| • Volume 1, Issue 7 | • Iyar 5769 | • May 2009 |
CONTENTS |
Yeshivot Bnei Akiva is Israel’s premier religious Zionist educational network with 63 educational institutions from the Golan Heights to Eilat, including:
YESHIVOT BNEI AKIVA – FAITHFULLY SERVING THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND THE STATE OF ISRAEL Click here to view a map of YBA's educational institutions in Israel |
YBA Sussya held its fifth annual "Sababa" Day earlier this month; a clever play-on-words which can be translated (depending on which syllable one places the accent) as either "Grandpa is coming" or "Cool!" Yom Sababa is a special day of intergenerational study and activities meant to strengthen the bonds between students and their grandparents. In light of the visit of Pope Benedict to Israel and the corresponding Lag b’Omer holiday, the students and grandparents studied together the Midrash in which Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yossi discuss the value of good deeds by non-Jews towards Jews. A lively discussion ensued. One grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, expressed that from his perspective, "Gentiles can never be trusted; we should always be suspicious of their motives." A grandmother took exception, praising the Filipino woman she hired to care for her frail mother. Another survivor shared his story: when the Nazis came to round up the Jews of his town, a gentile neighbor came to help his family escape, but his parents refused to open the door out of fear and suspicion. Later, at the train station, another gentile neighbor helped him escape and hid him in his home for a long time, thereby saving his life. The festive lunch was followed by a walking tour of the archeological excavations of ancient Sussya, with the students carrying chairs for their grandparents to rest upon at every stop. Rosh Yeshiva Noam Perl explained, "Most of our yeshiva's staff is young and in today's modern world, old age is seen as a negative. But we know that every one of our elders has a wealth of experience and wisdom to share, so it is only fitting that we educate our students to value and learn from their elders." |
BIRKAT HACHAMA AT YESHIVAT HAKOTEL
Yeshivat Hakotel was proud to host both Chief Rabbis of Israel on Erev Pesach for a unique Birkat Hachama ceremony. Following the pre-dawn Shacharit prayers the 500+ participants went up to the roof of Yeshivat Hakotel, overlooking the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, where Rosh Yeshiva Baruch Weider, shalita, recited the blessing as the sun rose over the Mount of Olives. Click here to view the video of the Birkat Hachama ceremony at Yeshivat Hakotel as filmed by Arutz 7 (Hebrew, 19 min.). |
AFYBA CHICAGO HOSTS OPERATION CAST LEAD COMMANDER
AFYBA would like to thank the Rothners for hosting the event, the participants and sponsors for their financial support, and the Religious Zionists of Chicago for their administrative and technical support. For assistance in organizing a local chapter of AFYBA in your home town, contact the AFYBA office at (212) 248-0471 or office@afyba.org |
MODIIN MAYOR ISSUES CHALLENGE GRANT
 YBA Lapid B’Modiin temporary Beit Midrash |
Chaim Beebas, the newly elected mayor of Modiin, has earmarked 2.5M NIS ($625,000) of his city’s 2009 budget as a challenge grant to YBA to raise a like sum for the expansion of the YBA high school yeshiva and ulpana campuses in his town. Modiin is Israel’s most rapidly growing city, located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Both schools are presently at maximum capacity, with over 400 students each, and are expected to continue to grow towards 600 students each within the next few years.
 UBA Orot Modiin Campus |
“Both our schools in Modiin have modern classroom facilities built by the Ministry of Education,” explains Shmuel Beber, YBA’s Deputy Director General, “however, the ministry doesn’t provide funding to build a Beit Midrash (synagogue/study hall), so the schools have been using classrooms for that purpose until now.” Due to the need to free-up additional classroom space, both schools are now seeking funding to build permanent study halls. YBA Yeshivat Lapid B’Modiin is planning to construct a new Beit Midrash and lunchroom facility to accommodate 600 students, while YBA Ulpanat Orot Modiin plans to convert its present library building into a synagogue/auditorium facility.
AFYBA has launched a capital campaign on behalf of the two YBA schools in Modiin. For more information regarding naming opportunities for these two facilities, please contact AFYBA Executive Director Menachem Bar Shalom, at (212) 248-0471.
Click here to earmark a donation online to YBA Lapid B’Modiin, UBA Orot Modiin, or any of the 63 YBA educational institutions.
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