Aboutus
The
"Torah MiTzion Kollel"
program establishes centers for the study of Torah
and promulgates the connection between Torah and Israel.
These learning centers take the form of a Beit Midrash in
which Torah scholars immerse themselves in study and practice
of successes in enriching and enhancing Jewish communities
around the world by promoting the lofty ideals of Torat
Israel, Am Israel and Eretz Israel.
The core of these Kollelim are young, recent graduates of the Hesder Yeshivot, where advanced Jewish study is combined with military service in the Israeli army. Idealistic and dedicated, these learned young men and women are carfully selected and brought from Israel for a period of one or two years to serve as role models of the kipah seruga (knitted kippa) generation of Religious Zionism, balancing between safra v'sayfa (book and sword) and performing both midrash u'ma'aseh (study and action).
Our Aims
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What People Are Saying About
Us
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| In my words the Kollel brings learning,
friendship and unity to our community. Torah has not
until now been learned on such a broad scale. It seems
as though everyone is learning because of the Kollel.
When I have my chavrutot with the Kollel members I
ask them how their week has been learning wise and
when I hear names that I would have never expected
to hear it makes me laugh and smile. It seems so funny
to me because I would have never expected these people
or most of the people in Dayton to be learning. The
Kollel also brings great friendships to the whole
community. Not only do I learn with the Rabbi and
David but I have grown bonds and great friendships
with them. Sincerely, Ami Zuckovsky |
The
aim of the program is to assist the local leadership to
strengthen Judaism in their communities through the creation
of a unique Torah atmosphere which includes Judaism and
Zionism. The Kollel students divide their time between intensive
studies in the Beit Midrash under the leadership of a charismatic
and scholarly Rosh Kollel, and participation in local community
life. Time is invested in shiurim (lessons), study in the
chevruta (one – on – one tutoring) format together with
members of the community, and general educational activities
in the community from school to shul (synagogue), during
the week and Shabbat – all aimed at strengthening Jewish
identity and Torah knowledge among all sectors of the Jewish
community. The wives at the kollel are also crucial parts
of the system - they teach formally in the schools, arrange
special shiurim for girls and women of the community, host
familes at their homes and are involved on all levels with
the Kollel activities. There is no single model for the Kollel program. The Kollel can consist of a Rosh Kollel and young married couples (avrechim) or single students (bachurim). Each program strives to meet the specific needs of that community.
Our Friends
The initiative for this program originated from the Beit
Medrash of Yeshivat Har-Etzion, with the support of its
Roshei Yeshiva - Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein and Rav Yehuda
Amital. The first Kollel in the U.S. A. was set up in Cleveland,
Ohio, with Rabbi Binyamin Tabory as the first Rosh Kollel.
At the same time, Rabbi Jonathan Glass made a dream come
true by establishing the Yeshiva of Cape Town, South Africa,
also manned by Hesder students.
This
venture has made great progress; We count more than 25 Kollelim
on all five continents. Our "School Based Kollelim"
include Detroit, Greater Washington, Memphis, Cleveland,
Chicago, Montreal and Melbourne. Our "Community Beit
Midrash Program" includes
Atlanta, Manhattan, Phoenix, Boca Raton, Kansas City, Syracuse,
Omaha, Moscow, Stockholm, London, Johannesburg, Cape Town,
Mexico City, Caracas and Montevideo. As of August this year,
we have opened 2 new community kollels - in Dayton and Baltimore.
In addition, we run kollelim on six American University
Campuses: Brandeis, Yale, Cornell and UCLA, as well
as Brooklyn College and University of Pennsylvania as of
Summer 2002. (More information can be found on each kollel's
page, and on the sites page).
The need for a single address to deal with this enormous undertaking let to the establishment of Torah MiTzion, which inter alia includes the Hesder Yeshivot, World Mizrachi, Bnei Akiva, Jewish Agency - WZO, Yeshivot Bnei Akiva, Pincus Fund, Kollel Eretz Chemda, Tehilla, the Ministries of Religion and Education. In North America, Torah MiTzion works closely with Yeshiva University and the Orthdox Union. It is a framework which sees to all aspects of the program including recruiting, selecting, training and monitoring of progress.
Torah MiTzion has a Board of members from all the above institutions and enjoys the support of leading Torah Scholars and Rashei Yeshiva, including Rav Avraham Shapira, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, Rav Chaim Druckman and Rav Yosef Carmel. Mr. Laurence (Larry) Roth serves as Chairman, and Zeev Schwartz as the Executive Director of Torah MiTzion.
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