An intense, uplifting and joyous two-day "Torah Study Partner for Every Jew" campaign took place on the streets of Tel Aviv this week.
Some 150 young yeshiva students, male and female, took to the streets of Tel Aviv for two days this week, making friends and engaging passers-by in conversation about Passover, Torah, Judaism and G-d. "Our goal was very simple," said organizer Ariel Dorfman of Tel Aviv. "We wanted to forge relationships culminating in a havruta - Torah study partner - for as many Jews as possible."
This was the fourth time the "camp," as it is known, has operated this year. The idea began with a four-day affair last summer, four more days on Sukkot, one day on Chanukah, and now two days this Passover. The ambitious campaign is a joint effort by Komemiyut and the Orthodox Union's Lev Yehudi (Jewish Heart) program.
Dorfman, who moved from Beit El to Tel Aviv two years ago, heads Komemiyut's Teshuvah (return to Judaism) Department, while Yedidya Liebovitch, formerly of Hevron and now living in Ramat Gan, and Ariel Lavi of Elon Moreh headed the activity in the field.
The Two Messiahs
"Our activity is perfectly attuned to the needs of this generation," Liebovitch explained to Arutz-7. "Following the physical re-birth and re-building of the Jewish people in their Land, which is the work of Messiah ben Yosef, the time has now come for Messiah ben David's work - that of returning Jews to the Torah." 
...to meet people, see the real thirst here, and take part in quenching it. 
"Many people say that they know someone who seems interested in Judaism," Yedidya explained, "but they don't know how to approach him; they feel awkward talking about G-d or they don't know how to go about bringing up the topic. Our goal was to break this pattern and enable people to start acting. So we first started learning about the importance and greatness of helping another Jew fulfill the Torah, and learning with another Jew, that this is what G-d wants from this generation. Just like you wouldn't feel awkward about giving away free gifts, we need not feel uncomfortable sharing Torah."
"Then we had to actually start doing it, while learning from our experiences at the same time. To this end, over the past two days, we went out five times into the streets, set up little stands with a few of us in each place, sometimes with musical instruments and some literature, and just started talking to people, saying hello with a genuine smile and asking if they would like to hear about Judaism. Then, after each time, we regrouped and talked about what we did right and wrong. We had workshops and classes by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Meir Shwartz from Lev Yehudi, people from Chabad, and our own home-grown talent..."
"These two days in Tel Aviv were very special, even amazing. Sometimes one thinks that in Tel Aviv, they're all secular, leftist, etc. - but the truth is that there was great interest. In one place I saw eight of our guys, each of them talking to someone else at the same time. They really want to hear and learn! So many new havruta pairs developed just from these two days!"
One young man, Ariel F., who already has some havruta friends from previous "camps," took part just so that he could help match up his friends with havruta study partners. "It really is a valuable and moving experience," he said, "to meet people, see the real thirst here, and take part in quenching it."
Ariel Lavi, responsible for the girls' section, said that the activists came with apprehensions about not being suitable for the task - "who will want to talk with me?" - yet came back with many success stories. "At the end, G-d really made it happen, and about 95% of them came back with emotional and moving stories of people who want to keep up the connection."
Asked how, in fact, the initial contact is made, Lavi said, "Many of the girls felt uncomfortable with pat phrases, and came up with their own, such as, 'Feel like talking about Judaism?' But what we really worked on was the idea that a truly heart-felt 'Hi!' - not just for the purpose of making contact, but by really feeling happiness at meeting another Jew - was the best way to interest people. The girls said that they truly saw that the big-city culture was different than what they were used to - colder and more estranged - and that any sincere sign of friendship was eagerly welcomed."
Admittedly, others have done this type of work before, and "we have learned a lot from them," Ariel Dorfman said. "But I think that we have something special to offer in that we may appear to be more approachable to the secular public. In addition, I think that the philosophy of Rav Kook has much to offer at this point in time - the idea of 'a healthy soul in a healthy body.' We are proud Jews who know their place in this country, feel no need to apologize or to hide their Torah-observance, and can meet the secular Jews at eye-level."
Asked if there are plans to expand the activity to other areas, Lavi said, "There is simply so much work yet to be done in Tel Aviv that we are not entertaining that idea at present."
Komemiyut can be contacted in Israel at phone 03-756-3146 (from abroad: (+9723-756-3146). Its website is currently only in Hebrew.