(IsraelNN.com) Alumni of the Kfar HaRoeh Yeshiva gathered Wednesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the first yeshiva of the Bnei Akiva movement. Receiving the most attention were the yeshiva's early graduates – among them the 93 year old Head of Bnei Akiva Yeshivas, Rabbi Avraham Tzukerman, and Rabbanit Rachel Nerya, widow of Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Nerya.

Rabbi Chaim Druckman, currently the Head of the Center of Bnei Akiva Yeshivas, was also on hand, as was Science and Technology Minister Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz, and the heads of various Bnei Akiva institutions.  

A connections to all aspects of life
With polished Hebrew, Rabbi Tzukerman described Kfar HaRoeh Yeshiva's first days, when the staff and students had almost nothing, materially speaking, but possessed determination and resolve that proved strong enough to overcome the challenges.

Judge Tzvi Tal, an alumnus of one of the yeshiva's first graduating classes, said that “the unique thing about the yeshiva was its connection to all aspects of life, and that is what made us into who we became for the rest of our lives.”

Minister Hershkowitz said that while he had come to deliver the government's blessings to the Bnei Akiva Yeshivas, “the truth is that the blessing of the State of Israel comes from here, from the Bnei Akiva institutions, that symbolize the combination of Torah and work.”

Director of the Center of Bnei Akiva Yeshivas, Elchanan Glat, said at the event that “this is a day of celebration for the establishment of this huge project that began 70 years ago by 13 youths who established Kfar HaRoeh Yeshiva. Now the Association of Bnei Akiva Yeshivas has some 60 institutions with more than 20,000 students.”