On November 4, 1995, Israel went through a night of deep uncertainty and fear. The assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as he left a public rally in Tel Aviv shook the country, the Jewish diaspora community, and all those who followed with hope the Israeli-Palestinian efforts to achieve the long-dreamed-of peace. Over nearly thirty years, the date has been commemorated in many ways. At Colégio Israelita Moysés Chvarts in Recife, we have held the Games of Peace, our annual internal games, during the week preceding this day of remembrance since 1997. This Friday, November 1, before Shabbat, we awarded medals to the winning teams. I would like to briefly outline three principles we have incorporated into the design of our Games of Peace program and conclude by sharing why this project makes even more sense to us this year.

First, sports competitions have been, at least since ancient Greece, a recognized practice aimed at promoting a culture of peace among peoples. This is, after all, the central justification for the ancient Olympic practice and its modern revival: to deepen cooperative relationships and the communion of nations so they can overcome war as the classic paradigm of international relations.

A second point highlights the importance of sports in building a positive Jewish identity in modernity, rooted in the Maccabean culture advanced by the Zionist project for a new Jew. For us, speaking of peace is not about capitulating to the other, not even to one stronger than ourselves. Speaking of peace demands courage. Remaining faithful to principles, values, and our identity is always a demonstration of spiritual strength. It shows that we can go further as we trust in our own capacity to improve and understand, for example, that improving my race time does not depend on the other worsening theirs. We improve together, and for that reason, every year, we hold our internal games so that children can recognize how far they’ve come, how much we can strengthen ourselves with every challenge, step by step, toward our personal and collective achievements.

Thirdly, it is worth pointing to our pedagogical orientation regarding Jewish studies. Our Jewish curriculum is geared toward experiential teaching—a field that has gained recognition in Brazil as public policy since early childhood education through the implementation of the BNCC (Base Nacional Comum Curricular). The Jewish year, applied to the national school calendar, serves as the master plan for this practice. In this context, our work each year begins with Tu Bishvat, focusing on nature and our ecological relationship with the world, and continues all the way to Chanukah, the celebration of the recovery of our culture and tradition—the main Zionist national festival before the declaration of independence in 1948. Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, viewed through the lens of the Haskalah, emphasizes the interpretation of this celebration as a culmination of the learning process developed throughout the year. Along this annual journey, it is profoundly meaningful to dedicate our energy and vitality through the experience of the Games of Peace to promoting a culture of mutual recognition and appreciation. It is an opportunity to practically develop the sense of peace that we explore during Sukkot through our tent of peace, sukkat shalom, which symbolizes the future messianic era. This experience demonstrates the faith that no effort for peace is in vain.

In his final speech, Rabin acknowledged that the path to peace is not an easy one: “We will face difficulties, even pain. There is no painless path for Israel, but the path of peace is preferable to the path of war.” I hope that on this November 4, we can redouble our collective efforts and mobilize in the name and defense of lasting peace—a peace that manifests not only in our songs and prayers but also in our daily actions. In practice. And may we look back on the present conflict next year, during the 29th Games of Peace at Colégio Israelita Moysés Chvarts, and reaffirm our collective commitment to cooperation, sharing, and coexistence, to the end of hostilities, and to the continuous work of rooting our culture and nation in the struggle for definitive peace.