The Orthodox Union’s “Revive the Spirit” Program (Mashiv Haruach), in which over 10,000 young IDF soldiers participated in 2009, was recognized this week for its success in reinforcing Jewish and Zionist values
The program was one of the featured “honorees” at the annual Orthodox Union (OU) dinner in Jerusalem. It is essentially an intensive educational and experiential day-long excursion in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem. In addition to talking with rabbis and teachers, the young soldiers visit the sites of heroic and formative battles in the history of the State of Israel.
Specifically, they visit the Lamed-Heh area, just west of Gush Etzion, where, just a few months before Israel declared her independence, 35 Jewish fighters on their way to provide help to beleaguered Gush Etzion were massacred by Arabs. They are also brought to Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, where a multimedia presentation tells them the history of the area, from its fall to Jordanian Arabs in May 1948 to its rebuilding and resettling after the Six Day War in 1967.
The aim, according to Rabbi Avi Berman, head of the OU in Israel, is to make the soldiers “better Jews and better soldiers.” And Rafi Even-Danan, Mashiv Haruach’s program director, is quoted in a recent OU publication as saying, “We approach the soldiers without judging, and they are open to hearing about their heritage and history. ‘This is the real Zionism!’ they tell me. They say, ‘For the first time in my life I understand why I’m fighting.’”
Other sites on the itinerary of hundreds of officers and their soldiers each week are the Masuot Yitzchak Farm, the Gush Etzion memorial site, the Har Etzion Yeshivat Hesder, and more.
It has become a frequent occurrence that the day ends with one or more soldiers saying, in one way or another, “I might not vote for a religious party, but I don’t hate you anymore.”
IDF Officers Speak
Two top IDF officers spoke at the dinner about the program. Brig.-Gen. Eli Shermeister, head of the IDF Educational Corps, said, “Mashiv Haruach exposes IDF soldiers to an entire world of content and values that explain the real reason why and for what we are fighting.” Lt.-Col. Raz Karni, a chief commanding officer in the IDF Educational Corps, also addressed the 400 dinner guests, explaining how Mashiv Haruach has made its mark in inspiring “every single soldier that has participated in the well-thought-out and sensitive seminars held at Gush Etzion.”
The Orthodox Union dinner, held at the Ramada Jerusalem Hotel in celebration of the 43rd anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, paid tribute to Rabbi Ari Kahn and Dr. Ephraim Greenfield. Its keynote speaker was Rabbi Simcha HaKohen Kook, Chief Rabbi of Rehovot. The participants were also treated to a festive holiday prayer service, led by the Ramatayim Men’s Choir under the directorship of Richard Shavei-Tzion.