AMIT Future Physicians

Magazine

Every week 10th and 11th-grade students from AMIT’s two high schools in Tzfat make their way to the city’s new Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Medicine in the Galil. There they hear lectures on anatomy, cardiology, physiology and nutrition, learn modern techniques of examining the human body and even observe operations. They are part of an innovative three-year youth medical program entitled Pirhei Tzfat LeRefouah – literally “Tzfat Buds of Medicine.” The program was launched in 2011 in conjunction with the much-awaited opening of Israel’s newest medical school.

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Is Rosh Hashana The Start Of The Jewish Year?

Magazine

That Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the Jewish year should be a truism. Its very name translates as the head of the year. Yet the Bible never directly connects Rosh Hashanah to the start of the year. In Vayikra (23;24) when it is first mentioned, the Torah describes a nameless holiday on the first of the seventh month that contains a mitzvah to listen to the sounds of the shofar. In contrast to the three festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot, which are related to both specific Jewish experiences during the beginning of our national existence and the agricultural cycle of the year, this holiday does not have a particular context.

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AMIT Top Tech Initiative

Magazine

AMIT is a leading catalyst and collaborator for dynamic, innovative change in education in Israel and is committed to provide opportunities to all its students, regardless of background or income level. This year AMIT has embarked on a new initiative which aims to prepare students to graduate from high school equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary for success in post-secondary education and in the 21st century global economy.

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Early Zionist Education

Magazine

Berl Katznelson, who arrived in Eretz Yisrael at the age of twenty-two was typical of the many young halutzim (pioneers) who worked on the fledgling Jewish farms in the Galil. Like many of them, Katznelson was inspired by the venerated philosopher/farmer Aharon David Gordon. Gordon initiated the development of a unique Zionist ethos of mentoring and youth education. Katznelson took up the challenge: “a world of virtue must be created within our spirit,” and emerged from among the halutzim to become the cherished theoretical and moral guide to Labor Zionism. Like the educators who followed in his footsteps Katznelson instilled the national character of the reborn State of Israel in countless young men and women. That national character would come from a blending of religious tradition with modernity, a philosophy that integrated personal self-realization with community responsibility.

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AMIT Principals In Ashdod

Magazine

Taking over the reins at AMIT Yud, a state religious comprehensive high school of 800 students and 105 teachers is 32-yearold Ido Aharonowitz, himself an AMIT high school graduate. Aharonowitz grew up in Rishon LeZion, but because his family wanted him to receive a good academic and religious education, they sent him to the AMIT high school in Rehovot. “I had to take two buses and travel 45 minutes each way but it was worth it,” recalls Aharonowitz. “I studied in a school that imparted moral-religious values and scholastic excellence and I can say today that I am proud to be a graduate of AMIT.”

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AMIT Arrives In Ashdod

Magazine

When Israel’s Ministry of Education and the Ashdod Municipality realized that the city’s state religious high schools were stuck in a chronic downward spiral of low standards and loss of students to secular schools, they turned to AMIT. The mission: to take over management of Ashdod’s two-state religious comprehensive high schools and to further bolster religious education in the city by establishing a yeshiva high school for boys.

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“Do We Really Want More”?

Magazine

One thing a Shul Rabbi has to accept is that his personal life is on public display. Everyone notices the Rabbi’s neckties, car and most of all, the Rabbi’s family. I do not envy the Rabbi’s family, since they never asked into this. In fact, there is something known as “PK Syndrome” – which stands for “Preacher’s Kid” or “Pastor’s Kid.”

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Hatiyul Hachi Shnati The Ultimate Trek

Magazine

AMIT Bienenfeld Hevruta Yeshiva and Kollel at Kfar Batya has more than 140 students grades 9 to 12. A yeshiva boarding school, Hevruta, is, literally the last chance for boys who would otherwise end up dropping out of the Israeli school system. The educational approach at this special school is based on “Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory,” which posits that a person’s ability is comprised of many intelligences – not just the ones’ traditionally emphasized in Western-style education. Thus Hevruta offers majors in music, sports, environmental studies, animal therapy, subjects that are optional extracurricular activities in other schools. Hevruta puts the student back at the center of education and the Annual Tiyul (“The Ultimate Trek”) helps to reinforce the boys’ strong points and build positive self-image.

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Reflections On MidReshet AMIT: A Year Of Torah, Chesed, and Israel

Magazine

It is hard to believe that nine months have passed since I was standing in Ben Gurion Airport anxiously awaiting the arrival of the 2011-2012 class of Midreshet AMIT. Young women from communities throughout the United States and Canada chose to spend the year at Midreshet AMIT, focusing on Torah study, acts of chesed, and an unforgettable Israel experience. Now that the academic year has come to a close – in the blink of an eye – it is clear that our students’ hopes and dreams were fulfilled.

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What It Takes To Make A Student

Magazine

“Why do we celebrate Yom Yerushalyim?” — Jerusalem Day — Daniella Malasa asked the 18 sixth-grade boys seated in pairs in her classroom at the AMIT Yeshiva Kfar Ganim in Petach Tikva.

While a few hands flew up in response, other students shouted out the answer. They recalled how, in 1967, Israeli troops captured the eastern part of the city, including the Old City, from Jordan, and discussed how Israelis celebrate the milestone today.

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