| •Volume 2, Issue 1 | • Elul 5769 | • September 2009 |
With this issue we begin the AFYBA E-newsletter's second year of publication, with a readership that has grown to over 2,000 in the past 10 months. We hope you have enjoyed reading past issues, and that you will continue to support YBA. AFYBA would like to start a tradition of using our Rosh Hashana issue as an annual appeal to our Scholarship Fund, via our secure website donation page. We hope that you will give generously, and that you will volunteer to help us raise the funds YBA needs to continue providing quality religious Zionist education to the 50% of motivated students whose parents are unable to pay full tuition ($2,500 per year). We request that you forward this special issue to your friends and family members, with a few words of personal endorsement, asking them to join you in making an online donation to YBA in Israel. If they enter your name in the "Solicited by" field on the donation page, we will inform you of every donation we receive from your efforts.Donations of any amount will be greatly appreciated, and every donor will receive a receipt for tax purposes. Thank you for your continued support, and Shana Tova, Oz Ben-Shmuel |
SPECIAL EDITION: ROSH HASHANA APPEAL CONTENTS |
2009 MAP OF YBA EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Click here to view an interactive map of the 63 schools in the YBA educational network. |
YESHIVOT BNEI AKIVA - MISSION
“The core mission of Yeshivot Bnei Akiva is to train future leaders for the State of Israel; men and women who are observant Jews devoted to Torah study, dedicated to the Land of Israel and the Jewish People and loyal citizens of the State, particularly regarding army and national service.” – Harav Haim Drukman, Chairman, YBA HISTORY
Yeshivat Kfar Haroeh served as the model for religious Zionist education for generations to come, leading to the development of similar Bnei Akiva high school yeshivot for boys and ulpanot for girls, and later to the establishment of Hesder yeshivot, combining advanced Torah study with IDF service and Orot colleges for women. After 70 years, YBA has grown to become the leading religious Zionist educational network in Israel, with 63 schools and over 22,000 students, from the Golan Heights to Eilat. CORE PHILOSOPHY
Harav Kook regarded the modern Zionist movement and the return of Jewish settlement to the Land of Israel as the first signs of Jewish national redemption after 1900 years of exile. He taught that the three pillars of Judaism, the Jewish Nation, the Land or Israel and the Torah must be seen as one undividable entity. Harav Kook embraced the fledgling Zionist enterprise for its spiritual significance, and preached Ahavat Ha'am – loving all Jews no matter how far, Ahavat Ha'aretz – loving the Land and actively settling the Land, and Ahavat Hatorah – loving the Torah through its study and practice. YBA schools inculcate their students with eternal Jewish values in the spirit of Harav Kook, love of the entire Jewish People, devotion to the Land of Israel and adherence to the precepts of Torah. At the same time, YBA schools provide their students with a high-level academic education, creating graduates who are equipped to contribute significantly to modern State of Israel in all fields of society, while exemplifying a personal commitment to Jewish religious observance. ACHIEVEMENTS
More than 60,000 YBA graduates can be found in every industrial, academic and professional sector of Israeli society, including many leading artists, scientists, industrialists, IDF generals, mayors, Supreme Court justices, Members of Knesset and Israel Prize winners. Some 80 percent of YBA graduates have gone on to receive a higher education, gaining the skills and knowledge they need to make significant contributions to Israeli society. In fact, many of the country's leaders are YBA graduates. Regardless of their positions, all are making a lasting impact on modern-day life in Israel, while remaining true to our ancient heritage. Together with their families, they are making the Jewish homeland a better place to live - now and in the future. Click here to learn more about our distinguished graduates Social Integration
YBA schools were Israel’s pioneers in achieving successful social integration and educational excellence with students from diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds, including most recently, the absorption of Ethiopian olim. All YBA schools maintain an open enrollment policy – no child is turned away due to the parents’ inability to meet tuition costs; nearly 50% of YBA students receive full or partial scholarship. Educational Excellence
YBA schools strive to help every student realize his or her maximum potential, academically, socially, ethically and spiritually. Recent Ministry of Education statistics demonstrate that the percentage of YBA graduates achieving full matriculation for college entrance is 35% above the national average in Israel. YBA schools consistently achieve higher matriculation rates than most of Israel's "elite" high schools, despite their relatively high percentage of students from low income families. Social Action
YBA students put into practice the Jewish values of Tikun Olam and Gemilut Chasadim through weekly volunteer community involvement, social action, and chesed activities, affecting the lives of thousands of needy Israelis. Ulpanat Yeshurun in Petach Tikvah even maintains an on-campus program for autistic children staffed in part by students during their free time. The YBA Hesder yeshivot in Akko, Ashdod and Holon augment the Jewish identities of local immigrants by providing outreach activities such as bar mitzvah training to residents of the surrounding communities. Immigrant Absorption
Since the 1950's YBA dormitory schools have served as Youth Aliyah villages for thousands of new immigrant children from North Africa, Asia, the FSU and most recently, Ethiopia. YBA high schools have won national recognition for their successful mainstreaming of recent olim into regular classrooms and achieving high rates of Bagrut matriculation. The Or M'Ofir program at Yeshivat Or Etzion has produced the Ethiopian community's first generation of rabbis ordained by Israel's Chief Rabbinate. Development Towns
While maintaining its traditional base of residential schools, in the past 12 years YBA has established many non-residential schools in development towns to answer the need for quality religious Zionist education in Israel’s peripheral area. Students from YBA high schools in development towns such as Netivot, Ofakim, Or Akiva and Beit Shean, have won distinction for their academic achievements. The Mechina Academy of the Northern Negev has revolutionized the field of IDF preparatory programs by recruiting and cultivating boys from Israel's periphery with low motivation to serve in the army. National Service
Virtually all YBA high school yeshiva graduates go on to proudly serve the State in the IDF and in the National Service, with a high proportion joining Hesder Yeshivot or volunteering for elite units and officer training in the IDF. YBA operates eight Hesder Yeshivot, which combine Torah learning and military service, including the renowned Yeshivat Hakotel. Countless students from these yeshivot have served in elite combat units, doing their duty and serving the country, while remaining faithful to their commitment to Torah study and observant Jewish life. YBA's female ulpana graduates also go on to serve their country by volunteering for Sherut Leumi - Israel's National Volunteer Service - in schools, hospitals, senior citizen centers and other facilities throughout Israel. Higher Education
YBA Kollel Fellowship programs train tomorrow's generation of rabbis and teachers by offering gifted students the opportunity to continue studying after Hesder toward rabbinic ordination by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. In addition, YBA offers an outstanding higher education in the spirit of the education offered at its Hesder Yeshivot to women at its affiliated Colleges for Women, Orot Israel in Elkana and Orot Etzion in Givat Washington, which grant BA and MA degrees in a variety of professional fields. SUMMARY YBA education is synonymous with value-driven education. YBA students learn to appreciate their Jewish heritage while gaining the skills to function as productive citizens in the modern State of Israel. Our students appreciate the value of a Jewish homeland and understand why we must protect it. In the words of Rabbi Haim Drukman, Chairman of YBA, "We teach our students that they fulfill their duty to the State by studying Torah, and their duty to Hashem by serving in the army. |
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BECOME A SUPPORTER Help Yeshivot Bnei Akiva to train Israel's next generation of leaders; Support YBA online today: or send your donation to: Click here to earmark an online donation to any of the 63 YBA educational institutions. |
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