Your donation will be tax deductible in the US to the extent allowed by the IRS.
To make a tax-deductible donation by wire transfer in the US, please contact:
Avrum Lapin, North American Representative
Toll-free: 1-866-830-3321
Email: schechter@thelapingroup.com
To make a tax-deductible donation in Israel, please contact:
Dina Gudai, Israeli Representative
Phone: 074-7800643
Email: dina@schechter.ac.il
Please mail your check to:
The Schechter Institutes, Inc. (a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization)
Box #3566
PO Box 8500
Philadelphia, PA 19178-3566
Attn: Mr. Avrum Lapin, North American Representative
Toll-free: 1-866-830-3321
Email: schechter@thelapingroup.com
Please indicate the donation is "for your joint Schechter Institutes program."
Checks should be made payable to the Jewish Theological Society of Canada and mailed to:
Jewish Theological Society of Canada
c/o Camp Ramah in Canada
3845 Bathhurst St., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, M3H 3N2
Phone: 416-789-2193, ext. 2139
E-mail: accounting@campramah.com
Please mail a check to:
The Schechter Institutes
Attn: Dina Gudai, Finance Department
PO Box 16080,
Jerusalem, 9116002
Israel
For assistance, please call Dina Gudai at 074-780-0643 (8:00 AM – 3:00 Israel time Sunday through Thursday).
Your donation will be tax deductible in the US to the extent allowed by the IRS.
To make a tax-deductible donation by wire transfer in the US, please contact:
Avrum Lapin, North American Representative
Toll-free: 1-866-830-3321
Email: schechter@thelapingroup.com
To make a tax-deductible donation in Israel, please contact:
Dina Gudai, Israeli Representative
Phone: 074-7800643
Email: dina@schechter.ac.il
Please mail your check to:
The Schechter Institutes, Inc. (a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization)
Box #3566
PO Box 8500
Philadelphia, PA 19178-3566
Attn: Mr. Avrum Lapin, North American Representative
Toll-free: 1-866-830-3321
Email: schechter@thelapingroup.com
Please indicate the donation is "for your joint Schechter Institutes program."
Checks should be made payable to the Jewish Theological Society of Canada and mailed to:
Jewish Theological Society of Canada
c/o Camp Ramah in Canada
3845 Bathhurst St., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, M3H 3N2
Phone: 416-789-2193, ext. 2139
E-mail: accounting@campramah.com
Please mail a check to:
The Schechter Institutes
Attn: Dina Gudai, Finance Department
PO Box 16080,
Jerusalem, 9116002
Israel
For assistance, please call Dina Gudai at 074-780-0643 (8:00 AM – 3:00 Israel time Sunday through Thursday).
18/12/2023
On the 6th day and 7th night of Hanukkah, Neve Schechter hosted 55 tired-of-war citizens from Ofakim, a city savagely attacked on October 7th, for a full day and evening of relaxation and reflection.
The group, accompanied by Dr. Yael Racov Drory, a Schechter Institute Trustee active in the city, was organized by the city’s ‘Resilience Center’ whose job has been, since the attack which killed over 50 and injured close to another 100 people, to find methods to assist the local population move from burials, mourning and trauma to living life with less fear.
For many of those who traveled to Neve Schechter, an oasis of contemporary music and culture in Tel Aviv’s hip Neve Tzedek neighborhood, it was the first chance for them to experience true rest and relaxation since October 7th.
“The trip to Tel Aviv was the farthest from home almost all of those who participated in the day since the Black Shabbat – Simchat Torah (Oct 7th). We were all scared to leave Ofakim, but by the time we arrived in TA we were feeling better,” said Ruchama Cohen, 73.
Rabbi Irina Gritsevskaya, Director of Midreshet Schechter, of which Neve Schechter is under its aegis, worked behind the scenes to ensure that the visit worked to perfection.
“We organized learning sessions utilizing Judaic texts to explore feelings, expressions of support, community and living life to the fullest. And as with any great Jewish event, there was food. We worked with a local caterer to bring a scrumptious dairy meal for all,” Gritsevskaya commented.
Yahaloma Zchut, a founder of Ofakim’s Community ‘Resilience Center’ found musicians willing to volunteer their talents for the entertainment.
“It was vital for me and the Resiliency Center to ensure that our group received a complete rest and relaxation package that met our needs. Ofakim residents are a resilient group, yet now and then we all need a break. Neve Schechter was the perfect place to be for this,” stated Zchut.
She continued, “The importance of this community beit midrash project for us is that it develops critical thinking and a culture of questioning. These elements strengthen the people of Ofakim and provide us with a backbone to stand up for our rights. A great deal of this is directly due to Midreshet Schechter.”
Schechter faculty member Dr. Gila Vachman taught midrash and brought Talmudic discussions about how sages dealt with expressions of ‘darkness’ that we find ourselves in during times like this.
Newly ordained rabbi, Doron Rubin who has been leading study groups in Ofakim for a number of years led textual sessions focused on the universality of the winter holiday of ‘lights’ and what it means for human beings to have light in the winter darkness.
Rabbi Doron Rubin teaches his group
The Ofakim residents sat in groups to talk about resilience, hope, and the future of dealing with the ongoing war as well as its aftermath.
For Cohen, the experience was uplifting, “I learned with Rabb Irina Gritsevskaya in a small group. It was very emotional. We listened to each other about our experiences and even Rabbi Irina cried. It was hard, but we spoke outloud. The midrash we studied was perfect for the spirit and the soul.”
Rabbi Irina Gritsevskaya teaching a group in the Beit Knesset
For many of the regular participants in Midreshet Schechter’s Ofakim Beit Midrash, this was also the first time they had seen each other in person for a long while.
One major reason was that the group’s meeting space was a mobile classroom building lacking a safe space where they could go in times of missile attack. Fitting 50 people in one spot for a semi-public event was too dangerous, thus in accordance with IDF’s Home Command regulations, all meetings had to be virtual.
Even prior to October 7th people were also scared to go out at night including travelling there by bus or walking.
For Shimon Edry an Ofakim resident of 61 years, “I really missed my weekly or biweekly learning. It had become part of me and all of us loved it and missed it so much. Part of the meetings were set aside for learning with the other element being social get together. Yet, for a long time we have only met via Zoom and not in person.”
He stated, “It was great to be at Neve Schechter and continue our learning and social experience.”
Cohen added, “The day combined learning and social experiences for all of us as a group. It was hard for us to finish the learning when it was time to do so. The Neve Schechter event was a sort of treatment, therapy. It helped us feel that the world is normal, though we know that the world is not normal.”
