BINA Center for Jewish Identity and Hebrew Culture

 
I really enjoyed working with Rabbinical school students from other movements – it was great to get to know my colleagues. I loved doing the volunteer work and I wish I could have done more. I loved the Talmud study. It was good for me to see someone look at Talmud critically and then relate it to the modern world.
 
This was an extraordinary class. I loved the approach to Talmud and the opportunity to study the famous aggadah tales of the Talmud. I plan to teach an adult education course at my synagogue this year, using what I have learned. I think that my participation will make it possible to teach differently than I would have in the past. Also, gives me a way to connect to the media about was is going on in Israel, with a better understanding of what questions to ask about what I am reading.
 
BINA is a wonderful combination of study, social justice work, and the ability to meet various segments of Israeli society. I would highly recommend it to fellow rabbinical students.
I am grateful for this opportunity to learn about the political situation from the other side. It has helped my understanding of the complexity of things very much. 
The opportunity to visit the Urban Kibbutz was very interesting to me, especially for learning about this next generation of “kibbutzniks”, and their approach to kibbutz living, as well as learning about the ways they are celebrating Judaism.
I had a chance to stand in East Jerusalem and see everything through the eyes of a Paletinian man (on our trip), and then, to see the exact same landscape through the eyes of our Jewish host in the apartment that I was living in, also in East Jerusalem, after the program ended. Though this all made my head spin, it was important and gave me a model for seeing things through different eyes. I learned that there are many stories, many of them contradict each other, and all are true in the eyes of the teller. Probably the best way to get at the “truth” is to listen to all the many “truths”.
 
Excellent experience overall. The combination of Talmud study and the working with a range of social action organizations in South Tel Aviv was rich and challenging. The context of the Secular Yeshiva allowed me to make new kinds of connections between Jewish texts and social justice work.
 
This (Talmud class) was really really excellent. Learning with Ari will stay with me as I continue to study Talmud in school and in my rabbinical career.
 
It was a great experience. I felt that I experienced an aspect of Israel that I wouldn’t have otherwise gotten to see while studying here for the year. I really liked Tel Aviv and got to know the city, and I felt that my learning both in and out of the classroom was great. It was also very useful to get to interact with Rabbinical Students from other schools. Another significant experience was meeting the guys on miluim at the reserve post. It felt like a very honest and passionate discussion, and because the rules were set that we were able to ask anything, it felt like a very deep conversation even though it was quite short. I feel more confidant now, although still not confidant enough, in discussing my perspective on the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. I am still no expert, but I have heard much more and heard the stories of more people than I think I ever could have if I had not done this program. In particularly, being able to speak with Bina staff, who are all intelligent, engaged and caring people and to hear their perspectives, was very helpful.
 
Gaining a deeper understanding of myself.
 
Don’t often get to spend so much time on the aggadic stories when studying Talmud in the traditional way. Found the class stimulating and useful. I’m teaching the stories to 13 year olds in Hebrew school
 
I did not come to Tel Aviv with refined expectations for the program, but I left enriched, impressed and excited about Jewish life in Tel Aviv and about the role of Bina in educating rabbinical students about issues of justice in Israel on many simultaneous levels. I felt hopeful about further collaboration between the Israeli Jewish Renaissance movement and the liberal American Jewish world and felt a strong sense of compatibility and companionship between us. I remain so grateful for the openness and responsiveness of the staff to the American perspectives brought to the conversations, especially around the challenge of Zionism. Mazal tov on this accomplishment!
I definitely will enter the rabbinate with a more nuanced understanding of issues in contemporary Israeli society and will be able to speak about efforts on the part of Israelis to deal with pressing issues of justice through direct service and learning from the tradition.
I want to support your work and your growth. I believe in what you are doing and it feels wonderful to have true colleagues in Israel.
 
It’s hard to put to words such a profound experience. I felt like I was really learning Talmud with a new lens and taking that learning into the work I was doing. Living in South Tel Aviv was challenging, but also had a very laid-back feeling to it. Meeting and living with the other rabbinical students was a great opportunity and it helped form a sense of group cohesion so that I felt supported through all of the newness and risk-taking. I just feel like this was such a great way to spend part of my training to be a rabbi and I learned so much about what kind of work I want to do and how I want to have Israel be a part of it.
I think the most meaningful part of the program was the dialogue that went on between the Israelis and the Americans about Judaism, Jewish practice, Jewish thought and approaches to studying text. It was really fascinating to me to see how differently we experience these things. I thought it was really incredible to get to experience “Secular Judaism” at Tzavta on Tisha B’Av and watch how the American students reacted to that and also to see how our “religiosity” and “spirituality” affected the secular Israelis at Bina—for example the tefilot that we did, the songs we sang, etc.
After spending a year in a congregation where most of my work was counseling around interpersonal conflict, death, and mental illness, it was interesting to notice how those things seemed at once trivial and incredibly important in light of my experience this summer. This summer I worked with people who struggle with the things that my community back home takes for granted: financial security, freedom, and security. I said that the problems of my community back home felt at once trivial and incredibly important, because they felt trivial in comparison to such basic human needs and yet they felt very important in the sense that they are the same problems in some ways—the things that matter most in our lives and affect our ability to get through every day. I felt even more strongly this summer the need for healing in our world and a desire to be a part of that process. I’m not talking about chaplaincy work, but on the ground, one-on-one, or small group efforts to bring about peace, healing and a sense of wholeness in individuals, in their relationships and in the community as a whole.
 
Our teacher, Ari Elon, was outstanding. He was thorough and cited many concrete examples of the points made in the Talmudic stories. These stories and the culture they represented were challenging to read and understand. Our understanding of these stories was significantly enhanced by the exposure of their subtleties and nuances provided by Ari. Further, the connections that Ari made between the Aramaic, the Hebrew translations and the English translations were fascinating…
Additionally, the chavruta method of study and the flexibility of the students and staff proved very beneficial to our understanding of the Talmud stories and greatly increased the pleasure of reading and learning them. The explanations of the machlokot and efforts at tikun which connected these tales, as well as the alienation often depicted, all served to bring a realism to these old stories which allowed them to be connected to modern issues.
Thus, the study of Talmud proved to be not only challenging, but also provided outstanding intellectual and spiritual satisfaction. We are thrilled and grateful to have been able to participate in this wonderful program and for the superb teachers and staff.
 
Outstanding Ari’s approach was very inviting and exciting. I will use his approach and some of his texts for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. I loved his speaking about how the text connects with his personal life. Inspiring!
Moti is brilliant!
This was an incredible summer full of all different kinds of learning about texts, people, places, politics, myself. I have a deep appreciation for all the BINA staff and faculty who work care so much and work so hard to provide a superb, complex, multifaceted experience for rabbinical students.
 

“The Secular Yeshiva is a very significant experience, one which shapes the future of its participants, it certainly helped me in shaping my own Jewish-Israeli-secular identity. This year has made me think about education as a professional direction, about social activism as an integral part of my life and about community – what sort of social framework do I want to live in and be a part of.”
 
“The time I have spent at the Yeshiva has aroused my curiosity and my growing sense of commitment to study, which may have an impact on my academic choices in the future.”
 
“One of the most significant aspects of my year at the Yeshiva relates to the celebration of holidays. This year I participated in two Tu Bishvat seders and it was so much fun! I had never celebrated Tu Bishvat before so it was very significant – something I hope to preserve in my future.”
 
“I’m not yet sure about my plans for the future but I feel that the Yeshiva will have an impact on my decisions on the future…this year I have had the opportunity and the ability to do social action… there are (social justice) issues that I will have trouble ignoring in the future (refugees etc.).”
 
“The unique exposure to a world of content in the setting of local reality is a challenging, self-building, thought provoking, inspiring experience. A once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
 
“Yom Kippur at the Yeshiva was the most significant experience for me. This was the first time in my life to experience a significant Yom Kippur, surrounded by a community in which I fit in.”
 
“The atmosphere at the Yeshiva has opened up getting to know different people and different ways of Jewish secular life – different from what I’ve known before. “

The Mechina has greatly influenced my plans for the future…it has opened up an entire new world for me, made clear to me what is important to achieve in life and given me tools to begin to achieve my aspirations.
 
Without learning one can not act to help others who are important to you so I would like to study education, special needs…
 
Before the Mechina, social action for me was “a nice idea…something to consider…”. Now I know for sure that social action will be a part of my life, no matter what I choose to do.”
 
I found in ‘study for the sake of study’ a pursuit, a future, and maybe even a way of life. The studies gave me a great deal of material and inspiration for writing stories, strengthening my dream to be a writer.
 
I can’t imagine myself not taking part in public life in Israel in the future…I will seek meaningful content in my life community and society.
 
My experience at BINA – study, community and volunteer work – has had an impact on my way of thinking and my sensitivity to social issues…from here I plan on doing something with my life that will bring about social change in Israeli society.
 
This year made me consider seriously serving in the army in education and to aspire to attain position of officer. As for the more distant future, it is still pretty clear to me that I would like to work in the field of education/treatment but now I believe that I will aim to do so within the public system and not private practice.
 
This year offered me an opportunity to see a wide range of choices and ways of life that I had never dreamed about…it is a gift I am sure will have a lasting impact on my life. Most significant for me were the members of my group - what I learned from them I will take with me into the future…
 
I learned a lot about group-living, friendship and I made some real friends (perhaps for life!). I got to know the very special neighborhood of Shchunat Shapira, where we live and volunteer, and became very attached to it. I think I might return to continue to live and be active here.
 
I believe our studies and marking of the Jewish holidays at the Yeshiva will have an impact on the way I celebrate holidays in the future and their significance will be deeper.
 
I don’t believe this past year at the Secular Yeshiva changed my plans for the future (they were already in the ‘spirit’ of BINA before I came) but it did significantly change my approach to issues and my ability to achieve those goals.
 
The Mechina has had a huge impact on my plans for the future. Before I arrived I had no idea what I wanted to do and how I wanted to volunteer. This year has given me direction, a sense of self worth, that I am capable of leading a significant life. It’s a little sad to say but this is the first year of my life that I have been truly happy. My whole frame of reference has changed, my ability to believe in myself and in others, to develop, to contribute and have a sense of capability.
 
If before the Mechina I thought it would be nice to have volunteer work a part of my adult life, now I feel that it is essential to try and have as great an influence as possible whether in the army or afterwards. I see that my future will hold social action and social involvement as an integral part of my way of life. 
 
I felt for the first time in my life that I am being developed, others are investing in me… and therefore perhaps I am worthy of this investment. This year has been an outstanding experience of empowerment that the staff, teachers, members of my group and other groups at the Yeshiva are all partners in. This journey combining social action, text study, independent learning and group living was amazing and challenging.

The Yeshiva opened up a new world of knowledge and views which have helped me choose a direction for future studies and social activism, and will ultimately determine my way of life in the future.
 
I plan to continue studying Jewish text and continue to search for a community of secular Jewish character to which I can belong.
Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to acquire knowledge, to get closer to Judaism, and learn that there are different models, outlooks, perspectives to experience my Jewishness.
 
The most significant aspect of the program was my discovery of Jewish texts which have become inalienable assets to me, part of my personal repertoire.
 
The most significant experience for me was making Havdalla together with the group and the community – it is an important ceremony in the course of the week as well as in life in general and the fact that secular Jews perform this tradition is very special… it is the epitome of my entire experience at the Yeshiva.
 
It has become very important to me to have Jewish learning materials, texts and sources part of my home library.
 
As part of my volunteer service, I mentored a child from a very difficult family background, who was removed from the local aftercare welfare program because of social and behavioral difficulties. Due to the process which I went through with this child and the important role I played in his life, he was returned to the program and was placed in a more appropriate educational framework..
 
Due to my experience at the Secular Yeshiva this year, I now embrace the secular Jewish culture and plan to continue taking part in its development; to study and to make traditions like Kabbalat Shabat, Havdalla and holidays a part of my future family life. Also, no matter what I decide to do professionally in the future, I intend to go on doing social action and volunteerism.