Students From Beit Chana in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine Spend the Summer at Orot Israel College

by Mrs. Aliza Lipsker
Program Coordinator, Elkana Campus

At the end of an exciting, challenging, and experiential month-long learning program, one of the students declared, “What will I take back to the Ukraine? I will take all of Eretz Yisrael with me!”
The student was part of a group from Beit Chana in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine – a branch of Orot Israel College, where young Jewish women study to become teachers in Jewish schools throughout the former Soviet republics. The students spent a month in Israel, focusing on Hebrew, Judaic studies, pedagogy, and Israeli life and culture.
From nine in the morning until ten at night, the daily schedule included stimulating classes, fun trips, and assorted extracurricular activities. The students slept in Orot’s beautiful new dormitory in Elkana and enjoyed Rachel’s delicious cooking. All the meals were designed to showcase Israel’s bountiful food and produce.
Every day after davening in the morning, Beit Chana’s own Rav Moshe Webber delivered a shiur on Chassidut. Next, the students spent four hours learning Hebrew. Under the able tutelage of Mrs. Sarit Gizbar and Mrs. Nurit Alkalai, the classes – many of which were held in Orot’s state-of-the-art pedagogic center – revolved around the study of classic Hebrew songs. And as the girls traveled the country, these songs were always on their lips.
Other classes included teaching methods, Torah, Halachah, the Jewish home, and the Holocaust, and the students visited the renowned Shem Olam Institute of the Holocaust and Faith in Kfar HaRo’eh.
Evenings were devoted to dance, art, make-up, and flower arranging classes as well as various social events, such as a special activity in honor of Tu B’Av. During the day, the girls had time to swim in Orot’s pool and catch some waves at the Herzliya Beach.
The program included numerous trips. For example, on Tisha B’Av, the girls visited Yad Vashem and recited Kinnot at the Kotel, and on a different occasion, they toured the Knesset, the Old City, and Ir David. Other trips included stops in Acco, Teveriyah, Meiron, Tzfat, and the Golan Heights. The girls went rafting, jeeping, and boating; visited Mini Israel, the Armored Corps Museum in Latrun, Luna Park, and the Invitation to Silence exhibit in Holon; and spent Rosh Chodesh Elul in Hevron and at Kever Rachel.
During the moving farewell ceremony, the students planted trees from the Seven Species on the Orot campus and were awarded diplomas. Rav Professor Neria Guttel, President of Orot Israel College, spoke to the students. Each girl shared – whether in Hebrew, Russian, or some combination thereof – what she had gained from the incredible program and her wonderful stay in Israel. All the girls agreed that they hoped to return!