56 Friday, January 19, 1919 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Youthful Emphasis on Religion Leads to New Israeli Yeshivot By DVORA WAYSMAN o World Zionist Organization JERUSALEM — The Hebrew term is "Baalei Teshuva" — people who have returned — and this strange religious phenome- non continues to grow from a quiet trickle in the late 1960s to a significant movement 10 years later. The most famous example is Uri Zohar, one of Israel's leading actors, comedians, film and TV stars who re- cently became Orthodox. Maintaining his prominent place in entertainment he now appears in a skull-cap and tsitsit (fringes). Young Jewish men and women who live at a time when youth has never had more freedom in every sphere and lifestyle are tak- ing upon themselves all the restrictions entailed in being Orthodox Jews. To cater to these young people who were thirsty for knowledge but had little re- ligious background, a diffe- rent kind of 'yeshiva' or in- stitute of Jewish learning had to be provided, places where they could start with the basks. Many young men - had no idea how to lay lefil- lin', girls had no concep- tion of "kashrut" or what was involved in keeping a Jewish home. Tradi- tional "yeshivot" were centers of advanced Jewish learning; they simply did not provide what was needed for the new wave of young people who came equip- ped with only a spiritual hunger. Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Netanya, Kiryat Shmona, Rehovot, Beersheba and Eilat. With its slogan "He Who Seeks Shall Come and Learn," it follows the ideals of the late Chief Rabbi Ab- raham Isaac Kook — based on love of Torah, love of the people and love of the Homeland. There is no tuition charge and all sessions are open to the public — some classes are attended by hundreds. The diversification is both astonishing and fascinating . . . academics, clerks, manual workers, army of- ficers and members of both religious and non-religious kibutzim. Many of these new yeshivot began with a few students gathered around one teacher. Today, many of these new yeshivot have begun to develop their own communities — Kfar Chabad; Har Zion (the Diaspora yeshiva) now has many young couples and their children living on or near the yeshiva; Ohr Samayach has opened a community in Givat Ada with combined work oppor- tunities; Shlomo Carlebach has established a moshav for his followers at Modi-im; Aish Hatorah is a_ thriving center of learning support- ing 70 students in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. Machon Meir has opened institutes of learning in Headed by rabbinic scholars, who have all served in the Israeli De- fense Forces and re- ceived training at Mercaz Harav Kook, it was begun in 1974 by the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Dov Bigon, who is himself a 'Baal Teshuva'. Until he was aged 23, he lived on a non-religious kibutz near Hadera. He began questioning in high school, but it was dur- ing his army service, where Jewish, Monuments in Spain Achieving Greater Recognition Spanish National Tourist Office Vestiges of more than 1,000 years of enlightened culture stand today, alongside the new Jewish communities in Spain. Take Toledo, the history- ' filled melting pot of Spain, an hour's drive from Mad- rid. With two synagogues, El Transito, the finest example of medieval synagogue art in Europe, and Santa Maria la Blanca imbedded in the "Juderia" or Jewish quarter, ancient Jewish culture comes alive. The Sephardic Museum, adjoining the El Transito ‘ 111. Shown is a monument to 11th Century poet Aben Gabirol in Malaga by American sculptor H. Reed Armstrong, who re- sides in Spain. Synagogue, is one of the finest of its type, and is only paces from El Greco's home and museum, Spain's sec- ond most popular art museum. Cordoba, the ancient Moorish capital of Spain, was a Sephardic center for 500 years. The Juderia of white-washed houses and refreshing interior courtyards presses to the very doors of the Mezquita (Great Mosque), so popular with tourists. It is here, in the Jewish Quarter, that the patio fair of May is held successfully each year. The small but delicate synagogue, on the Calle Maimonides, named for the great Jewish philosopher-physician born in Cordoba, is a re- minder of the golden age in Sephardic history. Only 83 miles on national highway 4 separate the Juderia of Cordoba from the old Jewish quarter of Seville, now called the Bar- rio de Santa Cruz. This neighborhood, adjoining the immense cathedral and Giralda Tower, have come to typify Andalucia. The serpentine streets weave between white walls, with lacey, wrought iron grills, connecting plazas and serene courtyards, that echo the ancient Jewish resi- dents. The new Jewish Spain stands side by side with the traces of the Sephardic cul- ture. in 1976, Her Majesty, Queen Sofia of Spain, was honored by a formal dinner held at the community cen- ter of the Beth Yaacov Synagogue; built a decade ago in Madrid. Retired European and American Jews formed, in Mallorca of the Balearic Islands, the congregation that holds services at the Hotel Santa Ana in Palma, a city rich in Chueta (Jewish) heritage. In Malaga, birthplace nearly 900 years ago of Aben Gabirol, renowned Hebrew poet and author of "Fountain of Life," community leaders have planned a - new synagogue-community c enter complex for their city. c i Beth El Synagogue, nes- tled comfortably between the Mediterranean and the mountains in Marbella, was built by one family's reli- gious initiative. Completed just this September, this small temple reflects the lasting Sephardic heritage that is part of Spain. . life and death cease to be just abstract concepts, that religion began to take on meaning. When he was de- mobilized, he went to study at Mercaz Ha Ray, and later he influenced his own pa- rents and many of his former kibutz comrades to "return" to Judaism. A typical student at Machon Meir is, David Bruce from Australia. David, 23, came on aliya in 1977, an economics and -a.c- counting graduate. He had some Jewish background, but had never really ob- served "mitzvot". He spent a year on a Habonim kibutz in 1973, and in 1975 returned for three months, this time to a religious kibutz. It had a strong influence, and when he returned to Melbourne, he wore a 'yar- mulke' and studied with the Lubavitcher movement there. At Machon Meir, he is consolidating his Jewish- ness and finding great satis- faction and spiritual con- tent. David feels that this is only the beginning, and like most of the `Baalei Teshuva', the penitents, who are virtually re-cycling Habima By ILAN SEIDNER World Zionist Organization JERUSALEM — Sixty years have passed since the formation of Habima, the first Hebrew national thea- ter. It was formed during the Russian civil war in 1918 when chaos ruled the land and thousands died of starvation. Under the leadership of Nahum Zemach, the 12 ac- tors that constituted the theater group struggled against the hardships of the time, pouring their souls and their energies into the task of making their own contribution to the modern renaissance of the Hebrew langauge through creating a Hebrew theater. Within a short time the group's perseverance pro- duced results. Stanislayski, the famous Russian direc- tor, took an interest in their work and sent his protege, Evgeny Vakhtangov, to as- sist them. Vakhtangov was an Armenian and though he did not understand a word of Hebrew it did not hinder- him from shaping a cohe- sive drama group out of the band of earnest amateurs. The ensemble's first premier was played be- fore the cultural elite of Moscow, including Stanislayski, and their production of "Twilight of Creation" — a quarte- nary of one act plays — made such an impact that "Habima" was granted_ official recognition as one of the dramatic studios of the Moscow Art Theater. In a short time the Soviets had consolidated their Yeshivat Aish Hatorah their minds, believes that these new-type yeshivot present a framework and a laboratory in which intelli- gent young Jews can learn in Jerusalem's Old City. about their past, discover their roots and their iden- tity and can be excited, not only by their history, but also by their own future. the National Theater power in Moscow; the ques- tion arose as to whether the theater had a right to exist. The commissars argued that "Habima" was a "nest of counter-revolution" in- terested in promoting the "language of the Zionists." The troupe, however, had staunch friends including not only Stanislayski but Maxim Gorki. Shortly after the successful performances of the "Dybbuk", Cultural Commissar Lunarcharsky awarded them the status of an official state theater. The contradictions inher- ent in being a Hebrew lan- guage theater in the Soviet Union committed to Zionism grew sharper so that by 1926 the Habima collective decided to pull up roots and leave Moscow for good. They left on a two-year tour that took them to all of the theater capitals of Europe, where they won much acclaim, and eventu- ally brought them to the United States. It was in 1928 that the differences that had appeared among the members of the ensemble developed into a full-fledged schism. Part of the group, led by its founder Zemach, wished to stay in America and bring Hebrew thea- ter to the masses that flocked to the already es- tablished Yiddish stage. The rest including Hanna Rovina, Aharon -Meskin, and Zvi Friedland, were adamant in their desire to sail to Palestine and ful- fill their dream of per- forming in Hebrew to an audience that used the language in everyday life. The fortunes of Habima within the land of Israel ran parallel to that of the Jewish population. During the 1930s, when the influx of refugees brought money to the Jewish economy, the theater prospered and work was begun on an au- ditorium. Part of it was only completed after World War II. In 1947, Habima enlisted some of the world's most dis- tinguished directors, in- cluding Tyrone Guthrie and Harold Clurman to come and work in Israel. By the late 1960s, how- ever, the National Theater — it was granted that title in 1957 — had reached an artistic and financial dead end. The collective method of running a professional theater, whereby every single decision from the color of scenery to the reper- toire had to be voted upon, was no longer adequate. Little new blood was allowed to enter the closely-knit ensemble framework and the re- pertoire was stale and lacking in experimenta- tion. Because it was the National Theater e government decidt ,o step in and reorganize Habima. In 1969, they disbanded the collective and appointed Gabriel Cifroni general manager, while British di- rector, David Williams, was chosen to be artistic direc- tor. Since then Habima has received an expanded and refurbished auditorium, has begun to produce con- troversial Israeli plays and has been operating in the black. .