Be Our Partner Be Our Partner

Rosh Hashana 5775
Dear members of the Eretz Hemdah family,
May we all flourish spiritually and materially. We wish that the entire Jewish people
and our country will continue to plant the values of love of one’s fellow and love of our
Land, wherever we may walk.
Operation “Protective Edge”
(Tzuk Eitan) and the
Eretz Hemdah Family
As part of our efforts to erect a spiritual Iron Dome during
Operation “Protective Edge,” the 5774 summer session
continued after Tisha be’Av. All the rabbis, who were not
drafted to their army reserve units, intensified their study of
Torah, both in Jerusalem and Ra’anana.
The rabbis who were drafted, did not only their duty as
combat soldiers, but they also saw themselves as leaders
in strengthening and lifting their comrades’ spirits and
maintaining national unity.
Several 'Eretz Hemdah' graduates: Rabbi Shmuel Nehushtan,
rabbi of Tekumah; Rabbi Ari Set, rabbi of Kibbutz Sa’ad and
Rabbi Michael Edrei, rabbi of Kfar Maimon, bore the burden
of serving in communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip. Their
communities suffered daily barrages without the protection of
the Iron Dome system and with no alerts of incoming mortar
shells.
To them and all the others who shared the burden we send a
special yishar koach.
The 'Eretz Hemdah' family strengthens the families
of the fallen and prays for the full
and complete recovery of the injured.
Be Ou
Pa r t n err
The Batei Midrash
!
The 5775 academic year started off on the right
foot and with a great deal of energy in Jerusalem
and in Ra’anana, with a prayer for continued
growth, both spiritually and scholastically, to
bolster the Torah in a way that is pleasant to
Hashem and to humankind.
A new joint program of 'Eretz Hemdah' and 'Bnei
Akiva' of North America began in the Jerusalem beit
midrash, titled ‘Yeshivat Torah V'Avoda.’ 'Yeshivat
Torah V'Avoda' has eight students, graduates of
high schools from the United States and Canada.
This program will prepare them for the challenges
they will face in the future. In the short term,
university studies in North America, and in the long
term, Jewish lives with greater spiritual content as
heads of families in the modern and developing
world.
Eretz Hemdah and the Shmita Year
The Shmitta (Sabbatical) Year is a special year for many reasons.
There are many aspects to this commandment and many reasons are given for it.
It is also a year when the interdependence between all sectors of the nation receives practical expression in several
domains.
The 'Eretz Hemdah' Institute has decided to be part of two spiritual efforts to fortify the unity of the Jewish people
and their connection to the Land of Israel by encouraging the public discussion of Shmitta by all sectors of Israeli
society.
• The Institute will be part of a countrywide 'Otzar Beit Din' (“Rabbinical Court Storehouse”), which will distribute
fruits and vegetables with the sanctity of Shmitta-year produce throughout the country and to every segment of
Israeli society (details to come).
• The rabbis of 'Eretz Hemdah' are currently preparing study kits on two levels (standard and advanced), which
will make it possible for everyone to study the philosophical and halakhic aspects of the Shmita year. Each kit will
include source sheets, summaries, a video lecture, and a review test.
Those who stick with the program will receive prizes and will be entered in a raffle.
For additional information and to register, email shmita@eretzhemdah.
org or call +972-2-537-1485. Registration is also possible by fax (+972-2-5379626) or by mailing the 'Eretz Hemdah' office.
Both projects will be carried out in close cooperation with 'Shnat HaSheva,'
founded by Ari Bergmann.
Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli zt”l, the Man of the Year in the State
Religious School System
The Ministry of Education and the Religious Education Administration selected Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli zt”l - founder
and president of 'Eretz Hemdah' - as the man of the year in the State Religious school system.
Israeli teachers can access a special website that contains study materials, on the website of the religious education
administration of the Ministry of Education.
In honor of the late Rabbi Yisraeli, we are offering his works as well as books from 'Eretz Hemdah' at a 40% discount.
Order by email to 'Eretz Hemdah' rachel@eretzhemdah.org or by phone +972-2-537-1485.
Graduates 5774
The 'Eretz Hemdah' graduates all over the country have been joined by the class of 5774, each to his task,
from north to south:
Rabbi Tuvya Bar-Ilan is serving as a ra”m at the Golan Hesder Yeshiva.
Rabbi Avi Harush is serving as rosh kollel at 'Bnei Netzarim', on the Egyptian border.
Rabbi Hillel Bin-Nun and Rabbi Meir Shkedi took up positions as ra”mim
at the 'Netiv Meir' Yeshiva.
Rabbi Shkedi also serves as a congregational rabbi in 'Givat Ze’ev'.
Rabbi Akiva Kahana and Rabbi Aharon Feldman are preparing and coordinating the yearlong study
program on shmitta-related topics as part of a joint project of 'Shnat HaSheva' and 'Eretz Hemdah'
(see details below).
Rabbi Aharon Feldman will also be a member of Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon’s beit din on ritual matters.
Rabbi Ahikam HaLevi is serving as rabbi of 'Maale Michmash'.
A graduate of the Ra’anana program, Rabbi Eitan Hakohen, was appointed
rabbi for youth at the 'Ohel Ari' congregation in Ra’anana.
We wish them all the best in their new positions
and are confident they will continue along the spiritual path of Eretz Hemdah.
ur
Be O
r
Pa r t n e
!
My name is Yael Kaniel. I am 33 years old and I was born to the Fogel family and raised
in the holy city of Jerusalem. My Israeli-born parents - Yeshayahu and Rachel - established
a warm and devoted family to Torah, the People and Land of Israel, who followed in the
traditions of Rabbi Abraham Kook and Rabbi Zvi Yehudah Kook and was dedicated.
During my first year of National Service, I served as the social coordinator at a school in Eilat
and then as a volunteer in an afternoon club for children with physical or emotional
disabilities. After my service, I worked with teenage girls who had dropped out of school. During this period, I took
Torah classes at Midreshet HaRova, and also studied communications and sociology through the Open University and
screenwriting at the Ma’aleh School of Television, Film & the Arts. It was a radical but interesting combination…
Then I decided to focus on my cinema studies and completed the four-year track in directing and production.
During this exciting and tumultuous period, I met Benaya - a friend of my brother’s (who had apparently thought for
some time that we should meet). But “everything has its time and place.”
Benaya was in the army and we would see each other when
he came home for Shabbat every other week. At the time,
we thought that army service and a healthy marriage don’t
mix, but the Second Lebanon War, Amud Anan, and Tzuk
Eitan proved otherwise…
It was the summer of 2005, around the time of the
Disengagement, and Benaya was serving near Nisanit in the
northern Gaza Strip.
We were married in Jerusalem just before Rosh HaShanah
5766 (September 2005). With ashes from the ruins of Gush
Katif smeared on Benaya’s forehead, we all sang “I will
elevate Jerusalem above my greatest joy.”
From there, Benaya returned to his studies at the Ramat
Gan Hesder Yeshiva (which he attended after several years
at Merkaz HaRav) where we lived during our first years of
marriage.
Continuing our search for a place to grow spiritually,
we returned to Jerusalem and Benaya enrolled at 'Eretz
Hemdah', where he is now beginning his seventh year.
During this period, we had three children: Roni, Yehoshua
(named for Benaya’s father, Prof. Yehoshua Kaniel, a child
survivor of the Holocaust who built a wonderful family with
his wife, Malka, but passed away before I could meet him),
and Ma’ayan.
Today, looking back, I view choice as a main theme of our
lives together. Our lives are always marked by choices. Of
course, every Jew is expected to be someone who chooses;
this is devotion out of choice.
The choice to build a home that is Torah centered, to
continue anew each year, the choice to work in a profession
that is compatible with the hours and terms of study,
choosing between what is more important in life and what
is less important, and so on, in daily life.
During this difficult summer that our country endured,
when Benaya was serving on the southern border of
the Gaza Strip, the whole matter of choice became even
clearer. Besides my worry, present pregnancy, the summer
vacation, and three children with strong wants and needs,
I often thought that on the one hand, Benaya was probably
counting the hours of study he was missing and would never
get back... but on the other hand, that his mission on the
border was exactly what the Jewish people needed at that
particular time.
Here, once again, the idea of choice comes to the fore, as
does the link between spirit and the material world, which
is so appropriate for 'Eretz Hemdah'.
I am continuing my work as a film editor and we hope
to keep enhancing Torah through the special spirit that
has been nurtured in our home these years of study.
{Three years ago, when Benaya came home after his
comprehensive exam on the Even HaEzer (laws of divorce,
marriage, etc.), the children (one of them just two days old!)
and I organized a surprise party for him. It was a way for the
children to associate Torah study with a happy event and a
shared experience - Torah makes one happy.}
I feel that the years at 'Eretz Hemdah' have been (and will
continue to be) not only years of Torah study for Benaya,
but also years of growth for the entire family along with
him.
It is clear that 'Eretz Hamdah' attaches great value to the
wives’ role. It is nice to hear the kollel heads, from time to
time, note the positively contribution of our partnership
and strongly emphasizing the bond with and empowerment
of the home.
May we all continue to choose the path of Torah on a
daily basis, and may our internal and external forces all be
dedicated to faithfully serving the public’s needs.
'Eretz Hemdah' family wishes the Kaniel family a big Mazal Tov on the birth of their daughter, Adi.
May they raise her to Torah, chupa and good deeds together with the three older children.
Shalom Wasserteil
Rabbi Moshe Ehrenreich Rabbi Yosef Carmel
Chairman of the Board
Heads of the Institute
IN CANADA
IN USA
IN ISRAEL
Make out a check to the order of:
Mizrachi Organization of Canada
c/o Eretz Hemdah, POB 8178,
Jerusalem 91080 ISRAEL
American Friends of Eretz Hemdah
c/o Olympian, 8 South Michigan Ave.
Suite 605 Chicago, IL 60603 U.S.A.
Our Taxpayer ID#: 36-4265359
Donations to Eretz Hemdah Are tax deductible
under Section 46 of Income Tax Ordinance.
Donations via credit card can be done
through our office or website
UK Friends of Eretz Hemdah
Mr. M. Storfer, Japonica House
8 Spring Villa Park Flr. 1, Edgware, Middx. HA8 7XT
ENGLAND / Registered No. 1084816
Verein der Freunde von Eretz Hemdah
Mr. D. Guggenheim
Hesligenstrasse 24, CH- 8700 Kusnacht,
SWITZERLAND
South African Friends of Eretz Hemdah
Mr. Clive Ginsberg
88 Peglyn Rd., Glenhazel, Johannesburg 2192
SOUTH AFRICA
IN ENGLAND
IN SWITZERLAND
IN SOUTH AFRICA
Eretz Hemdah Institute 2 Brurya St. corner of Rav Chiya St. P.O.B. 8178 Jerusalem
info@eretzhemdah.org | www.eretzhemdah.org
Be Ou
Pa r t n err
!
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