Bet El, Jacob, and the Story of Hanukkah: Hagi Ben Artzi Reveals Historic Secrets

What do Hanukkah, the Patriarch Jacob, and Bet El have to do with each other? Practically everything, says long-time Bet El resident Professor Hagi Ben-Artzi. Walking and talking atop Bet El's highest mountain, where Jacob is said to have dreamt his famous dream, Hagi reveals some historic secrets, talks of the Hasmonean battles with the Greeks atop these hills and in these valleys, shows the archaeological discoveries here, and connects the dots to form a picture of the eternal vision of the Nation of Israel returning home.

by Uziel Sabato, editor of Bet El's local periodic magazine

Abridged and translated by Hillel Fendel, edited by Dena Udren

Hagi Ben-Artzi standing next to the Sheikh's Tomb

We begin in an ancient structure popularly known as the Sheikh's Tomb, which sports a sign saying, "Danger of Collapse," and Hagi – an expert in Biblical verses, local archaeology, and story-telling – begins with one of the hundreds of incidents he has experienced here over the past 40 years: 

"Well-known Israeli TV personality Ilana Dayan, not exactly known for her right-wing views, was here to get to know the 'Jacob's Dream' site. I brought her up to the observation tower here, and she was able to see Ramallah and the many Arab villages nearby. 'Tell me, Hagi', she said. 'Why are you here? Why do you need this, surrounded by all these Arabs?'  I answered her briefly: 'Ilana, do me a favor: Wait until the end of the tour and then ask me again.'"

Let No One Say He Didn't Know...

By Hillel Fendel, edited by Dena Udren

Dr. Guy Bechor, political commentator on Middle East affairs and editor of the Gplanet.co.il website, warns that renewed talk of "disengagement" – or any other term that means Israel's withdrawal from territories in favor of an Arab entity – means Arab missiles and rockets on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ben Gurion International Airport, and elsewhere in Israel. 

"Let no one say that he didn't know," Bechor warned the hosts of a Channel 13 TV program on current events last week. "This is what will happen, whether it be immediately, or within a year or two – after Hamas takes over from Mahmoud Abbas."

"The fact that we have quiet now, and that buses are not exploding – is not something self-evident," Bechor emphasized. "Every single night, our IDF forces are busy acting deep inside the PA-controlled areas, in order to thwart terrorist initiatives and ensure that there be no rockets, exploding buses, and other attacks. Your reporter who just now said that the purpose of these activities is to ensure quiet in Judea and Samaria is mistaken; the purpose is to ensure quiet in the entire State of Israel!"

Regarding recent calls for a withdrawal from parts of Judea and Samaria, Bechor said that just as the withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 led to rockets on Ashkelon and Ashdod, "a similar withdrawal from within Judea and Samaria would lead to rockets on central Israel, as well as Haifa, Jerusalem, and other areas."

Meet Miryam Shpatz, Long-time Resident of Bet El and Literature Teacher at the Jeannie Gluck High School Academy for Girls

Interview by Dena Udren

We spoke with long-time Bet El resident Miriam Shpatz, mother of ten and teacher of literature at the Jeannie Gluck High School Academy for Girls in Bet El. We asked her about her childhood, and about her professional life, and more – and came away with some pearls of wisdom regarding the beauty of a Torah-based life.

Miryam Shpatz (fourth from left) and family at the wedding of her eldest daugther

Q. What can you tell us about your childhood?

Bet El Excels in…Talmud!

By Chezki Baruch on Israel National News, original article can be found here.

Translated by Hillel Fendel

Watch the Hebrew interview with English subtitles.

The International Israel Talmud Contest champion was crowned publicly yesterday: Noam Nissim Shriki, 12, of Bet El. 

Interestingly enough, his runner-up was none other than Yishai Sarig – his very own classmate from Bet El. 

The two, and the other 13 finalists from all around the country as well as the United States, competed as pairs with their fathers; one of the contestants was partner with his mother, and another – with his older brother. One father partnered with his daughter.

Ninety Years Later, Hevron's Marketplace Returns to its Jewish Owners

By Hillel Fendel
Edited by Dena Udren

Just over a month ago, Naftali Bennett was named Israel's youngest defense minister – and in perhaps his most dramatic decision since then, he issued a stark message to the municipality of Hevron that the period of "squatters' rights" it has enjoyed since the mid-1990's on Jewish-owned land – is now over!

Instead, the (Arab) mayor of Hevron was told that Israel will begin planning a new Jewish neighborhood there. Note that this mayor participated in the murder of six Jews outside Beit Hadassah in 1980; he sat in jail for only two years before being freed in a prisoner exchange.
Bennett's decision means that after years and years of legal and political bureaucratic obstacles, the area will once again become fully Jewish. The new neighborhood to be built will form Jewish territorial contiguity between the Machpelah Cave (the Cave of the Patriarchs) to the existing Avraham Avinu neighborhood. In addition to the public-use buildings to be built there, the 70 planned apartments will significantly boost the City of the Patriarchs' Jewish population, which currently numbers 750 plus another 250 yeshiva students.

Hevron

The Highest Form of Giving

By Baruch Gordon

Edited by Dena Udren

A former Bet El Yeshiva student has reached a point in his life in which he desperately needs your help. The charity that you can give him is truly the highest level of giving, according to the Rambam (Maimonides).

The Rambam lists eight levels of charity, each greater than the next. The greatest level, above which there is no greater, is to support a fellow Jew by endowing him with a gift (or finding employment for him) which strengthens his hand so that he will not need to be dependent upon others.

Y came to Israel from the US alone and reached Yeshivat Bet El, proving to be a talented yeshiva student. After marrying a nice Jewish girl, he got a patent on a device he invented which was purchased by the US Navy for use in training.

Meet Rabbi Erez and Yael Yosef-Chai

Rav Erez and Yael Yosef-Chai live in Beit El with their four children, and love it here! Here they are, in their own words:

Translated by Hillel Fendel, interviewed and edited by Dena Udren

The Yosef-Chai Family

Q. Erez, where did you grow up?

A. I grew up in Kfar Pines, a moshav near Hadera; I would say it's a "partially agricultural" moshav. I had a very happy childhood there, being part of the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and walking around the forests nearby… It was altogether fun.

My father was born in the Cochin region of India (also known as Kochi, a city in southwest India's coastal Kerala state), and my mother was born in Israel, the daughter of Ashkenazi immigrants; her father was a Gerrer Hassid, a man of total belief and trust in Hashem, which truly helped him get through very difficult times. He would always visit his Rebbe, especially on special occasions such as Israel Independence Day [later in Israel]; it was the Rebbe who told him and his family to leave Poland, before the Holocaust, and come to Israel. My mother's mother came from Germany; her father, who was a shochet, was beaten by Nazis, and forbidden from practicing his profession; he finally found work after a whole year - but only in Turkey, from there they made Aliyah – so that's how they were saved from the Holocaust. Here in Israel, the Chazon Ish ate from his shechitah (ritual slaughtering).

#GivingTuesday: What's the Next Step for Underprivileged IDF Graduates?

written and translated by Dena Udren

This Giving Tuesday we are raising funds for a unique program at our IDF Preparatory Academy. After completing their army service, graduates of the academy often choose to come back for one year of intensive studies to prepare them for higher education. In order to be accepted to college or university, it is necessary to have good scores on English and math matriculation exams. Therefore, these young men spend their post-army year at the academy studying English, math, Torah, and other subjects that they may need in order to get into college.

Meet Rav Benny Bamberger, Principal of Bnei Tzvi Yeshiva High School

Interview by Rav Yonatan Udren

Translated by Hillel Fendel, edited by Dena Udren

Q. Where did you grow up? 

A. At age 4 we moved to Karnei Shomron [a town in Samaria], which was only one year old when I first arrived. All I remember from then is a lot of sand, and then later on there were paths; our homes were just caravans [mobile homes without wheels]. 

Rav Benny Bamberger

Bet El Institutions Construction Update

Written and translated by Dena Udren

Bet El institutions is currently undergoing several record development projects. In order to give you an update on each one, we spoke to the Bet El institutions development team,  Baruch Gordon and Yaakov Harnik.

The site of the new Bet El Yeshiva dormitory is the area in the foreground, adjacent to the blue and yellow awnings. 

The Bet El Yeshiva is one of the most sought-after religious-Zionist yeshivot in the country, and as such, there is a real demand to accept as many young men as possible. This year the Yeshiva accepted its largest incoming class on record, and therefore is in dire need of more dormitory space for the extra students. In fact, this year, the Yeshiva had to turn away many students for lack of  space. 

The picture above shows the site of where the Yeshiva's new dormitory will be located, specifically the empty area between the building on the left and the blue and yellow awnings on the right. The new dormitory will have 30 rooms and G-d willing, will be started in the coming year.

Unity in Yesha: A Sign of a Unity Government?

Based on a Yesha Council* website article 

Translated by Hillel Fendel, edited by Dena Udren

There is one particular fact about the population of Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley that surprises all those who hear it for the first time – and that is the distribution of the populace along religious-secular lines. In contrast with common perception, only a third of the populace is religious-Zionist! Another third define themselves as secular, and the remainder are hareidim [ultra-orthodox]. 

Based on the news coming out of Yesha, and the people involved, this piece of information would seem to surprise most observers. But it indeed reflects the true situation on the ground. 

Yesha Council

Israel's "Bible Belt" of Judea and Samaria, including the Jordan Valley, also has some other surprises.