Yeshivat Har Etzion

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Yeshivat Har Etzion
Yeshivat Har Etzion

Yeshivat Har Etzion, commonly known as "Gush," is a Hesder Yeshiva located in Alon Shvut, a settlement in Gush Etzion near Jerusalem, Israel. There are over 500 students enrolled in YHE, making it the largest Hesder Yeshiva in Israel. Most of these students are Israelis in the Hesder program, which integrates intensive yeshiva study with at least 15 months of active army duty, often in front line combat units. The remainder consists primarily of post-high school students from North America, Europe, South Africa and Australia, who come for a year or more of study before beginning university study in their home countries. South African and Australian students usually attend the yeshiva as part of a program run by Bnei Akiva. Many return to YHE after university, preparing to become rabbis and Jewish educators through the Yeshiva's Semicha Program and affiliated Herzog College. Over 550 alumni from overseas have made aliyah and a high percentage are involved in Jewish education.

YHE has benefited from the continuity of leadership of the roshei yeshiva, Rabbi Yehuda Amital and Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, both of whom are known for a combination of traditional advocacy of intensive Torah study with a pragmatic grasp of the modern world. YHE has a faculty of renowned Torah scholars whose diverse styles, backgrounds and approaches complement one another in an effort to create an open and challenging environment for students.

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[edit] History

In 1968, after the re-capture of Gush Etzion during the Six Day War, a movement to resettle this region and reestablish its settlements ensued. The leaders of this movement, among them Chanan Porat and Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun, asked Rabbi Amital, then a prominent religious and military figure, to head a yeshiva in one of the nascent settlements. Rabbi Amital agreed, and with help from the Israeli government, Yeshivat Har Etzion was founded in Kfar Etzion. Soon after this the small yeshiva moved to Alon Shvut, a settlement established concurrently with YHE's move, that has since blossomed with YHE at its center.[1]

In 1971, upon hearing that Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, a renowned disciple of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, intended to move to Israel, Rabbi Amital invited him to join as co-Rosh Yeshiva. Since then, the two luminaries have shaped the character of YHE, today a thriving institution of higher Judaic study.

In 2002, a Scottish student at the Yeshiva, Yoni Jessner from Glasgow, was killed in a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.[2]

On January 4, 2006, Rabbi Yaaqov Medan and Rabbi Baruch Gigi joined Rabbis Amital and Lichtenstein as roshei yeshiva in anticipation of Rabbi Amital's upcoming retirement.

Following the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin in 1995 by hesder student Yigal Amir, one of the Yeshiva's junior lecturers Rabbi Shmuel Dvir (born 1968) was questioned alongside Nahum Rabinovitch of Ma'ale Adumim Yeshiva and David Raz of Kerem B'Yavneh Yeshiva on the suspicion that they had sanctioned the killing.[3][4][5][6] The arrest of Dvir followed reports from three students that claimed the Dvir had told them that it was "definitely permissible" to kill Rabin.[7][8] Police reported that witnesses had told them that Dvir had said: "If Rabin comes to visit Gush Etzion, I myself will climb on a roof and shoot him with a rifle." [9] Dvir was released on bail after questioning and ultimately no charges were pressed against either of the Rabbis.[10]

[edit] Values

Yeshivat Har Etzion is known for being both firmly rooted in Jewish tradition and deeply committed to interacting with the broader community. YHE advocates intense spirituality and religious striving, tempered with a message of moderation and openness. Following the example of the Roshei Yeshiva, YHE encourages serious study, creative thought, intellectual rigor, and a true sense of fellowship with all Jews, regardless of level of observance or political outlook. YHE believes that this philosophy enables the teachers and rabbis trained at the Yeshiva to bring to the communities they serve a deeper commitment to Torah, a genuine love of the Jewish people, and an unwavering bond to the State of Israel.

YHE attempts to gird its students with a mastery of Torah, a love of the Jewish people, and the ability to engage the contemporary world and be enriched by it. YHE has received praise for producing students who are strong in their beliefs and uncompromising in their commitment to serving both Israel and the Jewish people.

[edit] Libraries

The Yeshiva's internationally acclaimed library houses over 70,000 volumes, as well as CDs, microfilms, a collection of rare Judaica and an antique book facility. The state-of-the-art Pedagogic Resource Center of the Herzog College supplements the central Torah library, providing a wealth of audio-visual material for teachers of Judaic studies in Israel and worldwide.

[edit] The Virtual Beit Midrash

In more recent years, YHE established the Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash, which provides yeshiva-style courses and shiurim (Torah lectures) in Torah and Judaism to students of all ages outside the Yeshiva walls, in an effort to open to the greatest extent possible a window into the Beit Midrash. Over 18,000 subscribers in every continent throughout the world subscribe to weekly shiurim, in English and Hebrew, in Tanakh, Gemara, Halakha, Jewish Philosophy and various other Jewish topics.


[edit] Related Institutions

  • Herzog College
  • The Stella K. Abraham Beit Midrash for Women (Migdal Oz)

[edit] Citations

  1. ^ Lonely man of faith, Larry Derfner, Jerusalem Post, December 22, 1995
  2. ^ Lone Soldiers, Yocheved Miriam Russo, Jerusalem Post, August 13, 2004
  3. ^ Israel's Mainstream Brings Forth a Killer, Laura Blumenfeld, Washington Post, Novermber 12, 1995
  4. ^ Rabbis Rousted On West Bank Really Rankled Hillel Halkin, The Forward, December 8, 1995
  5. ^ Two rabbis questioned for alleged incitement, Raine Marcus, Jerusalem Post, November 27, 1995
  6. ^ Police question rabbis suspected of condoning Rabin assassination, Naomi Segal, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 26, 1995
  7. ^ Murder in the name of God: Where religious extremism can lead, Allan C. Brownfeld, Issues of the American Council for Judaism, Spring 1999
  8. ^ What about the rabbis?, Yair Sheleg, Haaretz, Arpil 11, 2005
  9. ^ Murder in the name of God: Where religious extremism can lead, Allan C. Brownfeld, Issues of the American Council for Judaism, Spring 1999
  10. ^ Rabbis questioned about Rabin killing, Naomi Segal, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, December 1, 1995

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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