In Elul of 2015 we started a morning program for English speakers in Karmiel who were yearning to grow in Judaism but did not have a way how.
Watching the program grow has been remarkable. It is a wonderful hodgepodge of Jews of different ages (from young fathers to grandparents) coming together to gain tremendous skills and insights by seeing classic Jewish texts under careful guidance. We’ve even had local teenagers join us over the summer while school was out!
Most of the members of the morning program have never had the experience of having a fixed, daily time where they can fill up on Torah. Some have told me that this experience has been life changing. For some members of the community this is the first time they have ever had someone who takes a vested interest in them and their family and can answer the questions they’ve been wanting to ask but have never had the opportunity.
About R’ Yonasan Reiser: My approach to teaching Torah was shaped by my years learning with R’ Yonasan Taub, R’ Emmanuel Bernstein, and R’ Barry Klein, three of the best educators in the world. The philosophy behind everything we do is guided by my Rebbi and mentor, R’ Beryl Gershenfeld, who is the exemplification of expressing Torah as a living song. My Rabbinic certification is from the great Gaon, R’ Zalman Nechemia Goldberg. I have been in Israel since 2005, and we moved to Karmiel in 2012.