A compilation of Torat Eretz Yisrael by Torah MiTzion ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש Judaism, Zionism and Tikkun Olam בס״ד Opening Message from Zeev Schwartz Founding Executive Director Dear Friends, shlichim participate in an online, international Beit Midrash Since its inception 23 years ago, – Lilmod.org. Offering over Torah MiTzion has been a leading 400 shiurim a year in German, force of Religious Zionism in the Russian and French, the program Diaspora. Only last year our Batei brings together learners from 20 Midrash hosted 14,000 Chavruta countries! hours and 46,000 participants in various events and activities. The fulfillment of the verse from the prophet Isiah "for out of Zion The founding Rosh Yeshiva of the Torah MiTzion was shall the Torah come forth, and the Hesder Yeshiva in Ma'aleh Adumin, established with the goal word of the Lord from Jerusalem" Rabbi Haim Sabbato, defines the expresses perfectly the vision shlichim's mission as "Every day of strengthening Jewish of Torah Mitzion – a worldwide that we bring someone closer communities around the movement. to Torah, to Yir'at Shamayim, to Judaism – has no substitute. We globe and infusing them In the following pages we are will not be able to do tomorrow with the love for Torah, happy to share a taste of our what we did not accomplish today". shlichim's impact in communities the Jewish People and worldwide. Thousands of Jews from the State of Israel communities that do not Looking forward to seeing you in have the opportunity to host Israel! Torah MiTzion Staff, Israel Shabbat & Am Yisrael as Centers of Kedusha Rabbi Yedidya Noiman Rosh Kollel Montreal by numbers, from Shabbat and until ’...שָׁם שָׂם לוֹ חֹק ו ּ ּמִשְׁפָט וְשָׁם ּנִסָהו ּ’ Shabbat. We understand that everything )שמות טו כה( comes from Shabbat and goes towards "...There He gave them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them". Shabbat, on a constant basis. We can say that Hashem revealed the concept of Kedusha even before giving us the n the Gemara Sanhedrin (56b) we are fundamentally foreign to us. Although Torah in order to teach us the right told that in the pasuk above lays a this understanding does have valid I approach to our own role as a chosen hidden historical secret. When Moshe reasons to exist, it seems that the entire nation. addressed the people's need for water picture is more complex. Rav Kook in after the miracle of Kriat Yam Suf he his book Orot Yisrael (Ch.6, a) suggests Even though we see ourselves as didn’t only give them water. Chazal a different approach to the concept of a holy nation, this perception should say that on that very occasion Moshe Kedusha. According to Rav Kook we not create walls between the world Rabeinu introduced the nation to the should view holiness, not as a stranger, and us. We should look at ourselves Laws of Shabbat. We can say that this but rather as the special representative as responsible to influence and inspire is the first time we as a nation were of its surroundings. our fellow nations to connect and exposed to the idea of having holy day. For example, he says, when thinking relate to Hashem. Being the holy nation Zooming out we can say that this is the about the holiness of Shabbat we entails much more responsibility than first time our nation was exposed to the shouldn’t look at it as if Shabbat is holy privileges, and we should constantly idea of something being defined as holy while all the other days of the week seek to find ways how to share our light at all. have no spirituality in them. We should with the world. We should be a center of spirituality and morality, creating a When thinking about the concept consider Shabbat as being the spiritual vibrant and creative nation that shows of Kedusha, our initial assumption is core of the week, bringing Kedusha the way to connect matter and spirit. that we are referring to something into the dimension of time. Thus all the We as a nation should be an Or L’Goyim distant and detached from our day-to- other days of the week are recipients and we should always see ourselves as day lives. When thinking about a holy of its special light. Thinking about it, we Hashem’s ambassadors in the world, man, nation, time or place we typically can say that this idea is exactly what we spreading Kedusha to all the nations. picture a mysterious setting, which is do when in Hebrew we name the days The Torah MiTzion Kollel in Montreal was Each evening, the Shlichim have chavrutot founded in 1998 and is housed in The Hebrew with members of the community and offer Academy of Montreal. classes and lectures for men, women, and students of all ages and from all Jewish In the morning, the Shlichim have internal backgrounds. The Shlichim also run special morning seder followed by a shiur led by the programming for events and holidays in Rosh Kollel. Over the course of the day, the the Kollel and in the different Shuls in the Shlichim go into classes to teach and learn community. with students. During the breaks, the Shlichim have one-on-one chavrutot. The KTM Women’s Beit Midrash offers weekly classes for women of all ages, special After school, the Shlichim run programming lecture series, and chavrutot. for students of all ages, including an after school Bekiut club, Bat Mitzvah program, and Torah classes for college students. 2 The Beit Midrash for students in Berlin was founded in September 2016 and welcomes Jewish students and young professionals from all backgrounds. It was established as a joint venture by Torah MiTzion from Jerusalem and Lauder – Morasha from Germany. The Beit Midrash has developed an educational and social platform on which young Jewish adults can build their Jewish future in a comfortable and non-judgmental atmosphere. The Beit Midrash offers regular Torah classes, Chavrutot, Shabbat meals, special events towards the holidays and more. – Camps Bay and Claremont – to learn with members of those communities. The Shlichim also offer learning opportunities for university students. We also continue to be active in the Morasha Community – for chavrutot, Shabbatot and Chagim. In the summer, the bachurim serve as madrichim in South Africa's Bnei Akiva summer camp. In 2014, Torah MiTzion organized a reunion in Israel in honor of 20 years of Yeshiva of Cape Town for former Shlichim and Olim from Cape Town. The Yeshiva of Cape Town – the first Torah MiTzion Kollel – was initiated and directed by Rabbi Jonathan Glass in the fall of 1994. Each year, Torah MiTzion sends about five bachurim who are each responsible for one school in the United Herzlia Schools network – Constantia Primary, Highlands Primary, Weizmann Primary, the middle school, or the high school. Each bachur is in charge of informal Jewish education and activities in his respective school. In the afternoons, all the bachurim merge at the Beit Midrash of the Marais Road Shul (The Green and Sea Point Orthodox Hebrew Congregation), also known as the Yeshiva of Cape Town, where they have internal afternoon seder. Following seder, the bachurim have one-on-one chavrutot with community members at the Marais Road Shul. Two nights a week, the Shlichim travel to other neighborhoods 3 The Yeshiva University Torah MiTzion Kollel The Kollel fellows spread Torah throughout of Chicago, first founded in 1996 by Torah the community with weekly Shiurim on a MiTzion, later merged with Yeshiva University wide range of topics, one-on-one chavrutot, in 2008. The Kollel, led by Rabbi Reuven and special community programming for all Brand, is comprised of eight families of ages. In the evenings, the fellows learn with Avreichim from across Israel and America. community members of all levels. The core of the Kollel is the Beit Midrash, NILI – Chicago Institute of Women’s Learning, which is located in Ida Crown Jewish is a unique initiative of the Kollel that provides Academy. The Avreichim engage in intensive learning opportunities to women of all ages study of Talmud, Halacha and Jewish thought and backgrounds in the greater Chicago area. in the mornings and afternoons. Their studies The highlights include its Annual Women’s include Gemara B'Iyun morning seder and Health Forum and the two day Women’s Halacha B'Iyun afternoon seder each day. Learning Conference in the summer. Many Jews do not have access to the Shlichim, and often look online for added Our unique model allows us to recruit the best lecturers from around the world, Jewish content. While there are nearly limitless Jewish resources online, nearly who give semester-long courses on a wide range of subjects – Hebrew, Tanach, all of them are in English or Hebrew, and very few allow live interactions with Israeli Hasbara, Jewish history, Jewish thought, Zionism and more. teachers or other learners. With hundreds of active weekly participants, our portal hosts a shiur nearly every Having analyzed the need, in 2012 we launched a new project: 'Lilmod.org'. day of the week! Since its inception, our online Beit-Midrash offered thousands Lilmod is an online, interactive Beit Midrash that allows students from all around of shiurim. Just during the academic year of 2017-18, we had 7,216 cumulative the world to listen to, and participate in high-level shiurim in German, Russian hours of learning, with over 350 regular participants from 20 countries. Our and French. YouTube channel hosts some 2,500 shiurim, with over 145,000 views.