The Eilat Community Center offers a variety of activities and lectures including sports, health, and youth programs, but had never before hosted Torah educational programs. When the Eilat Hesder Yeshiva suggested the idea, the community center management responded with an enthusiastic "yes," and the trial study/lecture series evolved.
Schwartz's lectures address popular issues from a Torah perspective, and his first
lecture was entitled, "What is Love All About?"
Some 50 participants - none of them religious - showed up for the love workshop. “They left with light in their eyes," says Schwartz, who directs the OU Israel Center's Kehillot Yisrael (Israel Congregations) outreach program. "They said the evening afforded them a serious and captivating encounter with Jewish texts. They strongly identified with what they learned, and talked of internalizing the lessons into their daily lives.”
Each evening opens with a lecture, followed by study and active discussion of ancient/contemporary Jewish texts on the subject matter. The workshop even includes chavruta-style study (one-on-one joint analysis of the texts). The program concludes with each participant stating what he gained from the evening.
Atara Yisraeli, coordinator of the Eilat Community Center adult enrichment programs, said, "The participants were very enthusiastic. We see it as a success because most of the people who came were non-religious. Usually, every time you try to present a program by religious people, the non-religious say, 'Oh oh, they are going to try and make us religious.' However, this time, this was not the case. The non-religious people came because they were interested to hear Rabbi Meir Schwartz speak. When the audience left, they were asking, 'When is he coming again?'"
"The special aspect of this study is that secular Israelis are encountering original texts, in the original Aramaic language of the Talmud," adds Schwartz. "They bring a very fresh perspective in their questions and answers, far different than the types of questions you would hear in a yeshiva study hall."
Schwartz expounded upon the subject matter of the workshop. "One question the group dealt with," says Schwartz, "is why the Talmud calls the relationship between Amnon and his half-sister Tamar (King David's children) 'love,' when, in fact, it resulted in rape and ensuing hatred. Using sources, the group reached the understanding that in Judaism, love is kindled with lust, but is then channeled to a higher level and understanding. Unlike Christianity and Buddhism, which see no holiness in lust, Judaism recognizes that G-d created man with lust for a purpose. Lust can be the beginning of something holy, but man must choose to channel that lust to positive or negative directions. For King David's son Amnon, it all started and ended with lust; he did not view physical attraction as a stepping stone to a complete relationship."
Michal, the director of the Eilat Community Center, said that the evening was one of the most successful evenings that the center has had.
The second lecture of the series was about the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, and 160 people came for the lecture. The renowned Rabbi Mordechai Elon of Jerusalem was the guest speaker and workshop leader.
The third lecture of the series will be delivered on July 4th. Former Israel Air Force pilot Yonatan Levinstein will talk about "Torah and the Desert - Is There an Inherent Connection?"
Beyond occasional lectures, Meir Schwartz operates several centers which he calls Bayit Yehudi [Jewish Home]. He explains, "A Bayit Yehudi is a vibrant spiritual center where we offer people to come and encounter Judaism in ways they never have before. There are lectures, musical events, evenings of singing, one-on-one study, festive meals, and much more. It's a chance to experience firsthand a taste of Judaism without having to walk into a synagogue. The Bayit Yehudi is an open house that invites people.”
There are currently Beyit Yehudi centers operating in Ramat Hasharon and Herzliya near Tel Aviv, Tiberias, Ariel, Moshav Lachish, Kibbutz Naan, and Beit Yehoshua near Netanya.
Schwartz invites people who want to work and help to contact him [050-794-8613, meirsc@gmail.com].
Yaakov Benesch contributed to this article.
Schwartz's lectures address popular issues from a Torah perspective, and his first
lecture was entitled, "What is Love All About?"
Meir Schwartz, Director of OU's Kehillot Yisrael Outreach Program
Each evening opens with a lecture, followed by study and active discussion of ancient/contemporary Jewish texts on the subject matter. The workshop even includes chavruta-style study (one-on-one joint analysis of the texts). The program concludes with each participant stating what he gained from the evening.
Atara Yisraeli, Eilat Community Center
"The special aspect of this study is that secular Israelis are encountering original texts, in the original Aramaic language of the Talmud," adds Schwartz. "They bring a very fresh perspective in their questions and answers, far different than the types of questions you would hear in a yeshiva study hall."
Group study of Jewish texts in Eilat
Schwartz expounded upon the subject matter of the workshop. "One question the group dealt with," says Schwartz, "is why the Talmud calls the relationship between Amnon and his half-sister Tamar (King David's children) 'love,' when, in fact, it resulted in rape and ensuing hatred. Using sources, the group reached the understanding that in Judaism, love is kindled with lust, but is then channeled to a higher level and understanding. Unlike Christianity and Buddhism, which see no holiness in lust, Judaism recognizes that G-d created man with lust for a purpose. Lust can be the beginning of something holy, but man must choose to channel that lust to positive or negative directions. For King David's son Amnon, it all started and ended with lust; he did not view physical attraction as a stepping stone to a complete relationship."
Young and senior adults came to study Jewish texts on "love"
Michal, the director of the Eilat Community Center, said that the evening was one of the most successful evenings that the center has had.
The second lecture of the series was about the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, and 160 people came for the lecture. The renowned Rabbi Mordechai Elon of Jerusalem was the guest speaker and workshop leader.
Rabbi Moti Elon in Eilat sharing insights about the holiday of Shavuot
The third lecture of the series will be delivered on July 4th. Former Israel Air Force pilot Yonatan Levinstein will talk about "Torah and the Desert - Is There an Inherent Connection?"
Rabbi Moti Elon draws large and varied audience in Eilat
Beyond occasional lectures, Meir Schwartz operates several centers which he calls Bayit Yehudi [Jewish Home]. He explains, "A Bayit Yehudi is a vibrant spiritual center where we offer people to come and encounter Judaism in ways they never have before. There are lectures, musical events, evenings of singing, one-on-one study, festive meals, and much more. It's a chance to experience firsthand a taste of Judaism without having to walk into a synagogue. The Bayit Yehudi is an open house that invites people.”
There are currently Beyit Yehudi centers operating in Ramat Hasharon and Herzliya near Tel Aviv, Tiberias, Ariel, Moshav Lachish, Kibbutz Naan, and Beit Yehoshua near Netanya.
Schwartz invites people who want to work and help to contact him [050-794-8613, meirsc@gmail.com].
Yaakov Benesch contributed to this article.