| Fall 2007 Newsletter
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 Dear Friends,
We are pleased to open the year 5768 under the banner of Celebrating Torah. Our unswerving commitment to Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael has been profoundly demonstrated in the course of the major events impacting Israel in recent years. At the same time, our commitment to upholding Torah is second to none.
We wish you, our dear friends, a wonderful New Year, blessed with abundant joy, health and prosperity.
Shana Tova and K’tiva V’hatima Tova!
Marvin Bienenfeld Alan Wildes Menachem Bar-Shalom
Chairman President Executive Director
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| CELEBRATING TORAH |
AFYBA Installs Sefer Torah At IDF Base
In a rare event symbolizing AFYBA’s dual commitment to Torah and Israel’s security, a Sefer Torah was donated to the IDF and installed at a highly classified army base in the Judean wilderness in the days preceding Rosh Hashana. This gift was made possible thanks to the Gerald Green z”l Estate. Due to the sensitive nature of this unit, the number of participants was restricted, as was the ability to photograph the event.
Despite these limitations, the Hachnasat Sefer Torah was truly moving and joyous. Scores of young officers and soldiers joined with AFYBA representatives and their families in a lively procession of song and dance to the unit’s synagogue. Members of the IDF Rabbinate Choir provided musical accompaniment. At the synagogue, a Dvar Torah was delivered by Lt. Col. Rabbi Yoav Okanin, Chief Chaplain of the Judea-Samaria Division.
Clearly apparent to all was the evolving new reality in the IDF, recently highlighted in major headlines in the Israeli press, in which 50% of combat officers in the IDF belong to the “knitted kippa” generation! Most of these officers are graduates of Yeshivot Bnei Akiva and other related yeshivot. Amazingly, both the unit commander and deputy commander are graduates of YBA Or Etzion Military Academy! YBA demonstrates time and again that it is truly on the front lines of Jewish survival and in the forefront of Jewish education.
Representing AFYBA were President Alan Wildes and family, Zev Skolnick and family, and Menachem Bar-Shalom, Executive Director. YBA Director-General, Elchanan Glatt, and Director of Development, Don Kates, also joined the festivities.
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| YBA’S FIRST ANNUAL TALMUD CONTEST |
 Last June, the First Annual YBA Talmud Contest was held at YBA Or Etzion. This outstanding educational initiative encompassed dozens of yeshiva high schools, primarily within the YBA network, as well as several independent yeshivot. This fresh concept was launched by YBA in order to encourage, promote and deepen the study of Talmud among our students and create a sense of excitement and pride in its mastery.
Twelve students from various yeshivot reached the finals, and each and every one of them demonstrated prodigious knowledge of the subject matter, leaving the hundreds of spectators in awe. After several rounds of rapid-fire questions and answers, the final results were: second runner-up, Harel Chasky of YBA Bar Yochai, Meron, first runner-up, Roi Fomberg of YBA Pirchei Aharon in Haifa, and taking first place – Tal Lasri of YBA Ohel Shlomo in Beer Sheva.
We look forward to this innovation becoming an ongoing tradition for many years to come and, perhaps, in the process, catch an early glimpse of our future Roshei Yeshivot and Ra’mim.
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| YBA RAMOT SHAPIRA: RELIGIOUS PIONEERS MUSEUM |
The forerunners of Yeshivot Bnei Akiva and the modern religious Zionist movement were the original religious pioneers who settled the Land of Israel in the late 19th century. Their villages, kibbutzim and moshavim were harbingers of the religious Zionist ideology prevalent in our times.
YBA’s Ramot Shapira Educational Center recently inaugurated the Religious Pioneers Museum, dedicated to those iconoclastic settlers who committed themselves to the renewal of Jewish life in our ancient homeland. The Museum is the brainchild of Mrs. Adina Friedgut, and is named for her parents, Shifra and Aryeh Bareli. Exhibits in the Museum include a reconstruction of pioneer homesteads and ranches, as they existed 100 years ago. An emphasis is also placed on the lifestyle of these religious settlers and the manner of adapting to an agricultural society based on Jewish Halacha, such as upholding Shmita, Teruma, Maasser and the like. Visitors will experience a fascinating glimpse into our past.
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| NESS TECHNOLOGIES PARTNER WITH YBA NETIV MEIR |
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Ness Technologies, Israel’s top-ranked global provider of IT services, has initiated joint educational projects with select elite high schools in the country, including YBA Netiv Meir in Jerusalem. In its quest to develop the next generation of superior technological leadership, Ness seeks to train talented youngsters in highly specialized fields of advanced software development.
Students are carefully chosen after a rigorous selection process. They commit to invest time and energy, beyond their daily studies, in order to learn a challenging new field. Following successful completion of their studies, students will receive prestigious certificates from Microsoft. Thirty students at YBA Netiv Meir have completed the program’s first year with great success.
The Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Meir Toiber, considers this project another important development in the religious Zionist public’s involvement at the highest levels in the scientific and technological communities in Israel. In order to ensure that students taking part in the program simultaneously are strengthened and refined on the spiritual level, Rav Toiber personally accompanies them with a specialized course in Jewish faith called Torat Chaim. He believes that a solid Torah foundation is a crucial companion on the road to technological achievements.
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| A CEDAR OF LEBANON |
Rav Yehoshua Fayenna, Rosh Ulpana of YBA Ulpana Neot Avraham in Arad, relates his miraculous journey from a burning Lebanon
Rav Yehoshua Fayenna, the Rosh Ulpana at YBA Neot Avraham-Ehrman Campus in Arad, is a true “Cedar of Lebanon.” Out of the flames and terror of the Lebanese Civil War as a child, Rav Yehoshua made Aliyah and emerged as a rabbinic and educational leader at YBA.
Born in Beirut in 1968 to parents of Lebanese and Syrian origin, Rav Yehoshua was raised in the Jewish Quarter, which in the aftermath of the Six Day War included Kurds, Druse, Moslems and Christians. “I recall that on Simchat Torah our gentile neighbors participated by throwing rice and salt on us.” However, in 1974, with the outbreak of hostilities between Christians and Moslems, their lives became a nightmare of fear, danger and death. The central market, with mostly Jewish-owned businesses, was burned. Christians were driven out of their neighborhood and snipers shot people at random. While inquiring about Shabbat prayers, Yeshoshua’s father was sent by terrorists to retrieve dead bodies in the courtyard, with the intent that snipers should shoot him. The family quickly grabbed minimal belongings and escaped by a back route. This began an odyssey across Lebanon, seeking asylum and safety in different venues, with many harrowing encounters.
Literally under fire, the family finally managed to get on a boat in Sidon which took them to Cyprus. On August 20, 1976, the Fayenna family finally reached Israel to begin a new life. Rav Yehoshua graduated YBA Aderet in Bat Yam and later continued in the Hesder program and combat service in the IDF at Yeshivat Sha’alvim. Today, YBA is proud to have Rav Fayenna at the helm of one of its most important ulpanot, where he serves as a living example of mesirut nefesh to all the girls who study there.
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| RAV ZUCKERMAN AWARDED JERUSALEM PRIZE |
 The annual Jerusalem Conference, where leading speakers and national personalities discuss current affairs most relevant to the State of Israel, presents special awards to individuals whose achievements have made a significant impact on the nation.
This year, one of the recipients was Rav Avraham Zuckerman, Rosh Yeshivot and Ulpanot Bnei Akiva, recognized for his life’s work in the establishment and leadership of Yeshivot Bnei Akiva over the past 67 years! Rav Zuckerman shlita, together with Rav Neriah zt”l, founded the YBA network on a hilltop in Kfar Haroeh in 1939.
May his 22,000 students and 58,000 graduates continue to enjoy his leadership and guidance in the coming decades.
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| YBA STUDENTS WIN NATIONAL CONTESTS |
 Hillel Lehman, a 9th grader at YBA Givat Shmuel, has won the National Zionist History Contest sponsored by the Ministry of Education, which took place at Hebrew University.
Yedidya Danan, a 7th grader at YBA Ohel Shlomo in Beer Sheva, has won the National Mishna Contest, which took place at the Begin Heritage Center. |
| AFYBA ENDOWMENT FUND ESTABLISHED |
| In a major recent development, one of AFYBA’s central supporters has established a one million dollar endowment fund. The interest accrued will be allocated each year to an array of projects throughout the YBA network, in perpetuity. AFYBA’s Board of Directors, together with its new field leadership, sees the further expansion of this endowment fund as one of its primary goals. Friends and supporters of AFYBA are invited to consider joining this breakthrough project. We extend our deepest appreciation to our generous benefactor. |
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
New Executive Director at AFYBA |
 This summer, American Friends of Yeshivot Bnei Akiva appointed a new Executive Director, Menachem Bar-Shalom, who resides in Israel. Menachem was among the founders of Beit El and lives there for the past 29 years.
Menachem has a proven track record in fundraising, including six years with Ateret Cohanim and twelve years with Yeshivat Sha’alvim. He brings with him vast experience, a high level of professionalism and a deep commitment to the cause of religious Zionist education in Israel, as exemplified by Yeshivot Bnei Akiva. Joining Menachem is Amalia Leubitz, as Associate Executive Director. Amalia served successfully in many organizational roles, including Hillel director in Rochester, as well as at Israel Bonds in Cleveland.
The Board of Directors of AFYBA, Mercaz YBA and the staff and students of our 60 schools join together in wishing Menachem and Amalia many years of success in their challenging new roles.
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