|
   |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
       |
|
|
|
Profile:
Yossi, Tamar, Sarah, Hannah & Yael Etz-Hasadeh
(Yossi, formerly a student at Yeshivat Hamivtar-Orot Lev, is currently in his second year of the Joseph Straus Rabbinical Seminary) New Zealand for many people is either a state of Australia or a small Island somewhere in the Pacific. But for us it was home, a country in its own right and larger in size than England, to which it owes its national origins. We made aliyah to Israel in 1994, leaving behind the tiny New Zealand Jewish community to take up residence in the land of our fathers. Some said it was a brave step; others thought we were crazy. Israeli friends were puzzled why would we want to leave the “Gan Eden” of New Zealand for the strife and barrenness of Eretz Israel. But for us to live in the Land and at the same time gain a Jewish education for our children in a Hebrew-speaking environment was an opportunity that had not existed for Jews for more than a millennium. The choice was obvious in spite of the price. So we set out from the “ends of the earth” scarcely thinking about the more than twenty five hours of flying that we would have to endure before we would reach the “promised land”. Its said that aliyah can open you to possibilities you would never have imagined. I was an Automotive Engineer and experienced Manager, Tamar, my wife, a top level Secretary, and we had little idea of what we would do in Israel. I had dreamed of learning in Yeshiva and there were none in New Zealand, so after our arrival and some months in Hebrew language ulpan in Jerusalem we took the opportunity to move to Yeshivat HaMivtar Orot Lev in the Judean hills, just south of Efrat. The families living on campus welcomed us and we very quickly settled into the lovely, warm community. Efrat, just five minutes away, also quickly proved to be a community of warm, caring people amongst whom we quickly made good friends. The Yeshiva atmosphere is modern and open and enthusiastic and the Rabbis, experienced in both the academic and Yeshiva modes of learning, are expert in training their students to develop the skills required for independent learning of our ancient texts. The Yeshiva is a place where any question can be grappled with. The wisdom of Judaism which I found so often locked away from me by language and by lack of understanding the methodology of the redactors of the texts began to open up to me in an exciting way. I discovered real analysis, and thought about the issues that confront us in life at a depth rarely encountered in modern intellectual Western society. This exposure to the depth of wisdom and beauty of Judaism brought with it a tremendous personal challenge. There are small communities in many places around the world, such as the one we came from in New Zealand, that are dying simply because this living, vibrant Jewish wisdom and way of life has been hidden from them due to a lack of educators and leaders. I decided to accept the challenge and entered the Joseph Straus Rabbinical Seminary. It is now our plan, upon completing the smicha program, to go out and work with others to strengthen and build up small Jewish communities by sharing what we have gained here. Return to Ohr Torah Stone Home Page
|
|
||||
|
||||
