Arutz Sheva on Monday attended the ceremony in the city of Modi’in in which the Barkai Prize was handed out to several outstanding Israeli religious community figures.
Founded by Rabbis David Fine and Shlomo Sobol, the Barkai Center trains ordained Religious Zionist rabbis to become communal professionals with the skills to build and lead communities across Israel, and make the riches of Judaism accessible to all.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Rabbi Fine explained, “We felt it was important to gather the heads of the communities, to support the rabbis...We felt it was important to give a prize to a rabbi, a gabbai (sexton) and a community of excellence, in order to demonstrate the importance of building a community in Israel today.”
As for the vision of the Barkai Center, Rabbi Fine said, “The idea of the community doesn’t really exist in Israel as it does in the Diaspora...we want to bring a Diaspora model of kehilla (community) to Israel.