ISRAEL

Lavi Olami Beit Midrash in Jerusalem

The Lavi Olami Beit Midrash operates from the Ben Yehuda Midrachov (pedestrian mall) in Jerusalem, in the heart of the Jewish nation.

This is the spiritual center of Lavi Olami, a center which is a warm home for young olim who come to the Beit Midrash to strengthen their Jewish and Zionist identity and to meet young Israelis.

The Lavi Olami Beit Midrash offers a wide choice of classes and talks in Hebrew and other languages (English, Russian, Spanish and soon French) and organizes social activities with the purpose of strengthening the Jewish identity of new Olim from all over the world, and to bring together young Israelis and other Jews, both religious and secular, from different backgrounds, through a shared connection with Judaism and the Jewish heritage.

The Beit Midrash hosts a number of activities, such as communal Shabbat dinners on Friday night (every two weeks) and an open Melave-Malka post Shabbat get-together on Saturday nights in the winter.

There are study sessions on Wednesday nights to provide olim with a holistic and historically relevant approach to Torah, as well as the opportunity to study and apply big ideas from ancient texts to some of the most pressing challenges currently confronting the Jewish people. Texts are drawn from a variety of sources, appealing to a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds. Lessons take place in English, though many of the supplementary texts are in Hebrew.

Yama VaKedma Program

Thousands of young people come to Israel on Birthright and other programs, but only a few see Judea, Samaria, the Benjamin area and the Jordan Valley in the course of an organized visit. Some of the few that do visit these places do so in the framework of "Breaking the Silence" and other anti- Zionist organizations. Often, these young people return to the Diaspora without real knowledge of the historical facts and of what is actually happening in these areas. They can easily be taken in by the Palestinian narrative, and become ashamed of the State of Israel and its policies.

The "Yama VaKedma" Program initiative creates change among young Jews in the Diaspora. This is a program that influences the future of the Jewish nation and the world’s attitude towards Judea and Samaria and the Arab-Israeli conflict. We bring the young people to these historic territories, where natural beauty meets Jewish strength. We expose them to the story of Jewish settlement in the heartland of the Land of Israel and the rebirth of the Jewish people in its homeland after thousands of years of exile - the fulfillment of the Zionist dream.

The Lavi Olami counselors know how to speak to young people in “their own language.” They present the State of Israel as a source of Jewish pride and strength; they explain the just cause of the Jewish State, and provide students with the tools and knowledge to respond to anti-Semitic and anti-Israel propaganda on campus. The counselors infuse participants with the desire to serve as Israel’s ambassadors and advocates wherever they go.

The target audiences of this program are two groups: young Diaspora Jews who are studying in Israel in year-long or semester programs as well as students who are in Israel for shorter visits.

We organize tours, seminars, meetings and workshops all over Israel.

Future Project
Lavi Olami Virtual Beit Midrash

In the Lavi Olami Virtual Beit Midrash, we will offer the opportunity to study the Siddur and Jewish prayer to those that are interested, so that they will feel more comfortable when they attend synagogue services. We will invite young people in the Diaspora to study Hebrew several times a week and we will talk with youth counselors and help them prepare activities for their groups on Shabbat.

University students worldwide will have a “Havruta" –study partner – on the subject of Israel advocacy and we will open a hotline that can help them deal with anti-Semitism and anti-Israel narratives on campus. We will provide young Jews with the opportunity to study Jewish texts and subjects of their own choosing with young Israelis as their Havrutot – study partners.

"A Candy for Shabbat" is the name of the program in which young people in Israel will be in touch with their brothers and sisters in the Diaspora before Shabbat, share a "live" D'var Torah, chat with them and develop friendships.

The Next Stage

LAVI hosts THE NEXT STAGE Sunday nights in Jerusalem for recent olim to Israel seeking to actively participate in the story of the Jewish people. The objective of the initiative is to define the next goals of the Zionist movement by creating a space for olim to collectively examine the Jewish people’s ideological foundations, historic roots, national aspirations, past achievements and current challenges in order to properly apply those ideological foundations to Israel’s current challenges within the context of Jewish aspirations and what has already been achieved.

Future Project: Havat Lavi

Olim active with LAVI are seeking to create an agricultural training center that will present opportunities for bringing students and tourists to learn about the authentic Jewish approach to farming and shepherding. The center will also provide expression for residents involved in the arts.

The goal is to create, stage by stage, a center for olim, students and tourists to learn and engage in farming, livestock and the arts from a uniquely Hebrew perspective.

The proposed project aims to directly involve volunteers (stemming mostly from groups of young Diaspora Jews in Israel on programs or pre/post program) and to engage all those seeking to make an ideological contribution to the State of Israel.

Shabbat Eretz Yisrael

LAVI Olami organizes educational/social Shabbat programs for olim in historically significant Jewish communities where participants interact with local residents and experience Shabbat on the frontlines of Jewish history. The Shabbat programs, as social as they are educational, include a half-day Friday tour and build a sense of community and mutual support among like-minded olim interested in actively participating in the story of their people.