From Miami to Carmiel: The Story of Paltiel Kenigsburg

by Sivan Rahav-Meir, originally published in inn.co.il, translated by Hillel Fendel

10% Discount to Fix Sin of the Spies

Interview with Miriam Drori: Lessons from Shlomo Carlebach

Interview conducted by Sharona Cohen

Miriam Drori, author of the new book "Every Day is a Diamond" - a collection of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach's teachings to enhance the Sefirat HaOmer with soulful Torahs, hasidic stories, and easy to understand metaphors - shares her personal experiences with Reb Shlomo, why she decided to write a book for the Omer, and blessings for coming home to Israel.

Interview With Baruch Gordon on Perspectives of Aliyah

Interview conducted by Sharona Cohen

Baruch Gordon tells about his journey to Israel and the Bet El Yeshiva, and provides some perspective for Jews struggling with the decision to make Aliyah.

Two Dead in Copter Crash: Appreciating Israel's Human Resources

by Hillel Fendel

Appreciating Israel's Human Resources – and the Critical Contributions Made Even During Training

The Israel Air Force helicopter crash last week that claimed the lives of two officers also shined a spotlight on Israel's best assets: the quality and humanity of its human resources.

Aryeh Holtz: Mechanical Engineer Builds Stroller to Run 10K with Special Needs Daughter

Interview conducted by Sharona Cohen

Mechanical engineer Aryeh Holtz shares his story about his daughter Leah, their experience running the Jerusalem 10K together, how he built the world's best running stroller, and what it means to have a child with special needs.

Givati Brigade Soldier Speaks About Time at IDF Prep Academy

 Interview conducted by Sharona Cohen, translated by Hillel Fendel

Elad Friedman* recently graduated from his second year at the Bet El IDF Preparatory Academy. In this interview he shares some of his experiences at the Academy and how he was affected by his time there. Elad is currently serving in the Givati Brigade [a counter-terrorism infantry brigade].

Breslav Actor and Secular Actress Tie the Knot

by Sharona Cohen

Last week Israel celebrated the surprising wedding of Shuli Rand (Breslaver Hasidic actor, writer, and singer) and Tzufit Grant (non-religious actress and journalist). Their relationship had received much attention over the last couple years, mainly because Rand began dating Grant after a bitter split with his previous wife, Michal Rand, in 2016. Michal refused to accept the get [Jewish divorce], thereby locking Shuli into the marriage against his will.

Thus, even though Grant and Rand began a relationship over two years ago, they were not able to get married until Rand recently received a rare exemption signed by 100 rabbis that allowed him to remarry. His get is now entrusted with the Beit Din [Rabbinate] and Michal can take it whenever she chooses.

Grant, for her part, has also received much media speculation over her religious observance since she and Rand became an item. She reports that she has always kept kosher, and that since her relationship with Rand began she started keeping Shabbat as well. At their wedding she wore a wedding dress with long sleeves and a high neckline in accordance with Jewish laws of modesty. 

It just goes to show, love can overcome many obstacles. As Grant notes, '"The greatest connection between us is how similar we are to one another." She adds, "We have very similar personalities. We set out on this path and there was just no other option; it was as if our souls met and fused into one."

Jerusalem Half-Marathon Champion: Beatie Deutsch

This past Friday morning Beatie Deutsch, Haredi American-Israeli mother of five and former Olympic candidate, won first place in Jerusalem's half-marathon, finishing at 1:20:40. Deutsch, immigrated to Israel in 2008  and lives with her husband - whom she married in 2009 - and their five children.

Deutsch didn't begin running until 2016 at the age of 25, and she maintains the Torah's code of modesty even while running - long sleeves, below-the-knee skirt, and a head covering. She ran her first marathon only four months after she started training and she finished sixth with a time of 3:27:26. In 2017 she finished a marathon with a time of 4:08:16 - while seven months pregnant. 

Interview with Chana Hirsch: "Wanna be a member of the Sanhedrin? Learn English!"

 Interview conducted by Sharona Eshet-Kohen

Chana Hirsch was an English teacher at the Jeanne Gluck High School Academy for Girls in Bet El for 24 years, from 1996-2020. In this interview she shares how she ended living and teaching in Bet El, and why she felt it her mission to teach Israeli children learn English.

Bet El Highlight: IDF Takes Command Over Tefillin Delivery

IDF pulls out all the stops to ensure man in

Corona hotel has tefillin to use after Sukkot

(A true story from the eve of the Sukkot [Feast of Tabernacles] holiday)

The following question came into the Bet El Yeshiva "Ask the Rabbi" website a few hours before the Sukkot holiday:

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Subject: Need tefillin.

I am a Covid positive patient. I was evacuated straight from the hospital two days ago to a hotel in Jerusalem designated for quarantined Corona patients, and I haven't put on tefillin [phylacteries] since leaving the hospital.

I need your help to acquire tefillin so I can pray to recover from this illness. If you could somehow get me some tefillin, it would make me so happy. 

Hag same'ah,

D

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Interview: Chaim Silberstein: Bet El Resident, Father of Terror Victim

Chaim Silberstein tells of his journey to the Land of Israel, lessons learned outside the classroom, and motivations for living a full Jewish life. Silberstein's daughter, Shira Ish-Ran, was seriously injured in a terrorist attack about a year and a half ago. In this interview, he also updates readers on the court case against the terrorist and shares his thoughts about the experience.

Chaim Silberstein and his family

Tuvia Victor: From Tragedy to Tranquility

Interview conducted by Sharona Eshet-Kohen

Tuvia Victor founded and manages Bet El's Pinat Chai [children's petting zoo]. In this interview he discusses his time learning at the Bet El Yeshiva, the importance of contributing to Am Yisrael [the Jewish People], and the terrorist attack that led to the creation of the Pinat Chai.

Tuvia feeding the Coati Munti at the Pinat Chai

Interview: Machon Puah's Rabbi Gideon Weitzman

By Sharona Eshet-Kohen

"...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'..."

Rabbi Gideon Weitzman

Interview: Yosef Kroopnick, On Seeing G-d in History

Interview conducted by Dena Udren, edited by Sharona Eshet-Kohen

Yosef Kroopnick with his wife, children, and grandchildren

Yosef Kroopnick discusses his journey to Judaism and Israel, his experiences and takeaways at the Bet El Yeshiva, and his thoughts on history, G-d, and the future of the Jewish people.

Meeting of Minds and Hearts

Article originally appeared here
Edited by Dena Udren

It's now a full-fledged tradition: For the fourth year in a row, a gathering was held this month between hundreds of religious and secular high school students – leading to increased fraternity and unity in Israel.

Photo courtesy of Yesha Council

Tenth-grade students of Yeshivat Halichot Olam and of Bnei Akiva's Yeshivat HaShomron, both in Karnei Shomron, met with 190 students of the Kfar HaYarok (Green Village) High School in a spirit of friendship. The event took place in Karnei Shomron, a town in western Samaria, not far from Kfar Saba and Raanana, with a population approaching 9,000.

Meet Yehuda Zaks, Proud Graduate of Bet El Yeshiva

Interview by Dena Udren

Yehuda Zaks (fourth from left) with his wife and children

What can you tell us about your childhood? 

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?

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?

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).

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