Make A Difference For Tel Aviv, For Israel, And For You
	The Bina Center for Jewish Identity and Hebrew Culture The Bina Center for Jewish Identity and Hebrew Culture was founded in the wake of the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by an extremist Jewish nationalist.  Bina's founders saw the broad and growing gap between Israel's secular and religious communities and searched for ways to bridge that gap.  Their solution was a combination of education and action. Bina's goal was to bring a Jewish identity to Israel's secular population through education in Jewish religious and philosophical topics, and in particular, to emphasize those humanistic and socially-conscious tenets of Judaism.  They would study the sources, but they would do so in an open-minded way; they would treat the sources as "inspiration rather than authority," and in order to make the greatest impact possible, they would target young Israeli adults -- the future leaders of Israeli society.   But they also realized that one could not hope to change society through study alone.  Action was needed, hence Bina's espousal of "putting Talmud into action."  Bina's groups of young adults not only studied the tenets of tikun olam and gemilut hasadim, but made them a reality through community service and grassroots activism.  In 2005, with the founding of Tikun Olam in Tel Aviv, Bina created the opportunity for Jews from around the world to join in the cause. In 2006, Bina's educational efforts took a major step forward with the opening of the first ever Secular Yeshiva, across the street from Tel Aviv's New Central Bus Station.  Today, many groups of young Jews, both from within and outside of Israel, study Jewish philosophy and texts there in the heart of one of Tel Aviv's neediest neighborhoods.  The Yeshiva is now the center of the Bina groups' educational and social justice activities.   Bina's Secular Yeshiva in the heart of South Tel Aviv The Secular Yeshiva is also the center of the Bina groups' communal life.  The groups frequently hold events for Shabbat, Jewish holidays and a variety of other educational programs.  Its location in Tel Aviv's lower-class Shapira neighborhood makes it a perfect fit as the headquarters for Bina's outreach to the neediest sectors of Israeli society. In the past year, Bina has continued to grow by forming groups for Israelis of Russian origin, as well as beginning operations in the Negev desert city of Beer Sheva.  With its dedicated staff and talented young groups, The Bina Center looks to continue to grow and prosper long into the future. For more information on Bina, please visit our website. Bina staff member Nir Broyde talks about the organization in this video. The Jerusalem Post featured the Secular Yeshiva in this article from October, 2008.  The article mentions the many Israeli groups with whom Tikun Olam participants study. The idea of a "secular" Yeshiva was unprecedented at the time of its opening, and thus it was big news in Israel when Bina's Secular Yeshiva opened its doors for the first time in 2006.  Listed below are links to English-language media coverage surrounding the event: Yedioth Achronot  (Israel) Haaretz (Israel) Jerusalem Post (Israel) The Jewish Report (Los Angeles) The Jewish Week (New York)