David Harris
Voices from Secular Yeshivas
What is a Secular Yeshiva?
The Secular Yeshiva (house of Jewish study) aims to cultivate a new generation of secular Israeli leaders who possess in-depth familiarity with the Hebrew cultural past and present, and who embrace social activism and Jewish study as central values by which to live. The Secular Yeshiva is a home where young adult students experience intensive learning, encounter varied approaches to Jewish life, and embark upon on a fascinating journey. BINA, an organization that builds Jewish pluralism and social action in Israel, currently operates Secular Yeshivas in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Beer-Sheva.
The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati has allocated $140,000 in Israel & Overseas Directed Funding in fiscal year 2016 to fund efforts toward Israeli pluralism. Of that allocation, $16,000 went to fund BINA’s third Secular Yeshiva in Beer-Sheva. Your dollars, invested in the Jewish Federation, helped change Mariana and Eli’s life. —Danielle
By Elliot Vaisrub Glassenberg, Director of International Communication, teacher, BINA
Meet Mariana
Mariana, age 23, was born and raised in a traditional Mizrahi Jewish family in south Tel Aviv. She recently completed the BINA Secular Yeshiva’s “Garin Ironi” program (Urban Young Adult Service Corps— a multi-year program combining IDF service with Jewish learning and volunteering through the Secular Yeshiva). She recently completed her formal IDF service and is currently living and volunteering with her fellow Garin (Corps) friends in south Tel Aviv, and starting to work. In her words:
“I grew up in a traditional Mizrahi Jewish family in south Tel Aviv. My parents made me go to an Orthodox school and I couldn’t stand it. I wanted nothing to do with Judaism. My parents didn’t want me to go to the army. None of the girls in my class planned on going to the army. But I joined the Secular Yeshiva Urban Garin because the counselor I had at the after-school program I attended was from BINA and she was in the army and I wanted to be like her. When I first joined BINA I didn’t participate much in the discussions on study days, but I listened and I discovered a Judaism that I never even thought of, that I never knew existed. It was so completely different from what I knew growing up. It was something I felt I could be a part of. I volunteered to join a combat unit in the army and came back in uniform to volunteer in the same after-school program that I had gone to and to show the other girls in the neighborhood that they can too.”
Meet Eli
Eli, age 21, was born and raised in a Jewish home in New York. He participated in the BINA Secular Yeshiva’s Gap Year-Mechina program and is currently a student at the University of Chicago. In his words:
“I grew up in a committed Jewish family, but I came to BINA’s Secular Yeshiva to figure out my own Jewish identity and relationship with Israel, to learn from different voices and perspectives. I participated in the Secular Yeshiva’s international Gap Year program for one semester, and then joined the Israeli Mechina for a second semester of full immersion of living, volunteering, and studying with my Israeli peers—all in Hebrew. BINA definitely helped me find my own Jewish identity. The learning at BINA—about Israeli society, about Jewish thinkers and philosophy, about secular Judaism—has all powerfully influenced my own thoughts and practices. BINA makes people more compassionate and responsible. What BINA has taught me about other people, whether fellow peers or homeless people of south Tel Aviv, will have an impact on the rest of my life. Through BINA, I have gained patience and responsibility. I act much more upon my beliefs. I am truer to myself.”
The Jewish Federation is working to enable meaningful Jewish lives for Mariana, Eli, and countless others through programs and institutions such as BINA’s Secular Yeshivas. Thanks to your contributions to the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, more people like Mariana and Eli can better connect to and live their Jewish heritage.
