LIFE IN ISRAEL

Midrosh, Modernity
AndMiracles

erusalem — The sun is
just beginning to shine
on the golden walls of
Jerusalem. Lazy cats twirl
their tails and rouse from
sleep as the light hits their
eyes. One radio comes on,
and then another — beeps
signal the early morning
chadashot, news.
Thursday is here.
Inside one apartment in
the Jerusalem suburb of
Ramot Gimmel, Hersh
Akiva Schaefer is already
drinking his second cup of
coffee. He likes American
decaffeinated.
Children laugh in the
apartment next door as Mr.
Schaefer takes one, last look
at his notes before a test this
afternoon. Then he sets a
white coffee cup on the
balcony, says goodbye to his
wife, Diane, and walks out
the door. He has just seconds
to catch the bus.
A Michigan State
graduate and former Detroit
resident, Mr. Schaefer has
lived in Israel for the past
four years. He left behind all
his worldly goods, his home
and a lucrative job to come to
Jerusalem. But forget all
that, he says. What he has
now is his real treasure. It's
called Ohr Somayach.
Ohr Somayach yeshiva
was established in 1972 with
a handful of teachers. The
rabbis set out to build a
school that would accom-
modate the needs of every-
one from the very learned to
those with little Jewish edu-
cation. The one requirement:
religious practice would not
be demanded.
"We want a student to
make his choice out of
knowledge, not ignorance,"
said the school's head-

j

A yeshiva dedicated
to teaching Jewish
tradition,
Jerusalem's Ohr
Somayach is also
tackling modern
issues like
acculturating
Soviet ohm.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

Assistant Editor

Ohr Somayach (top) and
students discuss Talmud
at the yeshiva.

master, Rabbi Mendel
Weinbach.
Eighteen years later, Ohr
Somayach employs 65 in-
structors and teaches 500
students — among them 100
Israelis, 80 Soviets and 200
Americans — in the in-
troductory program alone.
Pupils include Irwin
Wasserman of Oak Park,
who learned about the
yeshiva from Machon
L'Torah's Rabbi Avraham
Jacobowitz.
Mr. Wasserman, a student
at Michigan State, said he
came to Ohr Somayach be-
cause "I wanted to know
what it really meant to be a
Jew. I wanted to know how
my grandparents practiced
Judaism." He takes courses
in philosophy, Halachah
(Jewish law) and Gemarah.
The yeshiva has opened of-
fices in England, Canada,

South Africa and the United
States. Classes, once taught
only in English, are now
available in Hebrew,
Spanish, Farsi and the latest
addition: Russian.
Like many other Israeli
institutions, Ohr Somayach
is trying to deal with a mas-
sive influx of Soviet Jewish
o/im, immigrants.
"The numbers and the na-
ture of the students has
changed," said Rabbi Wein-
bach, who is originally from
Pittsburgh. "Now they come
knowing little, unlike some
of the earlier immigrants
who studied in the
underground. And they're
much younger. We spent a
lot of time wracking our
brains wondering, 'What do
we do with them?' "
First, the rabbis realized
they had to address the
Soviets' desire for vocational
training. The ohm wanted
Jewish study, but they need-
ed work.
So last year, Ohr
Somayach began advertising
a "pre-university program
that included morning and
evening classes at the
yeshiva, and afternoon
studies at a nearby college.
More than 100 applicants
applied for the program, 70
of which were accepted.-

"Today the only thing
stopping us from reaching
hundreds of students is
space," Rabbi Weinbach
said. "If only we had the
funds and the accommoda-
tions . . .the numbers knock-
ing on our door are tremen-
dous."
With limited grants from
the government, the yeshiva
mostly depends on private
donations for funding. It

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

27