This week Moriah’s Gan Cochavim experienced a hands-on approach to learning all about the power of friendship. Rabbi Akiva taught his students the mitzvah of “v’ahavta l’reacha kamocha.” Love your friend as you love yourself. The class read a book about Rabbi Akiva’s life. When the students discovered that he began learning the Alef-Bet when he was an adult, they gleaned from Rabbi Akiva that it is never too late to start learning Torah. In the spirit of Rabbi Akiva, they created individual puzzle pieces, and then assembled them to create a spectacular unified class puzzle! Gan Cochavim also created paper doll versions of themselves, and placed them next to each other holding hands. This was a great artistic example of friendship at its best.