Rabbanit Shulamit Melamed, Arutz Sheva’s Founder and Director, Visits Orot Israel College

Rabbanit Dr. Nomi Shachor 
Head of the Tanach Department, Orot Israel College, Elkana Campus

Rabbanit Shulamit Melamed, founder and director of the Arutz Sheva news network and wife of Rosh Yeshivat Beit El, Rav Zalman Melamed, delivered a guest lecture at Orot Israel College to mark the conclusion of Orot’s “Jewish Women in the Modern Era” course.
Offered by the history department, the course focused on the various crossroads that the Jewish people in general and Jewish women in particular faced during the modern era. The students examined the personal, ideological, and spiritual questions that concerned women in different settings: the Haskalah in Europe, the assorted waves of Aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, the 1960s and the growth of feminism in the United States, and women’s roles in the State of Israel. Special attention was given to religious women in Israel – both within the feminist movements and within other movements, such as Gush Emunim and the settlement of Yehuda and Shomron.
During her lecture, Rabbanit Melamed discussed the many transformations that religious women have undergone over the past few decades. She spoke about the home where she was raised, her introduction to the yeshiva world, and her decision to marry a yeshiva student connected to Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav – which was considered to be fairly unusual at the time. Being the wife of a full-time yeshiva student, she said, had several implications and impacted the household division of labor. The next significant move in her life – which also was a reflection of changes in the national-religious public – was the decision to establish the community of Beit El B. The Orot students were enthralled by her stories of the community’s early years – including the technical and security problems and the challenges and difficulties of raising a family far from Yerushalayim.
Rabbanit Melamed also spoke about founding Arutz Sheva. She recalled purchasing a ship and broadcasting from sea as well as her initial exposure to the media. The Orot students were particularly interested in hearing about the various financial, technical, and fundamental issues that she faced. Although the network itself and the media in general have since undergone many changes, Rabbanit Melamed continues to serve as Arutz Sheva’s director.
In addition, she examined the status of Jewish women in general and Israeli women in particular. Inter alia, she touched upon feminism, a woman’s role in the family, women’s contributions to Israeli society and family life, and more. The students were encouraged to ask questions, and the lecture sparked an animated discussion about how society’s approach to marriage has changed over the generations.
Orot Israel College thanks Rabbanit Melamed for her intriguing talk, which not only addressed many of the issues our students will face as Jewish, Israeli, and religious women, wives, and mothers but also introduced them to a fascinating woman who continues to shape Israeli society.

Orot Israel College and Torah MiTzion: A Natural Partnership

How many Jews lived in Munich before the Holocaust? How many Jews live there today? How many of them keep (strictly) kosher homes? Before answering these questions, we should explain that these are just some of the issues facing the members of the Munich Torah MiTzion Kollel.

Torah MiTzion is an organization dedicated to disseminating Judaism in the Diaspora: in Munich and Moscow; in Washington, D.C., South Africa, and Australia. Each place according to its specific character and needs, but one thing unites them all: Jewish education. Whether it is classes or study partners, small get-togethers or large events – both educational and “social” – various means are used to achieve the sacred goal.

Several years ago, Torah MiTzion asked Orot Israel College, Israel’s largest and most prestigious religious educational college, to work together on several projects. For example, Orot runs a special training class for Orot students who wish to join – on a short-term basis – one of Torah MiTzion’s kollels around the world.

Recently, Torah MiTzion’s leadership invited Rav Professor Neria Guttel, Orot’s president, on a quick, intensive, and jam-packed visit to the Munich Kollel. Rosh Kollel Rav Eliezer Noy and his wife graciously hosted Rav Guttel during his two-day stay, and the rest of the Kollel’s membership went out of their way to show Rav Guttel around.

Much of the Kollel’s programming is geared for university students. After all, Munich’s Jewish community is largely composed of Jews from the former Soviet Union as well as Israeli “yordim” and young Israelis studying in the local universities. Unfortunately, most of them have little to no connection to Torah and mitzvot, and it is not easy to “get through” to them.

Thus, Rav Guttel attended a “fondue party” that included the culinary treat as well as a game focusing on the laws and customs of Sefirat HaOmer. He also interviewed an engaged couple who credit Torah MiTzion with bringing them closer to Judaism and now hope to make aliyah to Israel, and he met the principal of the Jewish day school (which now goes up to the fourth grade), a Jewish studies teacher in the local high school, the local rabbi’s two deputies, the principals of the Jewish Agency-supported Janusz Korczak Academy, and many others. One of the highlights of Rav Guttel’s visit was his meeting with the president of the Jewish community, who is considered to be one of the most influential women in German politics. Due to her busy schedule, the meeting was almost cancelled, but in the end, it took place and was very cordial.

To get back to our original questions: Approximately 11,000 Jews lived in Munich before the Holocaust, and as a result of the German government’s ongoing efforts “to return the crown to its former glory” (??), some 9,000 Jews currently live in Munich (without getting into the question of “who is a Jew?”). However, there are only a few dozen families who maintain (strictly) kosher homes!

This, then, is the challenge – in a nutshell – facing the Torah MiTzion Kollel: “To bring back the hearts of the sons.” Needless to say, it is not easy, and the work depends on much dedication, faith, and hope.

As always, Orot Israel College is proud to be a part of this wonderful endeavor, and with Hashem’s help, we will accomplish and succeed!




Orot Israel College Students Submit Award-Winning Research Papers

Rav Dr. Moshe Rachimi 
Dean of Students (Elkana Campus) and Head of Orot Israel College’s Graduate School 

During their second year, students at Orot Israel College write research papers on Judaic studies topics. The process begins with learning how to write an academic paper and ends with a proper, high-caliber thesis.
Orot, which places great emphasis on academic excellence (as well as Judaic, educational, and pedagogical excellence), encourages and promotes student research – including for undergraduate students. To this end, every year, the top three papers – as determined by three stages of judging - receive awards for excellence. The results of this process are twofold. First, students are motivated to work even harder, and second, the resulting papers are extremely impressive.
This year, the faculty advisors recommended that twelve different papers be submitted to the judges, who eventually selected the three best theses:
• First place: Oriah (Dahan) Reshef - “Children in Monasteries During the Holocaust” - Rav Ari Shvat, Advisor
• Second place: Atara Shlomovitz – “His Eyes Shed Tears: R’ Elazar ben Hurkanus” – Dr. Uriel Twito, Advisor
• Third place: Mazal (Ingeda) Cohen – “The Laws of Kashrut According To Beita Yisrael In Comparison To the Laws of Kashrut According To the Shulchan Aruch” - Rav Ari Shvat, Advisor

Orot Israel College’s administration and faculty congratulate all the submissions and especially the prize winners. We are thrilled and proud of their achievements and encourage them to continue along the path of academia and research.


Technology and Education: Challenges and Opportunities

by Rabbi Reuven Spolter
Jewish Studies Lecturer

I’ve been struggling with the issue of cellphones in my classes at Orot.
Last semester, Orot Israel College invited a speaker who spoke to the entire student body about our collective addiction to cellphones. Even more impressive than the truly frightening statistics and stories he told was the total command he had over an auditorium of 450 students, and his absolute refusal to allow anyone in the room to take out a cellphone. If someone took one out, he stopped his talk, and waited until the person put the phone away.
I was blown away, and convinced that I needed to do the same thing in my classes. When the new second semester began, I started each class by asking the students to put away their phones in their bags, telling them two things: First of all, their staring at their phones served as a distraction for me (which it really is – try talking to someone who’s staring at their phone). Second, I told them that, “If you’re there (on the phone) you’re not here." You cannot be on the phone and focusing on the class.
The students reluctantly acquiesced, and put away their phones, at first. For a while, I really stuck to it, and I must say that educationally, it was productive. The students were certainly annoyed, but the classes were better – more productive and focused.
But, as the semester has progressed, I have backed off – not because I don’t think that the cellphones are a distraction, but because I simply don’t have the energy to fight with my students anymore. I had hoped that the students entering my classes would, after a certain point, remember that I asked them not to use their phones in class and put them away on their own. Wishful thinking. Before each class I have to remind them – over and over – to please put away the phones until the end of class. And then there’s the laptop issue: a number of students bring laptops, and it’s painfully obvious that they’re not only taking notes. How as a teacher do I distinguish between cellphones and laptops? Why should there be any difference between them?
As part of my work at Orot, I serve as an administrator for the M.Ed. (Masters) program for Educational Administration at Orot’s Rechovot Campus. Students in the program recently participated in a site visit at Amit Amichai High School (for boys) in Rechovot. The Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat Amit, Rav Avi Rokeach, explained that three years ago the school made a strategic decision to invest in technology. They recognized that the students’ lives were intimately involved in technology – not just as tools, but in the way that the kids think today. If we were able to translate the materials that they learned – Gemara, Chumash, mathematics, etc – using the technological language of the students today – then they could dramatically improve the educational experience of the school. Every student and teacher received a tablet, and they invested in putting all of their materials on the tablets so that the kids would be ready to learn.
Three months into the project, they recognized that the experiment wasn’t working. Despite the incredible investment in technology, they realized that the tools – the technology – wasn’t the answer. It wasn’t that the tech wasn’t working. It really was. But the investment didn’t really create the change that the school was looking for. It was the same school, the same students, the same learning.
We took a tour of the school and saw a number of classes in which the students were working in groups; they had projects in English, mathematics, science; many of the classes of course have frontal learning. In each class, students were working with each other on laptops and also using their phones. There was a lot of learning taking place, but also a lot of email, Facebook and Whatsapp as well. We asked school staff how the teachers prevent students from using the laptops and phones to play and waste time. The teacher said that he doesn’t make them learn or stop them from playing. Rather, he gives the both the freedom and independence to make the right choice, and not waste their time in class (and have to do the work at home).
Is tech the answer in education? It is definitely not the answer – but it’s certainly part of our students’ lives. How to use that technology, or limit its ability to distract our students represents a challenge that educators struggle with on a constant basis. As technology grows even more integral to our lives, the questions grow more pressing.
Does a school that encourages engagement with technology produce graduates that are substantially different than other schools? Today, it's far too early to answer this critical question, which will have important implications for education long into the future.

Tribute to Rav Ari Shvat (Chwat) upon the launching of his new book:

The Israeli Flag and Speaking Hebrew

Orot Israel College cordially invites all Bat-Zion bogrot to join us on Tueday, the 8th of Sivan (May 26) at 8:00 p.m. at Beit HaRav Kook in Jerusalem, to an evening, co-sponsored by Michlelet Orot Israel, and the Institute for Zionist Strategies, in honor of Rav Ari Shvat.

Rav Shvat , a dedicated teacher of religious-Zionism and Aliya,  taught in the Bat-Zion program for many years and continues to teach in Bnei Akiva and other Israeli programs for close to 3 decades now.
The theme of the evening is “Zionism and Post-Zionism”, and the guest speakers will be:

HaRav Prof. Neria Gutel, Dean of Orot Israel College;
Yisrael Har’el, Founding Director of Yesha Council and recent recipient of the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism for 2015/5775;
Rav  Ari Shvat, author of “Raising the Flag”, the first book dedicated to “The Importance of Zionist Symbols in a World Transforming to Universalism”.

This will be a great opportunity to see many former Bat Zion Rabbanim and well as bogrot and friends.
We look forward to seeing you at this special event!



Orot Israel College Holds Tribute for Renowned Choreographer and Dancer Mrs. Oshra Elkayam

On Tuesday, 4 Nissan 5775 (March 24, 2015), Orot Israel College hosted a tribute to renowned choreographer and dancer Mrs. Oshra Elkayam at our Elkana campus. An Orot dance and movement instructor, Mrs. Elkayam was recently awarded the Ministry of Culture’s prestigious Arik Einstein Prize for her contributions to Israeli culture at a gala ceremony held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
The tribute began with a greeting from Orot’s President Rav Professor Neria Guttel. Next, the audience was treated to a video presentation, which included short clips and photographs from some of the dances Mrs. Elkayam choreographed for the Batsheva Dance Company, the Kibbutz Dance Company, the Inbal Dance Company, and others. Mrs. Tziona Shabtai, an Orot alumnus who wrote her thesis about Mrs. Elkayam, shared several excerpts from Mrs. Elkayam’s notes about her work “I Walked Then.”
Oshra Elkayam studied under the tutelage of Martha Graham, who was known as “the high priestess of dance,” in New York and then attended the elite Juilliard School during the early 1960s. After returning to Israel, she began choreographing for all of the major dance companies, and her professional achievements are considered to be a significant milestone in the history of Israeli dance.
In honor of the tribute, Many Orot alumni, students, and faculty members wrote heartfelt letters to express their appreciation. For instance, one student wrote:
“Besides the professional knowledge, you taught us about humanity, creativity, and a love for dance and everything that surrounds us.”
Another student added:
“At various occasions, we heard people talk about you, and little by little, we realized that we are privileged to study under one of the dance world’s most respected and major figures. But with your typical modesty, you tried to keep this information from us.”
Orot Israel College extends our best wishes to Oshra and wishes her many more years of creativity and contribution to Israeli culture.

Orot Israel College Hosts Paamonim Financial Management Workshop

by Rabbanit Dr. Leah Vizel 
Dean of Students and Extramural Studies, Orot Israel College

Recently, Orot Israel College, in conjunction with the Paamonim organization, hosted another workshop on healthy financial management. The workshop was a natural extension of Orot’s belief that training future teachers includes enriching our students’ world in various contexts as well as demonstrating concern for their welfare.
Here at Orot, we believe that an educator’s role involves more than simply transmitting knowledge, and throughout our students’ training, we bring this ideal to life. Thus, Orot students and their husbands, who live in the married student housing on our Elkana campus, participated in a series of constructive and enjoyable sessions during the evening hours. Due to the large demand, we offered two parallel workshops, which were given by Paamonim’s Mr. Moti Gilboa and Mr. Shai Davidovich respectively. During the course of the sessions, the young couples were given practical tools for effective financial planning: an introduction to basic financial terms; an explanation of retirement and other social benefits in the workplace and their long-term significance; the significance of interest in reference to loans and investments; building a healthy attitude toward money; and much more. Geared specifically for couples at the same stage in their lives, facing similar financial challenges, the workshop even included a discussion of the participants’ own experiences.
The grateful couples sent the following note after completing the workshop: “We want to thank you for organizing the Paamonim workshop. This workshop is essential for everyone and especially critical and relevant for young couples. In addition, the statistics we were shown during the workshop indicate that 60% of the country’s citizens are in debt. Therefore, we feel that you ‘provided the cure ahead of the potential future malady,’ for at least some of the couples.”
Orot Israel College is proud to provide our students with the essential tools for managing their families’ finances.