbyes. After bidding farewell to all our friends and wishing them a safe trip home, we were off to Riverside to prepare for the next day.