Changing Lives At Kfar Blatt

Magazine

Given his difficult upbringing, no one in the social services department of this city just east of Tel Aviv would have been surprised if Gil Nahari, now 19, had fallen prey to crime or drugs.

Abused by his mother, he was handed over to his grandparents at the age of seven. At age ten he moved in with his divorced father but ended up in a boarding school at twelve and another one at thirteen. Back with his father at fourteen, he enrolled in AMIT Yeshivat Kfar Ganim as a day student, and, at fifteen, at the AMIT Kfar Blatt Youth Village in Petach Tikva.

When Duty Calls

Magazine

When a war is raging in Israel, like the one we saw this summer, the stakes are very high. Everyone is on alert…and so many get the call. A recorded message informs you that your life is about to change immeasurably—no information other than a meeting point. Your unit has been called up, and you are expected to appear within a few hours. That was the reality this summer for many AMIT teachers whose civilian lives are dedicated to educating and nurturing the next generation of Israelis. One might think that would be service enough!

Beersheva Roundtable

Magazine

The following article is taken from a roundtable discussion that took place at AMIT Wasserman Junior and Senior High School. In attendance were principals from AMIT schools in Beersheva along with AMIT President Debbie Isaac and Dr. Amnon Eldar, Director General of the AMIT Network.

Opening Day

Magazine

The start of school brought a sense of joy and excitement to rocket-scarred communities in southern Israel, and on Monday, September 1, AMIT opened its schools. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with Minister of Education Shai Piron, AMIT President Debbie Isaac, Amnon Eldar, Director General of the AMIT Network, and Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi inaugurated and celebrated the first day of school in Israel at AMIT Toranai Chadash Elementary School.

Hit The Road, Jack

Magazine

Summer is a time for getting away. Whether in the form of a family vacation, a weekend in the mountains, or just a day at the beach, it is a season of journeys. In addition to the souvenirs and excitement of being away (“Are we there yet?”), what uplifting spiritual messages can we bring home with us from our travels?

A Place to Live Torah • A Place to Live Chesed A Place to Live Israel

Magazine

At Midreshet AMIT, students spend the day learning, questioning, and growing in Torah. From interesting and challenging classes to guided chavruta study, the year is packed with learning geared to help develop a lifelong connection to Torah and the land of Israel. Through adventurous tiyulim, the students travel the length and breadth of Israel, learning about our history and gaining a greater appreciation for the State of Israel.

Our home is in Beit Hayeled, AMIT’s well-known foster home for disadvantaged youth. Students spend time each day teaching, playing, and caring for some of Israel’s most needy children. As a “big sister,” the student is challenged to give of herself in a way she never experienced before and she is transformed in the process. Here four recent graduates share their impressions of Midreshet AMIT.

From The School House To The White House

Magazine

This past April, eight of AMIT’s most outstanding principals came to the United States for an intellectual exchange of pedagogical thoughts and ideas and to tour a number of innovative and ahead-of-the-curve schools in the New York metro area and Washington, DC.

Led by Mor Deshen, AMIT deputy director of research and development, the AMIT educators wanted to experience first hand the way these schools educate their students. Each school utilized different innovative pedagogical programs.

The Jewish Guilded Age

Magazine

Mention unions and Jews in the same breath, and the first things that usually come to mind are the ILGWU, sweatshops, long hours, low wages, strikes, and Samuel Gompers, the labor union leader. Some cynics will immediately shout, “they’re ruining the country.” Others will maintain that unions are the backbone of the middle class worker, keeping the playing field as level as possible. Still, others will invoke the history of the labor movement and the significant Jewish influence on improvements in the contemporary workplace.

Rabbi Akiva’s Seder Table: A lesson in Positive Psychology

Magazine

While there are several accounts of rabbinic Passover Seder gatherings, the most famous of these is the one recorded in our Haggadah: the Seder of Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar, the son of Azarya, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon. They were reclining at the Seder service in B’nei Brak, and had spent the whole night telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt, until their pupils came and said to them: ‘Our masters, it is time to recite the morning Shema!

This account appears in the Haggadot of Geonim, such as R. Amram Gaon, and the Haggadot of Rishonim, including that of the Rambam (Hilchot Chametz u’Matza Nusach Haggadah), Tosafot, (Ketubot 105a, s.v. de-chashiv) and the Ritva.