Beit Hillel

Attentive Spiritual Leadership

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What is Beit Hillel? Mission Statement

Beit Hillel Attentive Spiritual Leadership is a ModernOrthodox spiritual leadership organization comprised of over 150 rabbanim and rabbaniyot, and aspires to guide the Religious Zionist community in a religiously-tolerant and communally-relevant spiritual direction, in order to deal with the new realities and complexities of our generation, while remaining an integral part of Israeli society. Beit Hillel Attentive Spiritual Leadership strives to magnify the voice of the centrist mainstream, whose constituents are grappling to find their way in modern society while maintaining their commitment to Torah and Halacha. Beit Hillel embraces a tolerant Judaism that speaks to the religious (Dati), traditional (Mesorati), and non-observant segments of Israeli society. Beit Hillel Attentive Spiritual Leadership believes unequivocally in the eternity of the Torah and Halacha and its relevance to every generation.

Major Areas of Focus

Halacha and Democracy - We view democracy in the State of Israel as a spiritual value and strive to blend Halacha and democracy together without sacrificing either principle. We consider the laws of the State of Israel to be Halachically binding upon every citizen. We acknowledge the Halachic validity of the authorities of the State of Israel, including the government and Knesset, the court system and the police. We believe in an absolute commitment to serve in the IDF.

Empowerment of Women We assign spiritual significance to the promotion of the status of women in society and in Judaism. Hence, we aspire to empower women in the realms of leadership, Torah education and Jewish life, and to enhance the status of women within the religious community in accordance with Halacha. In this spirit, we have chosen to be the first Orthodox spiritual leadership organization that includes scholarly women who serve as spiritual leaders - as equal partners.

Broad and Open-Minded Education - We seek to equip our students with the tools required to forge a deep Religious Zionist identity. Such an identity will be built upon a complex and comprehensive worldview that includes the positive elements that exist throughout the world and in modern Western culture. We believe in the value of academic study and research, and in the importance of a profound Jewish education that is not narrow-minded and does not create isolationism or separatism from general Israeli society.

What makes Beit Hillel unique?

MODERATION: Beit Hillel believes in engaging and being active partners in Israeli society, academia, the workforce, and much more. It does not believe in being concerned solely with sectarian interests nor isolating itself from society. TOLERANCE: Beit Hillel aims to act like the historic school of Hillel: it will conduct itself modestly, all the while respecting its ideological opponents. Beit Hillel will conduct an open, attuned dialogue with those with whom it disagrees, while giving full expression to its own approach to the study and dissemination of Torah. INCLUSION OF WOMEN: Beit Hillel is the first Orthodox spiritual leadership organization in the Jewish world to include women spiritual leaders as equal partners in positions of leadership, learning, and influence. These women leaders are all outstanding and experienced scholars and have an equal voice in the movement. PARTNERSHIP: Beit Hillels organizational structure is based on genuine partnership with non-rabbinic leaders. The board of directors and executive committee has equal representation of funders, public figures, and lay and community leaders. A Public Council exists to reflect the general rabbinic membership of the organization. The public council includes leaders from different areas in the Israeli society: Academia, business, education, law, media and more. THE VOICE OF THE MAJORITY: The voice of Beit Hillel is not limited to a few rabbis; rather, it is comprised of more than 150 spiritual leaders who represent the world view of hundreds of thousands of religious and traditional Israelis. The leaders of Beit Hillel are devoted to carrying out the organizations mission and programs in the Beit Midrash

to carry out in-depth research and study of societal issues; in the media to communicate the messages emerging from the Beit Midrash; and in direct contact with the various stakeholders who make Beit Hillel an inclusive, attentive, and grassroots movement.

What does Beit Hillel do to achieve its mission?

Beit Hillel acts on three fronts to achieve its mission of attentive spiritual leadership: 1. ATTENTIVE: communicating and connecting with the public through traditional PR and media, and social media networks. 2. SPIRITUAL/TORANI: formulating and disseminating Halachic and Hashkafic positions through a Beit Midrash for Halacha, Beit Midrash for Hashkafa, publications, learning seminars, conferences and Shabbatonim 3. LEADERSHIP: partnering with lay leaders in the community through the public council, funders coalition, round-table events, conferences and regional chapters, as well as consultation services to communities and schools. Two of these activities are expanded upon: BEIT MIDRASH FOR HALACHA: The Beit Midrash convenes rabbis and female spiritual leaders with broad experience in the realm of Halacha and Hashkafa. Our goal is to continue the chain of Halacha across the generations and to compose comprehensive responsa, which will courageously address the major issues emerging from the social and technological changes in modern society, as well as new issues arising from the creation of a Jewish State after nearly 2000 years of exile. This includes such topics as addressing modesty and relationships between men-women in the public sphere, involvement of women in religious life, the role of democracy from a Halachic perspective, finding Halachically-sound ways to engage the non-religious and form bonds of friendship between them and the religious, values of equality and human rights in Halacha, and more.

The Beit Midrash meets several times a year, studies these issues in depth, and suggests Halachic solutions that will take into account the values, demands and culture of modern society. Following each session, the issues are presented for discussion among all of Beit Hillels members of the internet, and are then assembled into a publication, which is disseminated to synagogues throughout Israel once every two months, in the name of Beit Hillel.

Beit Hillel - A Torah leadership with its finger on the pulse of its people
SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS: Beit Hillel has made it a priority to be both accessible and attentive to the publics mindset, needs and questions in real time. Beit Hillel acknowledges that a communitys strength is no longer necessarily a function of the geographical space in which it operates, but rather in its ability to expand those boundaries by grounding itself in ideology, bringing people together, addressing their needs, and discussing issues that concern the public. Social networks and the Internet are tools that enable Beit Hillels spiritual leaders to be accessible and attentive to the public. Beit Hillel is noticeably present on a daily basis on Facebook, T w i t t e r , Yo u Tu b e , and of course on its own accessible and regularly u p d a t e d website. Many of the men and women who are part of Beit Hillel run their own Facebook accounts, that are connected to Beit Hillels central Facebook page, which helps to keep the connection between Beit Hillel and the public alive and current. Beit Hillel has the very first Facebook Halachic Responsa, which allows for debate of Torah issues in real time, and invites the public to actively participate in the discussion. Beit Hillel runs public campaigns to promote social values such as prenuptial agreements, equality and human rights, a just attitude to foreigners in Israel, inclusiveness of women and more.

Who are the people leading Beit Hillel?

Beit Hillels board of directors is comprised of an equal combination of rabbanim and rabbaniyot and public figures and funders.

Rabbinical Leadership
Rav Meir Nehorai
Chairman Rav of Kibbutz Masuot Yitzchak, Ram at the Beit Midrash for Higher Studies at Migdal Oz. Holds a Masters degree in Talmud. Former Rabbi of Bnei Akiva of the UK.

Executive Director Rav of Congregation Ohel Ari in Raanana. Served as Director of the Overseas Department of Tzohar. Former Rabbi of Bnei Akiva of North America. Served as a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for a hi-tech company. Served as a captain in the Israeli Navy Special Forces.

Rav Ronen Neuwirth

Rav Zeev Weitman

Rosh Beit Midrash for Halacha - Rav of Tenuva since 1993. Former Rav of Kibbutz Kfar Etzion. Served as a teacher in Toronto. Chairman of the National Shmita Committee. Former head of the Kashrut department of the Chief Rabbinate. Author of books on Shmita and Kashrut.

Rav Yoni Rosensweig

Director of Beit Midrash for Halacha - Rav of congregation Netzach Menashe in Beit Shemesh. Rosh Yeshivat Torat Yosef near Efrat. Former Rosh Kollel of the Torah MiTzion Kollel in Melbourne, Australia.

Rav Tzvi Koren

Rosh Beit Midrash for Hashkafa - Founder and Rav of Kehillat Kinor-David. Co-founder and former Rosh-Yeshiva of Yeshivat Nachshon near Beit-Shemesh. Ram in Midreshet Lindenbaum.

Rav Amnon Bazak

Ram at Yeshivat Har Etzion. Lecturer in Tanach and Oral Law at Herzog College and the Womens Beit Midrash at Migdal Oz. Author of books on the Tanach according to the plain meaning of the text. Served as editor to the weekly leaflet Shabbat bShabbato.

Rabbanit Dr. Pnina Neuwirth

Rabbanit of Congregation Ohel Ari in Raanana. Lawyer, specializing in Tax and Commercial law in Israel. Holds a Ph.D. Degree in tax law. Teaches law at Haifa and Bar Ilan universities. Teaches Torah in MaTaN HaSharon Raanana and in other frameworks. Previously a professor at Stern College for Women. Rav of Moshav Nir Etzion. Served as Communal Rabbi and campus rabbi at Cape Town University. Lectures at Shaanan Academic College for Education. Director of the Betzavta program at Haifa University an open Beit Midrash for Students. Lectures at the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies at Haifa University.

Rav Dr. Ronen Lubitch

Rabbanit Oshra Koren

Director of MaTaN (Womens Torah Institute) HaSharon, where she teaches Talmud and Tanach. Founded the MaTaN Bat Mitzvah program, leads the Bat Kol Ensemble. Rabbanit of Kehillat Kinor David in Raanana. Member of the Raanana City Council.

Rav Dr. Tzachi Hershkowitz

Rav of congregation Netzach Shlomo in Petach Tikva . Has a Ph.D. Degree in Jewish Philosophy. Teaches Jewish philosophy at Bar Ilan University, Ashkelon College, and other institutions of higher education.

Rabbanit Esti Rosenberg

Founder and head of the Migdal Oz Beit Midrash for Women. Served as Rosh Beit Midrash of the Midreshet Lindenbaum Israeli Program. An active member on the board of Bnei Akiva.

Rabbanit Michal Tikochinsky

Holds a Masters degree in Law. Head of the Moshe Green Beit Midrash for Womens Leadership at Beit Morasha. Teacher for Talmud and Halacha; One of the leading women in the field.

Rav Yehuda Gilad

Rav of Kibbutz Lavi. Rosh Yeshivat Maale Gilboa. Former Knesset member.

Rav Ohad Taharlev

Head of Midreshet Lindenbaum and the head of Hadas program, combining Torah studies for young women with military service. Has a Masters degree in history. Studied drama and arts.

Lay Leadership
David Roth
Deputy Chairman - Executive Director of the Yoreinu Foundation, that seeks to strengthen Israeli societys Jewish and democratic character. Was a philanthropic consultant with Donor Associates in Israel, Ltd. Served as an active board member of Torah MiTzion. Former co-chair of the Jewish Funders Networks funding in Israel working group. Holds a Masters degree in Nonprofit Management.

Hila Zeligman

Spokesperson - Holds a Masters degree in political science from Bar Ilan University. Worked as a communications consultant in the office of Rimon Cohen Sheinkman and served as the spokesperson of several organizations and individuals.

Dr. Aviad Hacohen

Dean of Shaarey Mishpat Law College and senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Chairperson of Mosaica - Research Center for Religion, Society & State; Chairperson of the logistics committee of TaglitBirthright Israel International.

Additional lay leaders include: Jacques Gorlin, Prof. Asher Cohen, Jonathan Koschitzky, Eran Rolls, Neil Kaye.

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With your support Beit Hillel can continue its important work. to become a partner in shaping the future of Israeli Society.

Beit Hillel welcomes you

Contact us for Donations or Information: Beit Hillel - Attentive Spiritual Leadership (NPO # 58-0559441)
Rav Ronen Neuwirth Executive Director +972-52-771-0121 47 Akiva St. Raanana 43261 Israel ronennoy@gmail.com office@beithillel.org.il www.beithillel.org.il B.Hillel
To make a contribution to Beit Hillel, which is tax deductible in the United States, make your check payable to PEF Israel Endowment Funds, Inc. and note that it is for Beit Hillel, NPO# 58-0559441 in the memo portion of the check, or include a letter of recommendation to accompany the check. Mail the check and recommendation to :PEF Israel Endowment Funds, Inc. 317 Madison Ave, Suite 607 New York, NY 10017