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| Yehuda Zaks (fourth from left) with his wife and children |
I was born in South Africa to a traditional (not religious), but very Zionistic family. In 10th grade I came on a 4-month learning tour with just over 100 friends from various Jewish day schools around South Africa. It was then that I decided that Israel would eventually be my home. A few months after returning to South Africa, I became religious through Bnei Akiva and was active there till I came on Aliyah 6 years later, after completing my engineering studies.
When did your connection with Bet El begin?
One Shavuot Ketzele came to South Africa on one of his missions. He gave us a shiur in the middle of the night and the Torah approach he taught was different from what I had previously learnt. I felt that the two sets of Jewish values I had, Torah and Zionism, were now combined in a fresh, holistic manner.
When and what did you learn in the Bet El Yeshiva?
On that same trip, Ketzele and the Bnei Akiva leadership organized a two-month learning trip in the Bet El Yeshiva for the South African summer vacations. I participated in the group together with 12 friends from Bnei Akiva. This was my first serious yeshiva experience.
This coincided with the completion of my engineering studies. Whilst in Israel I met up with my Nechama, who had been studying in Israel for the year on another Bnei Akiva program. We decided that we would go back to South Africa, get married and come back to live in Bet El, where I could try to catch up on some of the in-depth Torah learning that I never had in South Africa.
Can you describe what it was like learning in the yeshiva? What memories do you have of your studies there?
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| Newlyweds Yehuda and Nechama walking down the path to their home, shortly after making aliyah in 1983 |
We were married 6 months later and 5 weeks after the wedding came on Aliyah directly to Bet El in 1983. My wife studied nursery school teaching and I studied in the yeshiva. Initially I joined a special shiur (class) for students from overseas and afterwards joined the Israeli program.
We were one of the youngest couples on the settlement. It is hard to describe the warmth and support that so many of the families provided us. In many ways they became our local families seeing as our parents and siblings were still overseas. Even though we thought we would only stay in Bet El for the period of learning in yeshiva, our connection to the place resulted in us making this our permanent home of the last 37 years.
How do you think you have benefited from your time learning in the yeshiva? How has it influenced your life?
Torat Eretz Yisrael that we learned and lived in the yeshiva provided me with the guidance to build a family and integrate into the hi-tech business world of Israel, while ensuring to continuously grow in my Torah studies.
Do you have any connection with the yeshiva today?
We still live in Bet El, which by its nature is closely linked to the yeshiva. Until recently when the settlement appointed a new Rabbi, Rabbi Melamed provided most of the Torah guidance to the settlement around the yeshiva. The drashot of Shabbat HaGadol and Shabat Shuva are still done jointly and there are several joint ventures between the citizens of Bet El and the yeshiva.
What can you tell us about your family?
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| Yehuda and son in the 1991 Bet El snowstorm (no water or electricity) |
My wife, Nechama has been working as a kindergarten teacher in Bet El for the part 32 years. Baruch Hashem we’ve been blessed with 6 children and 5 grandchildren, each finding their own way to develop themselves in Israel and contribute to the country.
Can you please describe your profession and what you are currently doing?
I am an electrical engineer by profession. I worked at a few hi-tech companies for over 32 years in computer programming and project management. Currently I am retired, learning at a Kollel in Ofra, a nearby settlement, and managing the “Mediation Center of Bet El,” which we established a year ago on a volunteer basis.
What message would you like to give to our readers abroad?
For me living in Bet El allows me to be part of the continuous story of Am Yisrael, starting with Avraham Avinu through the multiples exiles and finally we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, where signs of the gradual redemption continue to reveal themselves over the years. My growth and that of my family, both physically and spiritually, are a mirror of the parallel growth of our nation as a whole in the promised land. We are so fortunate to have been able to come home.