• Volume 1, Issue 6 • Nisan 5769 • April 2009

CONTENTS

  1. YBA at a Glance
  2. YBA Passover Aid for Needy Families
  3. Ulpanat Neve Ruchama Joins YBA Network
  4. YBA Chairman, Rabbi Chaim Drukman, Released from Hospital
  5. YBA Sussya Student Wins Israel Bible Quiz
  6. UBA Tel Aviv Student to Light Yom Ha'atzmaut Torch
  7. UBA Orot Modiin Cited for Excellence
  8. YBA Neve Herzog Track Team Wins Jerusalem Half-Marathon

YBA AT A GLANCE


63 Schools, 22,000 Students, 60,000 Alumni

            The mission of Merkaz Yeshivot Bnei Akiva is to train Israel’s next generation of leaders, steeped in Jewish learning while totally involved in modern Israeli society.

            Graduates of YBA educational institutions will be committed to serving the Jewish people and the State of Israel, and will strive for excellence and leadership in all their endeavors, guided by the eternal values of the Torah.

            As the 18th Knesset (Israeli Parliament) was sworn in last month, nine graduates of YBA schools took their seats as Members of Knesset, representing four different political parties in both the coalition and the opposition. YBA proudly salutes all its alumni who, as our elected legislators, carry on the YBA tradition of excellence and leadership.

YESHIVOT BNEI AKIVA – FAITHFULLY SERVING THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND THE STATE OF ISRAEL

Click here of read more about Who We Are.


YBA PASSOVER AID FOR NEEDY FAMILIES

            Prior to Passover each year Jewish communities all around the world traditionally conduct special charity appeals known as “Kimcha d’Pischa” to help their most needy families purchase food supplies to celebrate the holiday.


Last minute Passover shopping in Israel (latimes.com)

            This year, on the last day of school before the three-week long Passover break, YBA distributed gift certificates valued at 500 shekels ($125) to 920 needy students in 35 high school schools. All the students are on full scholarship due to their family’s financial situation.

            Thanks to the AFYBA Kimcha d’Pischa Appeal and an anonymous Israeli donor’s generosity the students brought home a Passover gift from YBA that certainly made the holiday more joyous for 920 needy families from all parts of Israel.

Click here to contribute to the AFYBA Scholarship Fund

ULPANAT NEVE RUCHAMA JOINS YBA NETWORK



Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat addresses UBA Neve Ruchama students

         Ulpanat Neve Ruchama, a unique girls' high school in the Jerusalem's Kiryat Yovel neighborhood, will join the YBA network of schools at the start of the coming school year. Neve Ruchama has been the life's work of Cissie Chalkowsky, a Chicago-born Israeli educator. The school caters to girls with learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or low self-esteem who have never been able to live up to their academic potential. Through a system of testing to analyze each girl's particular learning challenges and intensive educational support based on an individualized intervention plan, Neve Ruchama has managed to achieve an outstanding rate of high school matriculation, turning around hundreds of lives in its 25 year history.

            In recent years the school suffered from continuing cutbacks in Ministry of Education funding because it is not categorized as a Special Education institution. YBA has committed to absorbing part of the school's accumulated deficit, as well as helping it to reach a balanced budget for next year. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat visited Neve Ruchama in March to learn about how the school deals with the special needs of its students and promised to help find a solution with the Ministry of Education to the funding the extra hours of instruction needed to continue the school's record of success.

YBA CHAIRMAN, RABBI CHAIM DRUKMAN,
RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL



Rabbi Drukman teaching at Or Etzion (AP)

           Rabbi Chaim Drukman (shalita), Chairman of Yeshivot Bnei Akiva in Israel and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Or Etzion, was released on April 20 from Kaplan Hospital, where he underwent heart by-pass surgery on the eve of Passover. Teachers, parents and students of the YBA educational network prayed for Rabbi Drukman's well being. Upon his release, Rabbi Drukman (75), known for keeping a very busy schedule, promised his doctors to allow him self the time needed to make a full recovery. We wish Rabbi Drukman refuah shlema - a speedy and complete recovery.

YBA SUSSYA STUDENT WINS ISRAEL BIBLE QUIZ



YBA Sussya 10th Grader Ori Luwisch
            In a surprise finish to Israel's National Bible Quiz, first-time contender Ori Luwisch, a tenth grade student at YBA Sussya from the settlement of Yatir in the South Hebron Mountains, outshined the many returning contestants to take first prize. Ori credited his success to "good genes, not genius." Indeed, his family's history shows an exceptional talent for memorization. Ori's father is a rabbi at the Beit Yatir Mechina (IDF preparatory program), and his mother is a doctor. One grandfather, who passed away shortly before the competition, was a professor of chemistry and the gabbai (sexton) in his Beer Sheva synagogue, who was renowned for never forgetting the name of anyone he ever called up for an aliyah. The other grandfather is a retired judge, the Honorable Yaakov Tirkel.

            Ori's teachers discovered his talent a half year ago, when he won a bet with his classmates that he could memorize the phone numbers of all 160 students in the school. They encouraged him to put his talent to better use and Ori accepted the challenge of committing the entire Bible to memory. "Anyone who can get to the finals knows their Bible," Ori said, "The trick is keeping your cool under pressure." Ori will have the opportunity to demonstrate his cool on national TV on Israel's coming Independence Day, when he competes for the International Bible Quiz title.



Dr. Yigal Yahav, from Chicago, touring "Green Campus" with Rosh Yeshiva Noam Perl
                        YBA Sussya is the first boy's high school in Israel to combine a traditional yeshiva Torah curriculum with an advanced science curriculum in Environmental Studies, including Geography, Geology, Biology, Botany and Archeology. The yeshiva is currently building new dormitories using cutting-edge conservation technologies as part of its "Green Campus" development.

To arrange a tour of the YBA Sussya "Green Campus" contact the AFYBA office, (212)248-0471 or afyba@verizon.net.

UBA TEL AVIV STUDENT TO LIGHT YOM HA'ATZMAUT TORCH

            Tel Aviv resident Michal Marom, a 12th grader from Ulpanit Bnei Akiva Tel Aviv has been chosen to light a torch in the traditional Israel Independence Day Ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. This year's torch lighters were chosen to represent the cultural diversity of Tel Aviv, which is celebrating its 100th birthday in 2009.


UBA Tel Aviv 12th Grader, Michal Marom

            Michal is a third generation Tel Aviv resident. Her mother's parents, both holocaust survivors, made Aliyah to Tel Aviv after WWII. Her father's parents were both community leaders in young Tel Aviv, and both have educational institutions in Tel Aviv named after them.

            Michal carries on the family tradition of leadership, volunteering at the "Good Neighbor" community organization, serving as a "Big Sister" to disadvantaged children and as a counselor in her local chapter of the Bnei Akiva Youth Movement.

UBA OROT MODIIN CITED FOR EXCELLENCE



2009 Purim Carnival at UBA Orot Modiin

            Henrietta Szold Institute researchers, Dr. Yael Fischer and Dr. Revital Hyman, recently published the findings of a nationwide research project which cited five schools for excellence, out of 160 schools recommended by the Ministry of Education. Ulpanat Bnei Akiva Orot Modiin was the only religious school cited by the researchers as one of the five "cream of the crop."

            A quote from the book (page 235): "It is hard to explain the sense of holiness that accompanied the writing of Ulpanat Orot Modiin's narrative. Perhaps it was due to Rabbi Corsia's charisma, or perhaps it was due to the unbelievable dedication of the teachers, who teach with a true sense of purpose. The Ulpana's genuine desire to bridge between holy and profane, religious and secular, and through its alumni to influence Israeli society to become a better place to live, accompanied our writing of the entire narrative."

            Click here to donate to any of the 63 YBA educational institutions.

YBA NEVE HERZOG TRACK TEAM WINS
JERUSALEM HALF-MARATHON



Runners Kara and Tarkon with with team mate

            YBA Neve Herzog 15-year old runners Mekonenit Kara and Tarfa Tarkon finished first and second in the 10 km Jerusalem half-marathon for youth in March, matching their victories in the 2,500 meter Jordan Valley Field Race a month earlier. The boys are both students in the special class for the advancement and integration of Ethiopian Olim, which the yeshiva opens once every six years.

            Shimon Attias, the school track coach believes in his track team. "We sent only three runners to the competition and two took home first and second place trophies," he said. "These boys are highly motivated and show tremendous potential. I believe that our investment in developing their talent will pay off on the national level. They will one day bring honor to the State of Israel.

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Oz Ben-Shmuel
Director of Public Relations
oz@yba.org.il

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