What Does Elkana’s Senior Citizen Center Have to Do with Orot Israel College?

by Mrs. Tzvia Mintzer 
Head, Gil HaZahav Association, Elkana

Shalom lachem.

My name is Tzvia Mintzer, and I am the founding chairwoman of Elkana’s Gil HaZahav Association.

About five years ago, recognizing that the number of senior citizens here in Elkana continues to increase every year, we - the community’s older members - decided to establish a non-profit organization that would provide services for us in our old age. Our goal was to offer recreational and cultural activities in order to improve local senior citizens’ quality of life and to transform Elkana into a wonderful place to live – even for the elderly.

You’re probably wondering what Elkana’s senior citizen center has to do with Orot Israel College, which trains a generation of young teachers and educators in various subjects?!

Here’s my answer:
1. Elkana’s veteran residents have a longstanding, warm relationship with Orot Israel College. We value and appreciate Orot’s positive impact on the community and its older and younger residents.
2. We all wish to continue to maintain this rich bond, to continue to give and receive, and to continue to grow and develop together.

Elkana’s veteran residents have a deep emotional bond with Orot. They have been working together with Orot from its establishment and founding by its first president – a longtime resident of Elkana – our friend, Rav Dr. Yehuda Felix, and through its further physical and spiritual development by Rav Professor Neria Guttel.

Many of our friends in Elkana worked and still work for Orot in various positions. The community and its residents feel very close to Orot. We share many values with Orot, its administration, and its faculty, and we admire its academic achievements. Indeed, many of us – especially the veteran residents – consider Orot to be our home. A number of older Elkana residents studied at Orot and taught there, and now their grandchildren are following in their footsteps.

Meanwhile, Elkana serves as a warm home for the Orot students who live in the dormitories. Often, they meet their future husbands in Elkana, make their homes in the community, and accept teaching positions at one of Elkana’s various educational institutions.

Thus, when we decided to open our senior citizen center but lacked both a permanent location and technological resources, we did not hesitate to turn to Orot Israel College for help. And in fact, to our delight, Orot responded willingly and graciously to our request. Over the past four and a half years, leading members of Orot’s faculty delivered lectures at our center; we launched an intergenerational program with Orot’s students; communication students interview the seniors, who share their life stories; a Daf Yomi class is broadcast to the seniors on the local radio station; students give lectures at the center; and we attended computer courses at Orot and learned how to join the digital world. We are also extremely grateful for the use of Orot’s auditorium as a venue for many of our experiential and joyful events.

In the future, we hope to open a regional educational center on campus for the senior citizens of Elkana and the Shomron. This initiative will not only strengthen Orot’s ties with the area’s veteran residents but will also strengthen Orot’s regional and national stature. Orot Israel College’s administration has already approved the plan in principle, but due to a number of factors, we are not yet ready to begin this project.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank Orot Israel College and Rav Professor Neria Guttel for all their help and cooperation, and I look forward to watching our relationship grow ever stronger.

Israel’s Chief Rabbi Visits Orot Israel College

Several days before Rosh Hashanah 5775, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav David Lau shlit”a, visited Orot Israel College. Rav Professor Neria Guttel, Orot’s president, and Rabbanit Dr. Lea Vizel, Orot’s dean of students and dean of extramural studies, welcomed the honored guest, and hundreds of Orot students crammed into the packed auditorium to hear him speak. Rav Lau’s talk was divided into two parts: an inspiring shiur about Rosh Hashanah and a question and answer session.

Rachmana Liba Ba’i
Rav Lau began with a focus on prayer. He noted that the Torah readings for the two days of Rosh Hashanah are the story of Yishmael’s banishment and Akeidat Yitzchak respectively. The latter selection makes sense, but the former is hard to understand. Moreover, the episode appears to convey two contradictory messages: On one hand, we learn that “one who prays for his fellow is answered first.” (Sarah’s prayers are answered after Avraham prays for the people of Grar.) But on the other hand, we see that highest precedence is given to a sick person’s own prayers, as manifested by Yishmael’s prayers:
"וישמע אלוקים את קול הנער."
“And God listened to the voice of the youth.” (Breishit 21:17)
(Similarly, Yeshaya informs Chizkiyahu that he will die, but after Chizkiyahu prays for himself, he is granted an additional fifteen years. See Melachim II 20:1.)

In order to clarify this seeming contradiction, Rav Lau explained that it depends on the specific person, the specific prayer, and the specific circumstances. In certain situations, it is best for a person to pray for himself, but in other situations, the prayer is more effective when someone else prays. The key is that the prayer must be heartfelt, because one who prays from the depths of his heart finds that his prayers are answered. Yet, Rav Lau continued, in order for one’s prayers to be answered, one must cry out to Hashem “with sincerity,” as suggested by the pasuk:
"קרוב ה' לכל קוראיו לכל אשר יקראוהו באמת."
“Hashem is near to all who call Him; to all who call Him with sincerity.” (Tehilim 145:18)

Shmitah Challenges: A Gardening “Scoop”!
At Rav Professor Guttel’s request, Rav Lau graciously agreed to respond to several of the students’ questions. Unsurprisingly, since Rav Lau’s visit to Orot occurred just a few days before the onset of the Shmitah year, one of the students asked about the Chief Rabbinate’s policies and approaches to the various halachic mechanisms for observing shmitah. Rav Lau treated the audience to an exhaustive discussion of the topic. He began by explaining the differences between the various options: heter mechirah, otzar beit din, matza menutak (i.e. produce grown on platforms and in hothouses), produce grown in the sixth year, and produce grown by non-Jews in Israel and abroad. The Chief Rabbinate’s policy is to supply each population sector with the solution that best meets its worldview – as long as everything is done in accordance with Jewish law.

For instance, the heter mechirah (a complex halachic mechanism whereby the land is sold to a non-Jew) continues to be a vital necessity. With all due respect to those who refrain from working the land – and considerable credit goes to the farmers who follow the beit din’s directives (i.e. otzar beit din) – we cannot ignore the fact that the majority of the country’s farmers, like the majority of the country’s citizens/consumers, are what are euphemistically known as “wearers of transparent kippot.” Thus, from the State’s point of view, the heter mechirah is not only necessary for this year but all the more so for the years to come – in terms of holding on to agricultural fields; retaining control of export markets, both during this year and the following years; and even as a source of income. We cannot turn these farmers into lawbreakers; the State needs these crops too. And clearly, after leading Torah giants throughout the generations (albeit not all of them) endorsed and supported the heter mechirah, its validity is certainly not in question.

Rav Lau half-jokingly – yet correctly – pointed out that while the mitzvah of ahavat chinam (gratuitous love) and the sin of sinat chinam (gratuitous hatred) are both d’orayta (from the Torah), shmitah is only d’rabbanan (rabbinic) in our time… It is very easy for us to criticize others and to point out their shortcomings and the flaws inherent in their solutions, but we tend to avoid doing the same for ourselves. Every individual and every community should focus on their own worldviews and solutions and live their lives accordingly – while acknowledging that other people’s approaches are also legitimate and halachically valid.

During the course of his talk, Rav Lau revealed a fascinating “scoop” about the current shmitah year. As a rule, the heter mechirah does not apply to ginot no’i (“ornamental” gardens) – whether private or public. One is only permitted to do that which is strictly necessary to maintain the garden, and nothing else. This has always been the case – even for those who support the heter mechirah. However, lo and behold, in 5775, for the first and only time since the heter mechirah was instituted, the Chief Rabbinate ruled that there is a specific situation where landscaping is permitted – on an exclusive, one-time basis.

The case in question is Bahadim City, the new IDF Training Campus currently under construction in the Negev. Many military bases will be relocating to the massive site, and as such, it is considered to be a top national priority and an extremely costly one at that. Now it turns out that as part of the tender, the contractor who won the bid is obligated – inter alia – to handle the extensive landscaping. As the shmitah year – and the prohibition against working the land – approached, the contractor said to the army, “No problem. I’m willing to halt the landscaping work and not do the job, but you will owe me. If you breach the contract, you will have to pay me.” Just to be clear: We are talking about millions and millions of shekels, which would be wasted instead of spent on definite security needs.

Rav Lau described how the question was brought before the Chief Rabbinate’s “Shmitah Committee,” which was divided on the issue. Rav Yaakov Ariel was opposed, but the other committee members – Rav Avraham Yosef and Rav David Lau himself – were in favor of permitting the landscaping. Their decision was partially based on the fact that Bahadim City is part of kibush olei Mitzrayim (within the boundaries of the land conquered by Yehoshua after the Exodus from Egypt) but not part of kibush olei Bavel (within the boundaries of the land reconquered by the Jews who returned from Babylonia with Ezra), and thus less complicated from a halachic perspective. In any event, as noted above, the innovative and groundbreaking ruling was a one-time exception – a literal hora’at sha’ah (“an emergency measure”) – and this is the first time it was made public.

The Orot students also asked about other issues – including a significant number of questions about kashrut: What is the difference between the various Badatz hechsherim and the Chief Rabbinate’s hechsher? Can one use powdered milk that is chalav nochri? What should one do when visiting one’s parents who are less stringent about various kashrut issues? In addition, Rav Lau was asked about traveling abroad in general and to Uman in particular and many other questions.

In conclusion, the Chief Rabbi’s visit was memorable and extremely interesting. As he left Orot Israel College, Rav Lau said that he had derived considerable pleasure from the event and from the caliber of the Orot students, and he indicated that he would be very happy to come again.

Sukkot 5775: Modern Day Clouds of Glory

by Rabbi Reuven Spolter, Judaic Studies Lecturer

For those of us living in the South (I live in Yad Binyamin, almost 40km from Gaza. Ashdod, Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva had it much worse, to say nothing of Otef Aza), this summer was the summer without a vacation. Everyone I know entered into the school year feeling that now that the summer had ended they need a vacation – and rightfully so. In fact, many schools in the south have given the students off during the "gesher" – the bridge days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, in order to give them a little time to breathe after such a trying summer.
Yet, the past summer's experience enriches and deepens our understanding for and appreciation of the mitzvah of ישיבה בסוכה – dwelling in a Sukkah.
The Gemara (Sukkah 11b) famously offers two explanations for the commandment to dwell in the Sukkah.

תניא כי בסכות הושבתי את בני ישראל: ענני כבוד היו דברי רבי אליעזר, רבי עקיבא אומר סוכות ממש עשו להם

It was taught, “That I settled the Jews in booths.” Rabbi Eliezer said that this refers to the Clouds of Glory. Rabbi Akiva said the Jews made actual booths for themselves.

While we can readily understand Rabbi Eliezer's position, and the need to commemorate and celebrate the miraculous Clouds of Glory that protected the nation in the desert, Rabbi Akiva's position seems curious. Why would we commemorate the fact that the people lived in booths that they themselves had built?
Rabbeinu Bachya explains that according to Rabbi Akiva we commemorate the fact that the Children of Israel dwelled in man-made booths to remind us that despite their efforts, their survival nonetheless required supernatural protection.

דעת האומר סכות ממש עשו להם, מפני זה נצטוינו לעשות סכות דוגמתן כדי שיתגלה ויתפרסם מתוך מצות הסכות גודל מעלתן של ישראל במדבר שהיו הולכים עם כובד האנשים והנשים והטף במקום ההוא אשר אין בטבע האדם לחיות בו...כי שם באותו מקום הכנתי להם כל צרכם ולא חסרו דבר

According to the opinion that says that the Jews made actual booths for themselves, we are commanded to make booths like those, to publicize the greatly elevated state of existence which the Jews enjoyed in the desert. They traveled in the desert with masses of men, women, and children in a place where it is not the nature of man to live … Even in that place, God prepared for them all of their needs and they lacked nothing.

The houses they built for themselves were not enough. They still needed God's help and protection to survive and thrive in the dangerous desert habitat. This lesson is especially relevant for the residents of the Jewish State, following the challenging, but miraculous summer we recently endured.
This summer, we discovered yet again that the homes we normally associate with safety and protection do not suffice. We required – and continue to require – an added level of protection, and I refer even to those of us who have a Safe Room that we ran to at the sound of the siren. This year, when we sit in the Sukkah under the open sky, we will not only immediately recognize our frailty and fragility. Rather, we'll also think back to the summer and remember how, even when sitting in our regular homes, we recognized that we were not in fact safe. We needed more protection – and thankfully, received it as well, as the Jewish people benefited from miraculous (from the root word "miracle") divine protection over the course of the summer. Nothing less than miraculous.
The same can be said of our own "Clouds of Glory".
Over the course of the summer, I tried to maintain my regular routine, including my regular runs around Yad Binyamin. Sometimes I run on the path that circles the yishuv, while usually I enjoy running along roads and paths through the local community and the local fields. Looking back, perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.
On one particularly clear Sunday evening, I found myself running along the road near Chafetz Chaim when a siren sounded. I watched as the Iron Dome rockets fired to intercept the unseen rockets rushing towards us suddenly took a turn – directly towards me. That's when I figured it might be a good idea to quickly seek additional shelter, and I spent the next few moments in a concrete drainage pipe.
Watching those rockets rise into the air, it was impossible not to marvel not only at the technological prowess that built the system, but also again at the Divine Hand guiding those rockets to their targets, and also directing the Hamas rockets the Iron Dome missed away from civilian areas. While Hamas fired literally thousands of rockets towards us, the vast, vast majority missed Israeli civilian areas, landing either in Gaza, in the sea, or in open areas, away from the populace.
Those misses represented nothing less than our own, national ענני הכבוד.
This coming week, as we sit in the Sukkah, we can and must celebrate, and give thanks for the additional protection we received, even while sitting in the booths that we have built, and also for the Clouds of Glory that protected the People of Israel who continue to thrive in the most dangerous neighborhood in the world.

“Who are these, who fly like a cloud, and like doves to their cotes… to bring your sons from afar?” (Yeshaya 60:8-9)

Mrs. Aliza Lipsker, Beit Chana Program Coordinator

"קומי אורי כי בא אורך... בניך מרחוק יבואו."

“Arise, shine, for your light has come… Your sons will come from afar.” (Yeshaya 60:1-4)

Who was singing this song? It was the height of the summer; war raged in the South; and the entire country was in an uproar. And yet the singing continued at Orot Israel College…
The young singers were ten Ukrainian girls from Beit Chana, who came to spend a month studying in Israel – Tanach, history, geography, Hebrew, pedagogy, and didactics – in spite of the war. During the opening ceremony, Rav Professor Neria Guttel, Orot’s president, welcomed the girls, and they learned Naomi Shemer’s version of the song...

"קומי אורי כי בא אורך וכבוד ה' עליך זרח"
(“arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory
 of Hashem has shone upon you” – Yeshaya 60:1)

...and the meaning of the lyrics. In fact, the song became the girls’ anthem and accompanied them on all their trips, tours, and various activities.

The program’s goals were threefold:
1. To encourage the students from Beit Chana in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, to develop a love for Eretz Yisrael and to bring them closer to Am Yisrael and to their roots.
2. To offer meaningful and experiential lessons in Judaic studies, Land of Israel studies, and Hebrew as well as numerous activities and trips around Israel.
3. To ensure that at the end of the program, the participants would leave “wanting more” from their stay in Orot in particular and in Israel in general.

We are thrilled to announce that we exceeded our goals!
Classes were held daily from 9:00-21:30, and the packed schedule included outings to the pool and the beach. In addition, the girls traveled to the North, Yerushalayim, Gush Etzion, Hevron, Beit Lechem, and many other places across the country; they celebrated Tu B’Av in ancient Shilo together with the women of the Binyamin region; they visited historical and other significant sites in Eretz Yisrael; and they even experienced a siren on an Erev Shabbat in Elkana and were forced to run to the nearby protected space.

Based on the girls’ reactions, the program was a rousing success. They said that they wished they could stay longer and expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the incredible experience. At the graduation ceremony, the girls sang,
"אין לי ארץ אחרת" (“I have no other country”) and "קומי אורי כי בא אורך... בניך מרחוק יבואו", and a girl named Chaya Mushka gave a moving speech:
“It’s hard to believe that we’ve come to the end of the program. I remember that… I was so excited when they told us that the program would be held this year too. We couldn’t wait to hear about the trip to Eretz Yisrael, and we were pleased and happy when it actually happened. We really couldn’t believe that in spite of the situation in Eretz Yisrael, we would be privileged to come.
I think that we had a special group this year. We enjoyed being together and sharing the unique experiences, the lessons, and the games. We learned a lot about each other. Specifically, we learned that each girl is different and has so, so much to give. We now feel much more united.
 I want to say thank you – in my name and in the name of the entire group – for the amazing program.
 We saw how much effort was put into every little detail, the classes, the evening programs, and especially the trips, because there is nothing like touring in Eretz Yisrael. It is a special feeling, and only someone who lives abroad can understand it.
 It is amazing to meet – here in Eretz Yisrael - people like you, who know how to give whole-heartedly and from the depths of their souls; who are always in the right place, at the right time; who immediately volunteer to help and to lend a hand. Thank you, and thank you again.”


Rosh Hashanah: A Festive Holiday or a Day of Awe?

by Rabbanit Dr. Lea Vizel, Dean of Students (Elkana Campus) and Dean of Extramural Studies

Rosh Hashanah - the Day of Judgment – has a dual nature. On one hand, it appears in the Torah together with the other holidays and is specifically described as a festival:

"תקעו בחדש שופר בכסה ליום חגנו."

However, at the same time, Rosh Hashanah is referred to as the Day of Judgment, when the Books of Life and Death lie open before HaKadosh Baruch Hu and:

"כל באי עולם יעברון לפניך כבני מרון."

Furthermore, when Nechemiah saw that the nation wept, mourned, and trembled on Rosh Hashanah, he instructed them:

"לכו אכלו משמנים ושתו ממתקים... כי קדוש היום."

Similarly, Chazal seem to have a contradictory approach to Rosh Hashanah.

How can we explain this? On Rosh Hashanah - which, according to our tradition, is the day when man was created – we renew our covenant with our Father in Heaven, and that is certainly a reason to rejoice. Yet, this covenant entails great responsibility and requires us to treat it seriously and solemnly. We are given a golden opportunity to turn a new leaf and to choose a life of meaning. As the Slonimer Rebbe explains in “Netivot Shalom,” three books are opened on Rosh Hashanah – the tzadikim (the righteous), the beinonim (the average or mediocre), and the resha’im (the wicked) – and as the new year approaches, every person inscribes himself and decides how the upcoming year will look. One who resolves to fulfill his role and destiny is immediately inscribed and sealed for a good life. However, when one does not do so, one implies that one has no role – chalilah – in HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s world.

Nechemiah saw that Am Yisrael grieved over the sins of the past and was unaware that Rosh Hashanah encompasses a great hope for a better future. It is a day of man’s renewal and a renewed covenant with the Master of the Universe. Therefore, although we must certainly rejoice, we cannot ignore the day’s ingrained solemnity.

At Orot Israel College, we are also on the cusp of a new year, and we hope to be inscribed immediately in the Book of Life for a meaningful life of giving and contributing. A heavy yet delightful responsibility rests on our shoulders.

In particular, I would like to focus on Orot’s extramural studies program. Baruch Hashem, we expanded our course offering over the past year, and many post-graduate students came from near and far to partake in our many programs. Inter alia, we introduced an advanced study program in Tanach instruction, an online program for literature teachers, and much more. As we look to the future, we are excited about the many new courses that are set to open this year, including an in-service teachers’ training course for the Ofek Chadash program; a unique course for rami”m and Toshb”a teachers; new complementary medicine courses; art therapy, bibliotherapy, psychodrama, and behavioral-cognitive therapy courses; an in-service training course for preschool teachers about the festivals; Jewish culture and tradition courses; and much more. Our goal is to meet the needs of those who seek to continue their studies even after completing their academic degrees.

May the coming year be a year of successful, fruitful, and meaningful academic achievements, and may all our communal and private prayers be answered.

Best wishes for a gmar chatimah tovah!

Rav Yaakov Ariel Meets With Orot Guidance Students

by Ravid Tirosh and Arieh Cohen 
Graduate Students, Guidance Department 

As the 5774 school year came to an end, Rav Yaakov Ariel, Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan and a veteran Orot Israel College lecturer, met with all the graduate students from Orot’s guidance department. Rav Professor Neria Guttel, President of Orot Israel College, greeted the attendees and extolled Orot’s guidance department. He noted that everything is contained in the Torah - "הפוך בה והפוך בה דכולא בה" (“delve into it and delve into it, for everything is in it” – Avot 5:26) – but we must also use universal tools in order to uncover and acquire all this wisdom and knowledge. Thus, Rav Guttel explained, Rav Ariel’s invitation to Orot represents the integration of the Torah approach with the professional, scientific approach. In other words, the idea of "חכמה בגוים תאמין" (“you may believe that there is wisdom among the nations of the world”) is combined with Torat Yisrael.
Rav Ariel began his talk with a focus on values. He said that science and research tools are designed to help us understand this world, but by definition and by their very nature, they are not concerned with “values.” Science does not set values. Rather, it investigates and presents facts. In contrast, the Torah establishes the values that we use in science. Hence, there is no fundamental contradiction between Torah and science.
Next, Rav Ariel addressed various halachic questions, which the students had submitted in advance. Before answering the questions, he stated that scientific literature can often help us understand reality. For instance, he referred to the case of an OCD patient who repeatedly washes his hands for netilat yadayim. Although such a person may seem like a “tzadik” who is only trying to perform the mitzvah in an ideal manner, a scientific approach reveals that in truth, such a person suffers from a psychological condition and requires treatment. Rav Ariel cited the Chatam Sofer’s unequivocal ruling that such a person be instructed not to repeat the mitzvah - even if he is concerned that he did not fulfill it properly. Other issues addressed by Rav Ariel included teaching homosexual students; encouraging (forcing?) students to attend davening; situations where there are conflicts between the school and the home (e.g., a mother who does not cover her hair while the school teaches that married women must do so); Internet use; smartphones in yeshiva high schools and ulpanot; modesty; and more. Rav Ariel spoke out forcibly against those who “bury their heads in the sand” about a lack of modesty in the religious community and claim that “we don’t have that problem.” According to the Rav, the phenomenon exists everywhere, in every sector, and even in our own educational institutions.
The entire discussion was open and frank, and Rav Ariel stressed that even if we do not always have immediate answers, we must continue to ask the questions. He recommended creating a forum where these issues can be discussed and cited the words of Mishlei: "ותשועה ברב יועץ" (“and salvation comes with much council” – Mishlei 11:14).

Orot Receives Prize For Innovative “Moviemaking: History in the Making” Project

by Pnina Frankel 
Head, Communication and Cinema Department

Recently, the Massuah Institute for Holocaust Studies presented Orot Israel College with an award for its
“Moviemaking: History in the Making” project. The innovative pilot program combines history lessons with moviemaking and allows the student to act as researcher, director, producer, and editor and enjoy a unique multisensory learning experience.
The interdisciplinary project was launched by Orot’s communication and cinema department in conjunction with the history department. A series of short films (each three minutes long), which focus on dilemmas faced by the Jews in the pre-Holocaust era, was produced. After the history students researched the topics, wrote the scripts, and formulated the dilemmas while providing information about dress, settings, etc., the cinema students produced and shot the films. The result was five thoughtful, sensitive, and historically-accurate movies, which shed light on a difficult period and can be used as teaching aids during lessons about the pre-Holocaust era.
The citation accompanying the Massuah Institute award read, “We recognize the creative thinking and the unique pedagogic philosophy behind this project… The student who is exposed to these films will benefit from an educational experience that will contribute greatly to Holocaust study programs in our schools.”