Oriya Reshef grew up in Bet El, attended Bet El's Jeanie Gluck High School Academy for Girls, and currently lives with her husband and children on a very special mountain next to the town.
In this interview, Oriya talks about her feelings living in a high-conflict zone, the beautiful aspects of growing up in Bet El and raising her kids here, and her hopes for the future.
[Interview conducted by Sharona eshet-Kohen]
[Interview conducted by Sharona eshet-Kohen]
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| Oriya with her husband and two children |
My name is Oriyah Reshef, née Dahan. I grew up here in Bet El, as did my five older brothers – I'm the youngest child and the only girl. My brothers all live with their families throughout Israel, and I'm the only one who's still living in Bet El.
Both of my parents were born and raised abroad: my father in Algeria, and my mother in Paris, France. At ages 17, both of them, separately, decided to move to Israel, motivated by a Zionist longing. In Israel they registered for college, and at the same time began the process of becoming Torah-observant. And then, thank G-d, they met, and decided to build their home together.
I very much admire my parents; they both underwent a very unique and significant process of searching, and ended up choosing a life of meaning, a life of Torah. I am very attached to my family and to Bet El; I grew up here and went to school here, both for elementary and middle school, and then to Bet El's Jeanie Gluck High School Academy for Girls. I remember when I was in 8th grade and looking at various high schools to attend the following year that it was important for me to continue to grow in a place where I felt comfortable and that I loved. Bet El is a very pleasant place to live and a perfect community for religious-Zionist families: very ethical, sociable, caring, communal, and with a sense of security.
I applied to several high schools, but the Jeanie Gluck Academy was my first choice – and thankfully, I was accepted. The Jeanie Gluck High School Academy for Girls is held in very high regard in religious-Zionist circles, as it is strongly based in Torah and also has a high scholastic level. It offers various courses of study, including psychology, biology, chemistry, as well as literature – which I chose to major in [note: in Israel, high school students "major" in a subject, much like U.S. students do in college]. I had a very special teacher with whom I'm still in contact. She showed me by example how important it is to be an interesting and giving teacher - not just one who parrots the material to the students. It was really because of her that I later decided to become a literature teacher myself.
My years at the Jeanie Gluck Academy were very special and enjoyable. I had a great time in terms of the high-level studies, as well as socially, along with many extra-curricular activities, including lectures, dancing, etc. The staff members live in way that is very true to Torah and they are all of high-quality; we had a weekly class where we could ask questions to our rabbis on matters of emuna [faith] and the like, and this was very important for me. It was a critical time in my life that really helped shape me for the future.
After high school, I received one degree in helping youth-at-risk and another in teaching literature. Today, I work at a high school in Jerusalem for youth from religious families who themselves took a different path. After being thrown out of high schools for various reasons, such as low learning skills, poor behavior, addictions – they then rolled around from school to school, never really finding themselves. Many of them left their religious lifestyle. When they come to our school, however, we try to accept them, encourage them, and understand them. It's very important for us to give them positive feelings of love and acceptance, and to ensure that they experience a sense of accomplishment after all the failures and setbacks they suffered in their lives.
I see my work as a real mission, a very significant one - to work specifically with youth who did not succeed and were unable to move forward. I can give them a chance to succeed!
As for my family today - I met my husband Shlomo when we were volunteering together at an organization called Ezer Mi'Tzion, which provides help to needy families or those where one of the parents is ill. My husband is currently studying architecture, soon to be starting his fourth year at Ariel University. He is very much attached to the vision of building up Eretz Yisrael, to strengthen the Jewish towns of Judea and Samaria, especially in the Jerusalem area (where he grew up). His dream is to build homes in Jerusalem.
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It's an enjoyable but challenging mission to live in Bet El, which is a site that's mentioned in the Torah – and not just once or twice. Bet El today is not in a perfect state: we're surrounded by Arab villages, and we often have rocks, or even Molotov cocktails, thrown at us. Just a few months ago there was a series of terrorist attacks on residents and former residents of Bet El, and soldiers as well – but we're not running away or getting scared. Quite to the contrary, when attacks happen, we simply step up our security and announce that we're not leaving: this place is ours!
Within Bet El, my husband and children and I live in a unique location with needs and a culture of its own - a special neighborhood called Pisgat Yaakov [Jacob's Peak]. Very close to this neighborhood is where Yaakov Avinu [our forefather Jacob] dreamed his famous dream of the angels ascending and descending the ladder.
I feel a part of the chain, beginning as far back as our Forefathers and Patriarchs; Yaakov was here, and we are continuing his path today.
Regarding our future, next year we are planning to move slightly northward to another ancient Hebrew village - Shilo. Shilo today is a bit smaller than Bet El and more communal. With G-d's help we will build our home there. I will hopefully find a job with youth-at-risk, and my husband will be looking for a job that will help him fulfill his dream and enable him to put into practice all that he has learned. We pray for G-d's help to build our home with joy and pleasantness, for us and for our children.
I was asked for this interview if I have a message for Jews living abroad. I can say that I believe that every Jew has three objectives to focus on - each a different aspect of what makes us Jews: Am Yisrael [The People of Israel], Eretz Yisrael [The Land of Israel], and Torat Yisrael [The Torah of Israel]. Every person can have a positive influence on the objective he does best and that he enjoys most – and this is actually his shlichut [mission] - to have an influence on an objective he is inclined towards. Our little family is trying, with G-d's help, to do our part for these three objectives; and all Jews should do the same – to seek out what s/he can do for these objectives on behalf of the People of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and the Land of Israel.
[Interview conducted by Sharona Eshet-Kohen and translated by Hillel Fendel]