Wednesday, November 7, 2012

The Spirituality of Sarah

By Rabbi Reuven Spolter

Parshat Chayei Sarah begins with some very unusual language:
וַיִּהְיוּ חַיֵּי שָׂרָה, מֵאָה שָׁנָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים--שְׁנֵי, חַיֵּי שָׂרָה.
And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
I'd like to focus on the phrase at the end of the verse: שני חיי שרה – "these were the years of the life of Sarah." Obviously, this phrase screams out for interpretation and clarification.
Netziv, in his commentary Ha'amek Davar, offers a unique insight into the difference between Avraham and Sarah that explains this unusual language. He explains that the word חיים has two meanings, the first being "life", the normal interpretation of the word. But the word חיים can also refer to a sense of joy, and excitement – what the French called "joie de vivre." 
Netziv notes that according to Chazal, Sarah was greater that Avraham in prophecy, which is somewhat difficult to believe. How could it be possible that Sarah, who never spoke directly with God (to our knowledge), could be a greater prophet than Avraham Avinu, who communicated with God directly numerous times?
To answer this question, Netziv distinguishes between two types of "prophecy." In the first type, direct communication with God, Avraham clearly outshone Sarah. But Sarah excelled in a second form of prophecy called רוח הקודש – "divine inspiration"
הוא מה שאדם מתבודד ומשרה עליו רוה"ק ויודע מה שרואה. אמנם לא דבר עמו ה'.
This is where a person secludes himself and the spirit of God dwells upon him, and he knows what he is seeing, but the word of God is not with him.
Why was Sarah greater than Avraham in Ruach Hakodesh?
הוא משני טעמים. א' שאברהם בצדקו היה מנהיג העולם ומדריכם לעבודת ה'...ומי שעסקו עם המון רבה אינו יכול להתבודד כ". משא"כ שרה היתה יושבת באהלה בקדושה וטהרה (וע' מש"כ הגאון חתם סופר בהקדמתו בזה דברים ראויים אליו ז"ל). שנית דאין רוה"ק חל אלא מתוך שמחה...ושרה זה צדקתה להפלא שהיתה באמונתה...ע"כ לא נתעצבה בכל ימי חייה והיתה שקועה ברוה"ק.
For two reasons: First of all, Avraham in his righteousness, was a world leader who guided the people to the service of God…And one who deals with the masses cannot isolate himself that much, which is not true of Sarah who sat in her tent in holiness and purity. Secondly, Ruach Hakodesh only rests upon a person through joy, and Sarah was exceedingly righteous in that she had great and wondrous faith…for this reason, she was never saddened nor worried throughout her life for all of her days, and she was therefore immersed in Ruach Hakodesh.
Sarah, explains the Netziv, was a woman of חיים – she had a joy for life, a deep faith and a positive attitude. Thus, the meaning of the phrase, שני חיי שרה is, "the years of a life of joy of Sarah."
This beautiful depiction of our great matriarch also challenges us today. With the confusing division of roles prevalent in modern society, we no longer laud the concept of התבודדות within the "tent." (And, to be honest, it's not really feasible today either.) But, we must acknowledge that this reality does have a cost, as we no longer have a sense of deep faith and often lack the חיים – the joy of life – that can only come from התבודדות.

Aliyah: Finding our Home

By Michal (Vogel) Mandelbaum

Growing up, I was always a spunky kid. I recall being in seventh grade and telling my mother that I was going to go to Bar Ilan University for college. I would make aliyah, and if she wanted to see me, she would need to come and visit me in Israel. Clearly, at a young age the importance of living in Israel was instilled in me.
While looking into schools in Israel for my year of study after high school, I wanted a school where learning to speak Hebrew was a priority.  Throughout my formal education, I did not receive a proper Hebrew language education, and wanted a way to converse with my Israeli relatives (of which there are many) without miming. Orot was the perfect choice. It was a small school, in an out of the way area similar to where I grew up.  I loved Orot so much, and learned so much while I was there, that I chose to spend another half year there.
I must insert here that I was already going out with the man who would become my husband in high school. At the beginning of my second year, I had a conversation with my father that I still remember like it was yesterday. He said I needed to make a choice, and only I could make it. To stay in Israel or return to the United States. So I did what any girl in love would do, I turned to my then boyfriend. He and I discussed our future at length, in terms of where we wanted to live and raise our family. The answer from both of us was here in Israel.
So the choice was simple. I left Israel to return to the States for college, with the agreement from my boyfriend/soon to be husband, that we would finish our degrees, and then move to Israel.
Many things happened along the way, one of them not being Aliyah, as we had originally intended. Knowing that our Aliyah would not happen for a few years, we bought an apartment, sold it and bought a house, with the intent of selling it when we moved. We also started our family.
So what helped us along? A few things. First, really good friends of ours, who we intended on moving with, moved; and we were still in America. Second, when we named our kids, they were given Israeli names, so that when we moved, they would not feel completely out of place.
When my second daughter was born, we gave her the name Idit. My little sister asked if we realized what would happen to her name if an “o” was added in. My mother immediately responded that we would be living in Israel before that became an issue.
We moved right as children in her class were starting to read in Pre-K.
A year before we moved, I came on a pilot trip with my 2 kids for 6 weeks.  I, as a Hebrew first grade teacher (thank you Orot) had the summer to spend traveling throughout Israel, looking for a community to move to. So the 3 of us embarked on a great adventure to find where we wanted to live.
My husband and I came up with a list of what was important to us, and our family, and what we were looking for. Nothing outlandish, in my opinion, just what mattered to us. We wanted something small, but near a city. Bare minimum 90% Hebrew speaking community (we wanted and still want our kids to speak Hebrew outside the house at all times, or as much as possible). We wanted a cohesive community, 1 Beit Knesset, 1 Rav, a school in the community, an open mind to practice the religion in your own way (head covered/not covered, pants/skirts, length of sleeve), a “winter” of some sort, and if possible, someone we know from before to help make the transition easier.
Thanks to a very good friend, we came upon Moreshet (near Karmiel, in the lower Galil) which had everything we were looking for.
Moving to Moreshet has been the best decision we could have made. My older kids are fluent in Hebrew. Those who know both English and Hebrew, ask Idit to show off her Hebrew as they love her “raish”. We have found a community in the true sense of the word. Everyone looks out for each other, and we all help each other out. 
While on Shabbat Klita here, and after we moved, everyone would ask me where I learned to speak Hebrew so well, that I sound like an Israeli. Some had no idea I am American, born and bred. My answer is always the same. I spent a year and half in Michlelet Orot in Elkana, where I learned to speak Hebrew. I often think about our “little school on a hill” and how much fun I had there, the friends that I made, the bonds that have lasted over a decade, and will for many more to come.
I look forward to taking a trip with my family to Orot to show my kids where I spent my time learning Hebrew and forging friendships that remain with me to this day. Without the help of Orot, I would not have had the opportunity I had in America, teaching Hebrew to children. I was able to do what I love, teaching children a love for both the language and the country. At the end of the day, one thing is important above all, and of this I know Orot is proud when I say, I AM HOME.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Welcome to the Moodle Age


by Sarit Cohen - Computing and Information Systems Department, Orot Israel College

With 12 million users - and counting! – in over 200 countries, Moodle has certainly taken the world by storm, and here at Orot Israel College, we are proud to be a part of this global sensation. In fact, Orot is the first Israeli college to use Moodle 2.3, the newest version of the popular e-learning environment.
Moodle– an acronym for “Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment” – is an online e-learning platform. Based on open-source software, the free system is designed for cooperative learning and offers a wide range of sophisticated tools for producing and distributing content. Moodle’s flexibility allows each educational institution to tailor and customize the system to meet its own particular needs.
In Israel, Moodle plays a major role in both the educational system and the academic world and has sparked a paradigm shift. Today, courses across the country are comprised of four distinct elements: the lecturer, the students, the classroom, and Moodle.
At Orot Israel College, our computing department worked together with the faculty to upgrade all of our online courses using Moodle. The dynamic platform enabled us to build dozens of websites, which correspond to each of our online courses. At the same time, we increased our online course offerings and also added new courses, and eventually, we hope to design websites for all of our regular courses as well.