"...Moshe Rosenbaum, the head of the Yeshiva at the time, took me to a dorm room. It was a cold and very small room. I shared the room with Avraham Wigman, known as 'Wiggie.' He turned the light off and the room went completely dark. So there I was, in this cold, dark room, and I thought, 'That’s it. In the morning I’m packing up and going home. I tried it and it’s not for me'..."
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| Rabbi Gideon Weitzman |
Sharona Eshet-Kohen: Tell me about your childhood.
Rabbi Gideon Weitzman: I was born in England. My father is a biochemist and my mother was not working when I was born, but has since become a ganenet (Kindergarten teacher) in a Jewish kindergarten. I have three brothers - two older and one younger. We were a very traditional Jewish family with a Jewish upbringing. We went to shul on Shabbat and kept kosher. My parents were always very involved in the local synagogue and community activities. But we always lived in very small Jewish communities so we never went to Jewish school there was never one in the places we lived. So my Jewish education was somewhat sparse; we went to cheder sometimes and did a little learning at home, but it was always very minimal.
I was in Bnei Akiva and around the age of 16 I spent a month in Israel and I began to learn more Torah and become more committed to it. After that trip I decided to go to yeshiva in Israel after graduation. Initially, the idea was to come to learn for one year and one year was acceptable within my community...
SEK: How did you come to learn at the Bet El Yeshiva? What was your experience while you were there?
RGW: When I was about 16 I started learning more myself - a little Torah, a little Mishnah - and I decided I wanted to go to yeshiva. Most of my friends were going to yeshiva in Gush Etzion, which was the only place that was really available for hutznikim [Jews from abroad] at the time. I came in 1985 and there were very limited yeshiva programs for students from abroad. I didn’t want to go where all my friends were going because if I did I knew I would spend a lot of time with English speakers. I felt that if I was going to yeshiva for one year it was important for me to be fully immersed. But I also wanted to be close to Jerusalem. I looked in a book of yeshivas and I decided on Bet El. I knew nothing about the town or the yeshiva - I didn’t know what the ideology was, what the yeshiva was like - nothing other than it was near Jerusalem (about a half hour away) and I would be one of the few hutznikim there. I arrived there in 1985.
I came by myself to Israel on the plane with my suitcase and a very small number of books - a Humash [Five Books of Moshe], one volume of Strive for Truth, and a siddur [prayerbook]. I got a bus from the airport to Jerusalem, and from there, a bus to Bet El. I got on the bus and as we entered the Shomron the bus was stoned by an Arab kid. This was well before the Initifada. The bus stopped and soldiers chased down the kid, caught him, and sat him on the bus in the front…next to me! They took him to the Memshal [The army body that currently governs Judea and Samaria], which was then in Psagot. This was my first introduction to Bet El!
I got to the yeshiva and I didn’t know anybody and there were no cell phones at the time, I couldn’t tell anybody I was coming. I just turned up and they said they would figure out what to do with me. Moshe Rosenbaum, the head of the Yeshiva at the time, took me to a dorm room. It was a cold and very small room. I shared the room with Avraham Wigman, known as “Wiggie.” He turned the light off and the room went completely dark. So there I was, in this cold, dark room, and I thought, "That’s it. In the morning I’m packing up and going home. I tried it and it’s not for me." But the next morning I got up, and the birds were singing, and I went to the Beit Midrash [study room] to daven, and that was it for me; I did not go home.
I started with zero knowledge. I had never learned Gemara before, I had barely learned Torah. It was a very small hutznik program - most of them were French. There was one other English boy at my level, Avraham Stern. We had very basic Gemara classes and ulpan [Hebrew language immersion program] in the afternoons. Rabbi Shalom Pechenik zt”l was our Rav. Within about six months I was already much more fluent in Hebrew; I was able to go into the Israeli shiur [class], and I was becoming more committed in Yeshiva.
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| Rabbi Weitzman with his son |
I stayed there for three years and then I went to the army with a few of the other hutznik boys. That was in 1988 and I was 21 at the time. I served for 10 months and when I finished, I had to leave Israel temporarily. The program I was in in the army required that I go abroad for a year. So I went back to England and ran a youth study group. Then I came back to the yeshiva in 1990 and I got married in 1992 to Rivka. We continued to live at the Yeshiva in an avrechim [married yeshiva students] apartment and I studied there until 1997. All in all, I learned at the Bet El Yeshiva for 10 years, and I came out with smicha from the Rabbanut HaReishit, having learned in the kollel with Rav Avi Smotrich and then Rav Chaim Katz an Rav Itamar Auerbach.
At one point they changed the Rabbanut HaReishit in the middle of exams and there was a question of whether we would have our smicha exams. Rabbi Zalman Melamed said he would give me smicha. In retrospect I should have done that, but I went ahead with the Rabbanut HaReishit anyway. After I finished smicha I spent another couple years in the Yeshiva, and then in 1997 I left the Yeshiva with my wife and three children.
RGW: When my wife and I left the Yeshiva we went on shlichut [working in education in a Jewish community abroad]. Rav Melamed strongly recommended we do this. We went to Kansas City, and I established and ran a kollel there called the Kansas City Community Kollel, which was the forerunner to what is now the Torah MiTzion. We had a difficult time getting to the United States. We went there via England to see my parents and we tried to get our visas in England, it just wasn’t working out. We had to go to the US Embassy in London and they denied us. Our stuff had already been sent to America! We were leaving the building and someone said, “Are you eitzman? They’re calling your name.” They called us back and told us we were granted a visa.” It was really min hashamayim [meant to be].
My wife and taught in a school there and were involved in the community. My second year there we had six students at the kollel. One of them was Roni Melamed, Rav Melamed’s son. He was a bachur [unmarried young man] when he came, I think it as very interesting experience for him and for the other bachurim.
The community tried to get us to stay another year and we told them it would not happen. My wife and I insisted that our kids be educated in Israel. So at the end of our second year in Kansas, in accordance with our original plan, we moved back to Israel. We had many wonderful experiences there and brought the spirit of Eretz Yisrael, and Bet El specifically, there. We were much less worried about numbers as a measure of success, and much more interested in just being involved and "doing it." On Passover, we had a seder in our house and invited some members of the community. We knew for them it would be long, so we rushed through it and finished by about midnight, which was very early for us. At the Yeshiva we would go to until 3am! The people at the seder said it was the longest seder they were ever at, and we laughed and said it was the shortest we ever held!
When we first got there someone asked me what my plans were. I told him I was going to have an evening shiur. He said that nothing in Kansas City happens in the evening; people don’t go out. In the end, one of my greatest successes there was to have a shiur that started around 9pm. I got people to realize they can learn Torah in the evening too. I also really felt we had succeeded when one student of the graduating class dedicated his speech to the kollel, saying that the one year the kollel was there was one of the most transformational experiences he had ever had...and he said it all in Hebrew. Many people were affected and inspired and infused by the Torah of Rav Kook and Torah of Eretz Yisrael and I am proud of that.
I was once in the kosher store and the cashier said to me, "Oh you’re involved in kiruv [outreach]." I told him that I’m not involved in kiruv, I’m involved in teaching Torah and making it available. I’m not trying to bring anyone close; the people who are looking for it will come close.
SEK: What brought you back to Israel for good?
RGW: We had decided we would go on shlichut for two years and that was it. They tried to increase our salary, but we did not budge. We did not want to be there more than two years. I think one of the most important lessons we taught them is that Eretz Yisrael is more important. We came back here with no job, no place to live, and really felt we were going into the unknown.
But that’s Eretz Yisrael. The Torah says that when the Jews came to Eretz Yisrael, one of the kings they killed was Melekh Heshbon. Heshbon means calculations. When it comes to Eretz Yisrael, we have to "kill calculation" - we have to "kill" the question: "Is it worth it." We have to jump and believe it’s the right thing to do.
SEK: What drew you to the work you do today at the Puah Institute? What originally got you interested in the halakhah of fertility, etc.?
RGW: I had studied with Rav Borstein [Founder of Puah] before we left. I had asked him at some point if he needed someone who spoke English and he said yes, but nothing came of it. He was looking to hire Rabbanim who were actually dealing with people, not just sitting in yeshiva. But I definitely got the experience of working with people in Kansas, so when I came back with no job lined up, I called up Puah and they said to come for an interview. When I showed up they asked me when I could start because they needed an English speaker quickly.
I was drawn to Puah because it’s an amazing combination of halakhah [Jewish law], which I got from the yeshiva, and science. I don't personally have a science background but I come from a family of scientists; my father is a biochemist and I have two brothers who are professors in biochemistry and biology. And it’s also chessed. Puah gives me the amazing ability to help people with the most intimate part of their lives.
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| Rabbi Weitzman and Puah staff |
Puah is a great organization. It’s really revolutionized our awareness of and approach to fertility. I’ve had the honor and pleasure of being part of that and expanding Puah activity beyond Israel to the English speaking world, mostly in North America. We now have offices in New York and Los Angeles and I’ve been instrumental in starting them.
SEK: You write articles, you teach, you lecture, you’re the Director of the Puah Institute…What does a typical day look like for you, if there is one?
RGW: A typical day is pretty busy. I also have several other jobs. I’m the Rav of a synagogue in Modi’in, so I start the day by going to shul, davening, and giving a dvar halakha [lesson in Jewish law]. And afterwards people often come to ask me she’elot [halakhic questions]. It’s a very small parallel to when I was in yeshiva and people would come up to Rav Melamed after a shiur. There are famous pictures of Rav Melamed standing at the podium next to the old aron [closet where the Torah is kept] of the old beit hamidrash answering questions.
Then I go to Puah; I get there around 9am. I try to learn every day - I have a seder limud [fixed time for learning] of Gemara and halakha and things related to Puah. Then much of my day is taken up answering calls of people who have fertility-related halakhah questions.
I also write. I have columns in Torah Tidbits and the Jewish Press. And I’m also involved in the administration of the office in New York, so I spend time speaking with them, meeting with couples, amd mentoring some of the younger rabbis at Puah. We also meet together at Puah to discuss difficult cases. It’s wonderful to work with colleagues who come from different approaches and be able to work to together. One of my hevrutot [study partners] from the Yeshiva, Rabbi Elchanan Lewis, also works at Puah. I brought him in to Puah when he came back from shlichut in Australia. Every day we mention Rav Melamed.
I also do a lot of teaching. I teach in various yeshivot and I teach courses for Puah. So in the evenings I often teach in Rehovot, Ashdod, and Jerusalem. And of course, those classes require preparation.
And I do try to spend some time with my family as well! It’s busy, but there’s a lot of joy and appreciation involved in my work. Barukh HaShem it’s a full day, but a very happy day. I go to sleep each night feeling that I’ve been an oved HaShem [servant of G-d] in Torah and in chessed.
SEK: Are you still involved with the Bet El Yeshiva today?
RGW: I am still very involved with the Yeshiva and on many levels. Firstly, I consult with Rav Melamed as much as possible with any major questions I have. I don’t call him for just anything - he told my wife once that he wants his students to ask him the important questions, not what color socks to wear. So when I have serious questions in my life I go to visit Rav Melamed to consult with him. I find he can give me a balance, he can direct me. He told me once, "You don’t need me, you’re already mature and giving yourself halakhic psak." I told him that it's true I know the different sides of the questions, and I understand the different possible answers. But sometimes I need someone to give me clarity of vision. I think that amazing clarity of vision that Rav Melamed has and that he’s been able to instill in the Yeshiva is something I very much appreciate.
Rav Zalman is our Rav. My children have had questions and gone to ask him. He was at the wedding of my oldest daughter, which was a great honor for us, and he was the sandak [person honored with holding the baby receiving a brit milah] of both my sons.I have a daughter who is about to be bat mitzvah, and we were recently at a sium HaShas [a celebration for finishing a tractate of the Gemara] and we got a brakha from Rav Yaakov Ariel. My daughter was very pleased to get a brakha, but she told me that before her bat mitzvah she really wants to go see Rav Melamed to get a brakha from him.
I was also asked by the Yeshiva to answer a number of "Ask the Rabbi" questions on the website and WhatsApp group. They have also had conferences for people answering the Q&As, and I’ve spoken at those as well. I very much see myself as connected to the Yeshiva. I think there are many who have learned at Yeshivat Bet El who see the Yeshiva and Rav Melamed as their anchor. I know I certainly do.
SEK: Tell me about your family.
RGW: I met my wife through several people who suggested her as a shidduch [match]. One was somebody I worked with in England, my wife’s cousin. Another was my chevruta, Yoseph Kroopnik, who still lives in Bet El. His wife Shoshana knew my wife through the organzation Livnot U’Lehibanot in Tzfat and thought she was a good shidduch. Another student Zev Landaw, who had also done Livnot U’Lehibanot thought she’d be a good shidduch. So we had three people suggesting the match. My wife initially wasn’t interested in going out with me, but after three people pushed it, she gave me a chance. We went out on the last day of Hanukah and we were married Lag b’Omer of that year.
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| Rabbi Weitzman and his wife and children |
SEK: If you could deliver any message to our readers abroad, what would you tell them?
RGW: When my son came to Rav Melamed get a brakha for his bar mitzvah, the Rav asked him if he knew English. We asked him why he would ask that of all questions. Rav Melamed replied, "There are Jews abroad who need to learn the messages we are teaching and we need to speak their language." That’s very much Rav Melamed - to see that we have all the gifts and we need to use them to serve HaShem.
Clearly to live in Eretz Yisrael is an incredible zechut [merit], and I think everyone should come. My parents made Aliyah at 80 years old. I of course don’t think everybody should wait until they’re 80, but even those who are not able to come yet should feel this connected, should visit places like Bet El, see the birth - as Rav Kook speaks about - of a healthy generation of Jews. And in Bet El people are healthy and happy; learning is not a chore for them, it’s part of who we are. And to be able to see that and support that financially and mentally and have that in your minds and prayers is an incredible thing.
There are amazing people who have done amazing things in Bet El and from Bet El. There are students of Rav Melamed in several countries now throughout the world. It's really an amazing institution and the more you can support it and visit it and eventually come to live close, the greater brakha it is for all of us.
In the Gemara, in Brakhot, daf men alef, it says that Rav Hamnuna and Rav Chisda were eating fruit. They brought before them pomegranates and dates. Rav Hamnuna made the brakha on the date first. Rav Chisda said, "Don’t you think it should be in order of the pasuk and that the pomegranate should come first?" But Rav Hamnuna said that the date is closer to the word Eretz. Rav Kook says the first five fruits are the five books of Torah. There are people who are connected to Eretz Yisrael because of Torah. And there are others who are connected to Eretz Yisrael for physical reasons. The person closest to the Land, even if for physical reasons, is closer to the brakha than one who is far from the Land for religious reasons.
So to be close to Eretz Yisrael - physically, mentally, financially. It brings us brakha in everything we do. And we are seeing an amazing merit and gift from HaShem. I only came to Israel by chance, only for a year, and I never thought my life would lead in this direction and I have never regretted it for a moment.