Celebrating Yerushalayim

Each year, Orot's student and faculty gather together for a lunch celebration called "Bein Cheirut L'charut" which connects the freedom (Cheirut) that we achieved when we recaptured the city of Jerusalem celebrated by Yom Yerushalayim, and the gift of the Torah, symbolized by the words that were hewn (Charut) into the Tablets given to Moshe on Har Sinai.

At Orot, we emphasize the proximity between these two seemingly unrelated holidays to highlight our strong belief that our return to Yerushalayim directly relates to the Jewish nation's continued connection to the Torah. Without the continued revelation that Shavuot represents, there would have been no Yom Yerushalayim. And because of Yom Yerushalayim, we now connect to the Torah in profound and powerful ways.
The yearly program begins with a festive lunch on the lawns of Orot's campus, followed by scholarship presentations in the auditorium as well as the awarding of honors for student academic achievement. This year following the presentations, the students enjoyed a concert by the popular Vach family, whose beautiful musical arrangements and multiple harmonies have wowed audiences across Israel. The second half of the concert provided a special treat for Orot's students who enjoyed a women-only program that featured both the men and women of the Vach family.
This unique, yearly celebration of both the holiness of Matan Torah as well as the miracle of Yom Yerushlayim and the scholarship of Orot's capable students, underscores Orot's special mission of combining Torah, academics, scholarship and a love for Eretz Yisrael to educate Israel's next generation of teachers.

English Champions on a Treasure Hunt

by Dr. Vitela Arzi
Head of the English Department

If you happened to visit the Elkana campus on Jerusalem Day and wondered why children's shouts of joy were heard all over the campus, it's because they were "scavenging" for clues for Jerusalem's Old City Gates. This unique adventure was part of a whole day experience, organized by students of the English Department, for the English Champions of "Nahalat Binyamin" elementary school in Ofra.
This special group of Hebrew-speaking pupils who excel in English, is supervised by teacher Shira Hoffman, a graduate of Orot's English Department . Shira, with whom the English Department maintains constant connections, like with other graduates, had approached Dr. Vitela Arzi , Head of the Department and asked whether we could help out in organizing a special study event for the Champions group. Pedagogic Instructor ("Madafit") Dr. Chaya Katz, enthusiastically rose to the challenge of organizing a full and creative study day, revolving around the topic of Jerusalem.

The new challenge met our on- going credo that relevant Jewish content should be integrated into the teaching of English , and that English lessons should enhance educational , cultural and Jewish values. Over the past few years, Orot has declared an annual educational topic that would be incorporated across the curricula. The topic selected this year is the "Circles of the Jewish People", and the idea of "Am Israel and the Diaspora" is but one aspect of that vast topic. The English Department has chosen to focus on Jerusalem's central role in the bond between the people sitting in Zion and the Diaspora. What could be more representative of that bond than the vision established in the Amidah prayer recited three times a day?

"Return to Your city Jerusalem in mercy, and establish Yourself there as you promised…Blessed are you Lord, builder of Jerusalem." ?

And what would be more appropriate for the English Champions group than to lead them on a journey of discovery scheduled on Yom Yerushalaim?
Dressed in blue and white, a group of excited boys and their teacher -Shira- entered the Jerusalem classroom that had been specially decorated to fit the event , and supplied with light refreshments contributed by the college.
The project had two parts: A Learning Center and a delightful Treasure Hunt.
The Learning Center reflected the idea of a heavenly and earthly Jerusalem, the spiritual and the physical, past and present , and consisted of four "stations" : a) The New Neighborhoods – Miskanot Shaananim ; b) The Western Wall - a remnant of the Temple, and a spiritual center for the entire Jewish world; c) The Tower of David – a symbol of the past; d) Jerusalem's Gates- all roads lead to Jerusalem.
From the viewpoint of language instruction each "station" included a)an authentic text from a newspaper clip or an encyclopedia entry; b) presentation of relevant vocabulary; c) practice of relevant vocabulary, d) relevant application.
Supervised by the professional staff of Orot's pedagogic center, and by Mrs. Adina Salomon in particular, students designed and prepared learning materials, displays , work sheets and artwork decorations .
Each station activated different learning styles and goals, both in the presentation of the material and in the methods used for language practice, ensuring that this study day epitomized a multi-sensory learning experience. The following dimensions were included:
· Visual- pictures, maps, flags in different colors
· Auditory – songs and read aloud texts
· Sensory – displays, matching games, responses to statements
· Experiential (action learning)- role play and interviews
· Analytic- letter writing , decision making and questions.
The second part of the day, included an exciting Treasure Hunt competition focusing on the theme of Jerusalem's Gates.
First, a large scale model of the walls of the Old City with its various gates, was displayed in the auditorium. Each Gate had a text and a clue that the pupils had to decipher in order to progress from gate to gate. Equipped with a map of the campus, pupils chased around looking for clues for the next Gate, till the final clue that led them to the Treasure- a gold key of the Old City – was found. The gold key was the winners' prize, but there was also a second prize – a flag of Jerusalem- for the group that answered most of the questions.
Says Linoy, a first year student : " It was an amazing experience. The boys were cooperative and smart. I learned a lot how to approach children, and how to use various educational methods. I feel lucky that I could partake in this wonderful experience". Dora, a second year student adds: "The children asked questions and were very interested in the material. They enjoyed the game in the learning center and remembered everything they read. They spoke in English and answered the questions in English. It was really great; I felt that the learning center was worth all the efforts. I feel that the children, and we the student-teachers gained a lot from this special day." And Lehava, a second year student, concludes with what seems to be the English Department's credo: " I saw how important it is to teach topics like Jerusalem Day in the English classroom, and not focus only on grammatical rules."

Living and Loving the Land of Israel

Before the Pesach vacation, the entire student body of Orot took a field trip to the mountains of the Lower Galilee, the Atzmon Mountain and the remains of the Yishuv Yodfat. We chose to concentrate on a track with medium difficulty, which included climbing the Atzmon Mountain (547 meters). The top of the mountain overlooks the amazing view of the Beit Netufa valley, the area of the Tzippori yishuv, Hoshaya, Beit Rimon and the Nazareth range from the south. The track included walking in the Mediterranean Sea vegetation and an amazing spring blossoming.
After a rest, the students descended the Atzmon Mountain towards Yodfat. Yodfat is an important city from the end of the 2nd Temple that refused to the surrender to the Romans as other cities had, and chose to fight bravely instead. Sadly, the battle concluding with Zippori's fall at the hands of Roman conquerors on their way to the oppression of the rebellion and the destruction of Jerusalem (in the year 70).
The fieldtrip was led by the 1st year students of Orot's Department of Eretz Yisrael Studies, who were thoroughly prepared by their teachers Dr. Yitzhak Sapir and Naama Bindiger.
Why does Orot insist on conducting field trips for the entire student body? If you don't live the Land of Israel, you can't love the Land properly. And, without that love, how will a teacher communicate the value of Eretz Yisrael to her students in the future? These field trips strengthen and develop the relationship of Orot's students with the Land of Israel, its landscapes and heritage, so that when they become teachers, they will appreciate the importance of field trips in the Israeli school system, and convey the value, beauty and holiness of the Land to the next generation of children.

Taking Responsibility to Prevent the Next Accident

by Dr. Michal Unger, coordinator of the Road Safety Education the Orot College of Education

Schools across Israel place great emphasis on road safety education, investing many hours of class time to train students to function effectively in traffic, teach them principles of behavior based on personal responsibility and instill values of commitment to maintaining human life and respect for traffic laws.
This year, Michlelet Orot conducted two "Road Safety Education" seminars which focused on the themes of personal responsibility and the importance of both awareness and the need to educate the next generation about road safety.
Rabbi Prof. Neria Guttel, President of Orot College opened the series with a talk about, "Caution on the Road – Theory and Practice", as he discussed halachic topics related to issues of road safety. Next, Dr. Dan Link, head of the infrastructure and traffic department at the National Road Safety Authority spoke on the topic, "Personal Involvement in Road Accidents". With the aid of a visual presentation, Dr. Link demonstrated that each student had the power to prevent a traffic accident. A short film titled, "Children Have No Brakes", added a powerful audio-visual message about the road dangers that pose a danger to children.
After a short break, the students heard an emotional talk from Yishai Meir, father of Yaara ע"ה who was killed in a traffic accident. Yaara was in a car on her way home when an exhausted driver collided with the car in which she was riding a short distance from her home. Yishai, Yaara's father, described the solace he finds in perpetuating her name by describing her good qualities and amazing skills. After his talk Yishai distributed Yaara's photo to the students.
The seminar concluded with a viewing of the film, "An Accident in the Arava Desert" that portrays the final minutes of four boys killed on the Arava road in 1994. A follow-up discussion attempted to understand some of the underlying causes for road accidents and how they could have been avoided.

Yerushalayim of our Imagination

Thoughts on Yom Ha'atzmaut

Too often, we allow ourselves to see not what we have, but what's missing. This is especially true when we look at the modern State of Israel, and even at the modern city of Yerushalayim. Through a study of Tehillim 122, we can come to a better appreciation not only for Yerushalyim, the subject of that chapter, but also for the blessing of the Medinah which, although not complete, represents a source of great blessing for the Jewish people.

Click here to download the article.

Orot Students Study Medical Ethics

By Rav Uriel Touitou, Excellence Program Coordinator

In the Orot Excellence Program's course on medical ethics students learned about the intersection of medicine, Jewish law, ethics and morals. During a recent tour at the Shaare Zedek hospital as part of their study they observed how professionals deal with real-life halachic and medical challenges presented by the rapidly advancing world of modern medicine.
Created ten years ago, Michlelet Orot's Excellence Program provides advanced students tools and skills to transform their intellectual abilities into tools they can in their educational career. In addition to offering enriched courses that focus on education and teaching, the program looks to expand students' horizons by offering classes on subjects they would not encounter during their normal course schedules.
In a world of instant communications and media, students find themselves exposed to questions about organ donation, pregnancy and childbirth issues including abortion, fatal diseases as well as many others. To address many of these questions, students in the Excellence Program attend a course in medical ethics given by Prof. Menachem Schlesinger and Rabbi Menachem Schahor. Study includes frontal classes as well as a tour at the Shaare Zedek hospital guided by lecturers from the hospital's Schlesinger Institute for Medical Halachic Research.
During their recent tour students met with doctors and nurses and heard proposed medical solutions to address marital problems and pregnancy and childbirth issues. The tour included a lecture on the subject of medicinal treatment for brides before the huppah and an additional lecture on the issue of genetic match between couples. Students learned about genes that might be carry diseases, the identification process and medicinal treatment to prevent possible future diseases, genetic matching between spouses and coping mechanisms for couples where both spouses are genetic carriers of the same disease.
In the Department of In vitro Fertilization students learned about different stages of infertility treatment as well as the challenges that couples face in their quest for pregnancy and childbirth.
The students' final lecture addressed the challenges of running hospitals on Shabbat and hagim according to halachah. Run various systems whose operation requires chillul Shabbat requires hospital directors and poskim to find creative halachic, technological and scientific solutions.
Student responses to the course were excellent. They found that this special course opened a window for them to an important and fascinating world which they would not have been otherwise exposed.

The English Department goes to a live performance of "My Fair Lady"

Dr. Vitela Arzi
Head of the English Department

No study in the field of Foreign Language Teaching would be complete without a viewing of the classic film "My Fair Lady." This film encompasses the linguistic sub-fields of socio- linguistics, psycho- linguistics, and of course practical linguistics in the form of phonetics, diction, syntax, lexis and more. All of these components are studied within the context of Introduction to Linguistics and Applied Linguistics as taught in the English Department at Orot College of Education.

However, says David Wapner, instructor of the Linguistics courses, "there is a vast difference between "simply" teaching these linguistic topics within a formal classroom setting in a theoretical sense, to that of actually seeing them in "play" in the practical forum and in an extra curricular venue. "

We were fortunate indeed , as a live production of "My Fair Lady" in English, performed by the Light Opera Group of the Negev, has come to theaters in Israel at the time that our students were just wrapping up the study of the aforementioned components in class. Mr . Wapner contacted the producers and we were given tickets at a special discounted price; we received some additional assistance from the Dean of Students Rabbi-Dr. Rachimi, who helped to defray some of the students' expenses.

The students were abuzz with excitement awaiting the date and then the hour, and finally arriving at the theater in Mody'in.

Says Shira Tzubeiri, a second year student: "It's the first time that I'm watching an English speaking play, and it was an unusual and challenging experience. It was very special to meet my friends at a location other than the classroom, and it contributed to our social integration as a group". Her friend Shulamit Isaacs adds: "This magnificent well produced play was a fantastic learning experience, which brought alive all the theoretical knowledge that was amassed in the classroom . Seeing the material come to live on stage validated everything that we had studied on a purely theoretical basis."

Watching the play together with other extra-curricular activities initiated by the English Department , reflects a holistic approach to the learning experience in general , and to language learning in particular which the English Department advocates and practices.