OTS Impact Report - 2021-2022 Digital

Mission

Ohr Torah Stone is a Modern Orthodox movement
committed to illuminating authentic Torah Judaism which is
rooted in halakha, and profoundly relevant to contemporary
life. Fueled by 30 educational institutions, social projects,
outreach programs and leadership development initiatives
for men and women, OTS works to strengthen Jewish life,
learning, leadership and society worldwide.

Vision

Ohr Torah Stone envisions a world in which every Jew has
access to dynamic Jewish learning opportunities and vibrant,
welcoming Jewish communities which engage our children
and inspire our grandchildren to seek justice, perfect the
world, and serve as a light unto the nations.

Photo credits: Jared Bernstein, Yoav Bowman, Boaz Cohen, Gershon Ellinson, Dovi Schamroth, Yonit Schiller,
OTS students and faculty. Graphic design: Zatar Creative.

Table Of Contents

Mission & Vision

Messages From Our Leadership.................................................................... 2

Program Highlights .......................................................................................... 4

Yad La’isha: The Monica Dennis Goldberg
Legal Aid Center & Hotline................................................................................ 4
Educating the Leaders of Tomorrow................................................................. 6

Men’s and Women’s Learning/Army Programs
Junior High and High Schools
The Ann Belsky Moranis Program for the Arts

Connecting Overseas Students to Torah and Israel ......................................... 12

The Maria & Joel Finkle Overseas Program
The Amlat Program for Latin American Students
The Elaine & Norm Brodsky Darkaynu Program

Cultivating a New Generation of Spiritual Leadership .................................... 16

The Susi Bradfield Women’s Institute of Halakhic Leadership
The Joseph & Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary
The Monique & Mordecai Katz Academic Studies Program

Outreach ....................................................................................................... 20

The Beren-Amiel & Straus-Amiel Emissary Training Programs
Support for Ukrainian Refugees
The Yachad Program for Jewish Identity

Conversion Programs .................................................................................... 26

The Jewish Learning Center (JLC)
The Conversion Program for Spanish Speakers

Interfaith Programs ...................................................................................... 28

The Beit Midrash for Judaism and Humanity
The Blickle Institute for Interfaith Dialogue
The Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC)

Capital Improvements .................................................................................. 30

Financials .......................................................................................................... 32

1

You should feel proud.

W hen the pandemic broke out you helped us adapt to
keep students and staff safe, care for the many people
who were in need, and find ways to connect people
to community when they craved connection more than ever.
This year, as we cautiously returned to our “new normal,” you
remained right by our side.

You have helped us find new ways to provide women and men
with the highest level of Jewish learning. You have helped young
people fulfill their potential through opportunities to express
themselves artistically, innovative experiential education
programs, and meaningful Torah study.

Your support of training for OTS emissaries ensured that
when war broke out, our rabbis and educators on the ground
were ready to do everything possible to help refugees fleeing
Ukraine. Your concern for agunot has enabled us to continue to
adapt services to provide them with everything they need
to gain their freedom and rebuild their lives.

Your generosity is touching so many lives. This impact report
is a tribute to you.

Kenneth Brander Shlomo Riskin
President and Founder and
Rosh HaYeshiva Rosh HaYeshiva

2

O hr Torah Stone is blessed with visionary leaders who have
built an organization based on the premise that Torah values
should inform every aspect of our lives, that Torah is relevant,
timeless, belongs to all Jews and offers a road map to respond to
every challenge that life hands us.

Thanks to our visionary leaders and to all of you, Ohr Torah
Stone has proven its character and strength. You are helping
Ohr Torah Stone give all students — boys and girls, men and
women, Israelis and Americans, soldiers, rabbis, and those
with special needs — the opportunity to find their spiritual
space, to learn and to thrive. You are helping agunot win their
freedom and care for their families. And you are helping every
Israeli facilitator in our Yachad Program for Jewish Identity and
every emissary across the globe find creative ways of building
community and connecting people to Jewish life.

Thank you for being part of the Ohr Torah Stone family, for
giving Jewish teens and adults the highest quality, relevant
Jewish education; fostering Jewish leadership, building Jewish
communities across the globe and helping those in need.

Zev Weiss Fred Ehrman Laurence Schreiber
Chair Chair Vice-Chair
Israeli Board US Board US Board

3

“Released” — Yad La’isha helped Orly and Estee to Marganit and Yitzchak married, had
finally break free from their marriages, after 14 and five children, and lived a simple life.
4.5 years, respectively as agunot. She works in a supermarket, and for
years, he traveled back and forth
4 to the United States, collecting
tzedakah for needy families. Out-
side the home, he helped people in
need. Within their home, he caused
tremendous pain through the
abuse he inflicted on Marganit.

Unwilling to accept his violence any
longer, 13 years ago, Marganit told
Yitzchak she wanted a divorce, but he
refused. Marganit’s Yad La’isha legal
advocate fought in the rabbinical
courts for her freedom, while her
social worker provided counseling
and guidance that helped her build
a career using her training as a
massage therapist.

Thanks to your generosity, today,
Marganit has her get. She is free
and working to support her family
on her own.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today
without Yad La’isha’s support,”
says Marganit.

25 Years! Yad La’isha: Over 10,000
The Monica Dennis
Goldberg Legal Aid visits to the prenuptial
Center & Hotline agreement landing page:
haheskem.org.il in just over a
Yad La’isha: The Monica Dennis Goldberg Legal Aid Center year since it launched.
& Hotline provides expert legal representation to help
agunot (women whose husbands refuse to grant a get — a 690
Jewish divorce) secure a divorce. Recognizing that this piece
of paper alone won’t help women rebuild their lives, Yad women receive free
La’isha also provides individualized therapeutic support legal advice annually from
to help them overcome years of abuse, rebuild self-esteem, Yad La’isha.
access relevant resources, and care for themselves and their
children. Generous donor support has also enabled Yad 50Nearly
La’isha to provide food and other emergency support to those
agunot most in need. agunot represented by Yad
La’isha received a get since
Today, Yad La’isha operates four offices: in Afula, Beer Sheva, September 2021.
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Crucial Preventative Efforts

Generous donor support enabled Yad La’isha to establish the
Prenuptial Agreement Advocacy Initiative, the most proactive
effort to reduce the number of agunot in Israel. Yad La’isha
runs extensive PR campaigns, gives seminars across Israel, and
builds partnerships to educate Israelis about the importance
of signing a halakhic prenuptial agreement — a crucial step in
the fight against get abuse. For information and to download
Yad La’isha’s prenuptial agreement, go to: haheskem.org.il

Yad La’isha is constantly advocating for legislation to help
agunot. In just one example, Yad La’isha helped pass a law
enabling Israel to arrest recalcitrant husbands who travel to
Israel, even if they are not Israeli citizens, and hold them in
prison until they agree to grant a get — a law that has helped us
free numerous women.

5

316 Coming from a family of army officers and commanders,
Noa always knew she wanted to pursue IDF service
young men and women following high school. A year of study through the
studied at Ohr Torah Stone Hadas program at Midreshet Lindenbaum gave her the
pre-army programs this year. infusion of learning and spirituality she wanted before
entering the largely secular army atmosphere.
420
Noa has been promoted several times since enlisting in
Ohr Torah Stone hesder and the IDF Education Corps in 2019. Today, she heads
Hadas soldiers are currently a division responsible for helping soldiers from minority
serving in the IDF. groups (new immigrants, Bedouins, Christians, Druze
and Muslims) improve their Hebrew skills before
6 beginning their IDF jobs. She returns to Midreshet
Lindenbaum whenever she can.

“In the army, I see myself as a kind of emissary, showing
by example what it means to be a strong religious
woman. Hadas provided the foundation I needed.”

N OA A L O U S H , HADAS SOLDIER

Educating the Leaders
of Tomorrow

Thanks to your generosity, Ohr Torah Stone’s midrasha and Y. enlisted in the Israel
yeshiva army programs enable young Israeli men and women Defense Forces in 2018 as
to build their Torah knowledge and personal character and part of the hesder program
serve in meaningful roles in the Israel Defense Forces, with at the Robert M. Beren
support from their rabbis and teachers throughout their Machanaim Hesder
service. Yeshiva. After serving
in special operations for
Five Yeshivot and Midrashot Leading to the elite “Shayetet” (navy
IDF Service reconnaissance) unit, today
he is a Deputy Company
For Men: Commander for a unit of
• Robert M. Beren Machanaim Hesder Yeshiva 65 combat soldiers.
• OTS Metivta–Carmiel
“I was attracted to the
For Women: Hadas: The Claudia Cohen Torah/Army School high-level Torah learning
• Midreshet Lindenbaum–Jerusalem and open-minded
• Midreshet Lindenbaum–Lod approach I knew I would
• Midreshet Lindenbaum–Matat, Carmiel find at Machanaim. I
gained a broad perspective
and tools that I use daily
in my interactions with the
diverse group of soldiers
under my command.”

Y., MACHANAIM HESDER
SOLDIER (DUE TO HIS JOB
IN THE IDF, WE ARE NOT
ALLOWED TO USE Y’S FULL
NAME.)

20% of Ohr Torah Stone soldiers become IDF

commanders or officers.

7

Ohr Torah Stone’s junior high Six Junior High & High
and high schools combine Schools:
high-level Torah studies,
academic excellence and For Girls:
a strong emphasis on • Jennie Sapirstein Junior High and High School for Girls
community involvement. • Oriya High School for Girls
Schools offer tailored learning • Neveh Channah High School, in Memory of Anna Ehrman
opportunities for each student,
according to his or her needs. For Boys:
Thanks to generous donor • Derech Avot Junior High and High School for Boys, on the
support, robust programs for
students in special education Mitzner Campus
include specialized speech • Jacob Sapirstein Junior High and High School for Boys
therapy for students with • Neveh Shmuel Yeshiva High School, in Memory of Samuel
ASD, and professional-level
canine and vocational training Pinchas Ehrman, on the Mitzner Campus
programs.
Speaking about Derech Avot School for
The schools educate students Boys, Boaz Cohen shares, “The teachers care
to be sensitive, active members about every student.”
of their communities. During
a school trip following a wave Boaz has ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)
of terror attacks, Derech Avot and was in a special small class during his
students realized they were first year, where he gained intensive support
near Kisra-Sumie, the home to help him learn skills that many of us take for granted — how to
of the Druze police officer make eye contact during a conversation, understand what
who was killed while trying to another person is saying, and know how to respond appropriately.
disarm a terrorist in Hadera. When he felt ready to move into a regular class, his teachers
The students insisted on were by his side. He continues to receive the therapeutic
diverting from the itinerary to assistance he needs to succeed in school and beyond.
pay a condolence call.
“Derech Avot is always willing to make changes so that students
In his emotional words to the will have the best possible experience. It wasn’t easy to move
group, the father of the slain into the regular class, but the teachers encouraged me. Thanks
officer thanked them for to their support, I am more confident and I’m taking initiative.
coming, saying, “We share Some friends and I are creating a film about what it’s like to
the same land and the same be a student with special needs, and when I shared that I am
destiny. We are so grateful that interested in photography, the school found ways to help me
you came.” pursue my passion.” (One of Boaz’s photos appears in this
Impact Report.)
8
“Every school helps students complete their graduation
requirements, but Derech Avot is giving me so much more.
It’s preparing me for life.”

Impressed by the students she met when 2,500Nearly
she visited and with the high level of learn-
ing, Carmel Blumenthal chose to attend students studied at OTS junior
Neveh Channah High School for Girls. high and high schools in 2021-
2022.
“I’m from Nechusha, about a 30 minute
drive from Gush Etzion. I didn’t know any- 95% of OTS
one at the school, and yet I’m so happy with my choice. The
staff is always available to listen and help with anything we high school students complete
need and I’ve learned so much in so many different areas.” the bagrut matriculation exams
(40% higher than the national
Carmel majored in computer science and literature and also average).
took advantage of the Etrog program, where she had additional
hours of Torah study and deepened her Jewish connection 2This year, Ohr Torah Stone
without the pressure of grades. Every Wednesday after the
official end of the school day, Etrog attracts approximately 140 students completed Shas
students who stay late to study Jewish texts and philosophy
and explore their spiritual connection to Jewish heritage. (learning the entire Talmud).

“At Etrog, I had the opportunity to simply enjoy the experience
of learning Torah. It was a major factor in my decision to go to
midrasha next year.”

9

Gilad Itzkovich loved the diversity of
opportunities he found at Neveh
Shmuel Yeshiva High School for Boys,
in memory of Samuel Pinchas Ehrman.
“It’s an academic school with high-level
Torah studies and a strong emphasis on
community involvement, with diverse
areas of study to choose from.” This year,
Neveh Shmuel ranked first nationally
in the number of students passing the
bagrut (matriculation) exams.

Gilad majored in both Physics and Film,
exploring two very different interests.
“While physics is very practical, film
introduced me to a whole new world.
We learned everything about the
creative process and techniques from
start to finish, creating very professional
final projects.”

10

The Ann Belsky Moranis Hallel Fuchs was excited
Program for the Arts about the opportunity to
study dance at Oriya High
The Ann Belsky Moranis Program for the Arts gives students School for Girls. She heard
at Ohr Torah Stone’s high schools the opportunity to express it was a wonderful school
their creativity and spirituality while gaining professional where the teachers invest
skills through majors in art, dance, theater, filmmaking and in the students, above and
graphic design. Students find personal fulfillment as they beyond the academic studies.
explore social and spiritual issues through these creative
outlets. The program provides them with matriculation “Dance was the reason I
options on par with the standard Israeli curriculum. OTS arts wanted to come to school
majors must produce works of the highest quality which are each day. It gave me
graded by the Ministry of Education on aesthetic, technique, confidence and the ability
creativity and the underlying message. to express myself physically,
emotionally and spiritually.”
600Nearly students major in different
For her final 12th grade project
areas of the arts each year through the Ann Belsky in her major, Hallel choreo-
graphed a dance she called
Moranis Program for the Arts. “Daniel,” exploring the way in
which others see us and how
we see ourselves. “Developing
the dance was a very
introspective process that
helped me understand how
I view myself and how I deal
with different events in life.”

Hallel is excited to continue
on to another Ohr Torah
Stone institution next year:
Midreshet Lindenbaum-
Matat, in Carmiel.

11

2,000Nearly women Rachel Susman, from
Englewood, NJ, was
around the world are alumnae of immediately impressed by
the strong faculty, serious
the Maria & Joel Finkle Overseas learning environment,
and warmth she found at the Maria & Joel Finkle
Program at Midreshet Lindenbaum. Overseas Program at Midreshet Lindenbaum.

Midreshet Lindenbaum attracts speakers “I love having such warm, top-notch teachers who
who are leading figures in Israeli society. are always available to answer our questions.
They encourage us to learn the sources and find
“You have made the best possible decision our path.”
to come here to learn Torah and then go
out to listen, learn, and lead.” Through the specialized Matmidot Scholars
program, staff mentors guide participants in
NAFTALI BENNETT researching and writing in-depth articles about
FO R M E R PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL Jewish philosophy or a halakhic (Jewish legal)
topic of interest. Students also enjoy weekly
seminars with local Jewish leaders.

A Matmidot scholar, Rachel chose to explore a
very relevant subject in the COVID-19 world:
halakhic precedents related to issues such as social
distancing and isolation, as seen through the
Torah and past pandemics. The compilation of
articles produced by Matmidot scholars is
published each year in a special journal.

“At Midreshet Lindenbaum, I learned to love Torah
learning. We were encouraged to ask questions, to
think, and to always strive to grow.”

12

Inspiring Students from 400Out of
Overseas
young women from Latin
The Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program, housed on the America who have participated
Chana and Yaacov Tilles Campus at Midreshet Lindenbaum in Amlat, 30% have made
offers English-speaking high school graduates from around the Aliyah.
world an unparalleled Jewish learning experience through a
year of intensive Torah study in the Linda and Murray Laulicht
Beit Midrash, in a supportive religious environment.

Midreshet Lindenbaum’s Amlat Program for Latin American
Students is a one of a kind program enabling Spanish-speaking
young women to immerse themselves in full-time Torah study
in Israel.

“Midreshet Lindenbaum has provided Rachel with an
extraordinary experience. She has gained the tools to engage
in the dialogues of rabbinic commentators over the centuries
and forge her own path. Through Matmidot, she has had the
opportunity to think beyond the classroom and confront
complex challenges to committed Jews in our modern world.

Midreshet Lindenbaum understands that Jewish women need
to be challenged, inspired and celebrated, and given the
opportunity to enjoy Judaism even as they commit to continuing
and strengthening their heritage.”

ROBIN REINGOLD AND JONATHAN SUSMAN
RACHEL’S PARENTS

13

Founded 18 years ago, the Elaine & Norm Brodsky Darkaynu
Program is the only Orthodox program offering young adults
with special needs the opportunity to spend a year in Israel,
learning Torah and connecting to their roots.

Through Darkaynu’s unique “sidestreamed” curriculum,
students engage in a highly structured program of their own
within a larger mainstream environment. Students gain
vocational and life skills that help them live as independently
as possible long after their time with Darkaynu.

250Darkaynu students enjoyed over hours of paired chevruta learning

with their mainstream peers this past year.

14

300Darkaynu students participated in over hours of vocational

training over the course of the year.

Nissin Katz received one-on-one
support throughout his schooling,
due to learning and physical
challenges. After finishing high
school in Baltimore, he very much
wanted to learn Torah in Israel, just
like his peers. He just had to find
a place where he would get the
support he needed.

During his three years in Darkaynu,
Nissin loved learning with his chevrutot (learning partners),
and going to work at Mintzer’s Judaica store. Last year, he
lived in an apartment together with other veteran students
like himself, gaining skills for life well beyond Darkaynu.

His father, Aron Katz, explains, “There is no other program
anywhere in the world that gives young adults with special
needs the physical and logistical support they need while
learning Torah. People talk about the ‘gap year.’ Kids with
special needs have a very different gap to fill. Darkaynu fills
this gap and provides a bridge to the next stage of their life.”

15

Rabbi Itamar Frisch, a graduate of The Joseph & Gwendolyn Straus
Rabbinical Seminary, recently became the Rabbi of Beit HaKnesset
HaDati Leumi in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem.
What’s special about the Straus Rabbinical Seminary?
I think it may be the only rabbinical seminary in Israel that provides
real rabbinic training alongside the study of halakha (Jewish law).
The learning is on a very high level, and at the same time, the focus
is very much on helping people understand what it means to be the
rabbi of a community.
How did your experience at the Straus Rabbinical Seminary
influence how you see your role today?
I want to build a community that speaks to people. My yeshiva
experience emphasized the interaction between Judaism and all
aspects of our lives. As a synagogue rabbi, I need to be aware of the
various elements of people’s lives in order to counsel, guide, and
inspire them to strengthen their Jewish connection.

16

Cultivating a New 325
Generation of Spiritual
Leadership rabbis have completed semikha
(rabbinic ordination) at the
The Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary Joseph and Gwendolyn
offers two rabbinic training semikha programs, both housed Straus Rabbinical Seminary.
at the Israel Henry Beren Men’s Campus: a two-year program,
which gives students the halakhic knowledge and training 27 students are
they need to serve Diaspora communities, and a five-year pro-
gram, which trains spiritual leaders for Israel. Both programs currently studying towards
cover the traditional topics and train spiritual leaders who semikha.
can bridge secular and religious realms and expose the beauty
and relevance of Judaism to communities across the world.

The Monique and Mordecai Katz Academic Studies Program
incorporates advanced academic courses as part of the Torah
study curriculum for rabbinic students as well as students in
the Robert M. Beren Machanaim Hesder Yeshiva. The program
ensures that all young men who come through the yeshiva’s
doors will understand the interface between Judaism and the
humanities, science and contemporary reality, through classes
in areas such as philosophy, psychology and political science.

350Over young

men have benefitted from the

Monique & Mordecai Katz

Academic Studies Program

to date.

17

14 Pioneering Women’s
Leadership
fellows have graduated from
WIHL’s five-year program. The Susi Bradfield Women’s Institute of Halakhic Leadership
(WIHL) offers qualified women the opportunity to engage in the
25 highest levels of Torah scholarship and gain practical training
in spiritual leadership through an intensive five-year program.
professional women are Fellows and graduates are serving in groundbreaking roles as
studying in the International the spiritual leaders of synagogues, communities and schools
Halakha Scholars Program. and as Talmud teachers for boys and girls, men and women.

18 Thanks to generous donor support, The International Halakha
Scholars Program launched this year under the auspices of
WIHL with a cohort of 25 highly professional women from
around the world. Participants are studying halakha (Jewish
law) in-depth through weekly online classes, gaining an insider
understanding of the Jewish legal process, and skills that will
make them more effective organizational and community
leaders.

“Thanks to what I’ve learned in this
program, I’m more comfortable
teaching halakha. Both boys and
girls should see women learning in
the Beit Midrash and should know
we can be a resource when they
have questions.”

E S T I H O N I G , LIMUDEI KODESH
TEACHER AT KOHELET YESHIVA
ACADEMY IN MERION, PENNSYLVANIA

Rabbanit Chamutal Shoval will be the 19
first WIHL graduate to take on a position
outside of Israel, as a Talmud teacher
at Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in
Livingston, New Jersey and a scholar in
residence for Ohr Torah Stone, teaching
in communities across North America.

“WIHL gave me the basis to learn and to
teach. After five years of serious study of
halakha, I have the tools to teach in different educational frameworks
and to be an address for halakhic questions that arise in schools and
in the community.”

“As a member of the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School faculty,
Rabbanit Shoval will add a unique and inspiring dimension to Torah
study. Together with our dedicated and talented faculty, Rabbanit
Shoval will enhance women’s Torah study in the RKYHS Beit Midrash
and in the greater JKHA RKYHS community.”

R A B B I E L I E Z E R E . R U B I N , HEAD OF SCHOOL, JKHA RKYHS

ARGENTINA ESTONIA RUSSIA
AUSTRALIA FINLAND
BELGIUM GERMANY SCOTLAND
BRAZIL HONG KONG
CANADA ITALY SINGAPORE
CHINA KENYA
COLOMBIA MEXICO SOUTH AFRICA
CZECH REPUBLIC LATVIA
DENMARK NORWAY SPAIN
ECUADOR PERU
ENGLAND POLAND SWEDEN
PORTUGAL
SWITZERLAND

TURKEY “Our goal is to strengthen people’s love of
URUGUAY Israel and connection to their heritage.
VENEZUALA The Beren-Amiel program gave us an
USA important understanding of Diaspora
communities and educational tools to
help us make the greatest possible
impact on our students.”

A L O N A N D K A R E E N N AG A R , JUDAIC
STUDIES TEACHERS AT HILLEL YESHIVA IN
DEAL, NEW JERSEY

20

Outreach 1,300Over

The Beren-Amiel and Straus-Amiel Emissary Training young adults have completed
Programs prepare rabbis and educators with the practical the Beren-Amiel and Straus-
tools they need to serve as leaders in Diaspora communities Amiel Emissary Training
throughout the world, and provide the emissaries with ongoing Programs.
support and guidance throughout their time in the field.
278 emissaries
“Hong Kong has a diverse Jewish community with English-
speaking families from all over the world. The Straus-Amiel are currently working in 96
program helped us understand the importance of shlichut, cities in 34 countries around
and is constantly giving us new ideas to help us connect the world.
people to their Jewish roots and legacy.”
R A B B I AV I E L A N D M I C H A L JAVA S K Y, RABBINIC COUPLE IN 30 young adults
HONG KONG
graduated this year and will
begin new positions in the
coming months.

35 graduates began

new positions this year, every-
where from Denver, Colorado
to Lima, Peru, from Toronto,
Canada to Berlin, Germany.
They are working as assistant
rabbis, youth leaders and
community educators, inspiring
Jews in their communities to
strengthen their Jewish identity
and connection to Israel.

Recent graduates Rabbi
Azi and Atara Horvitch
will serve as the rabbinic
couple at Princeton
University.

21

1,000Nearly Ukrainian refugees helped

Risha Luzetsky, 22, grew up in a
Ukrainian orphanage. Her mother
died during the birth of Risha’s
younger brother and her father
was an alcoholic who couldn’t
care for the children. When
hostilities began in Ukraine,
Chabad emissaries brought
Risha and other children from the
orphanage to Israel.

Greatly impacted by fetal alcohol
syndrome, Risha has various
developmental disabilities. She is now in a new country and a new
culture – a scary situation for anyone, but especially for someone
like Risha who has already gone through so much in her life. She
recently joined the Elaine & Norm Brodsky Darkaynu Program.
Thanks to your generosity, she had the opportunity to learn Torah,
acclimate to Israel, and gain crucial skills for life, along with the
guidance she needs to figure out what’s next. Risha will be joining
the program again next year.

“I’m happy to be far away from the war zone, together with
other girls,” says Risha.

22

Support for Ukrainian 5 tonsOver
Refugees
of humanitarian and medical
When people began fleeing Ukraine, you were there to help. supplies delivered
Your generous support enabled Beren-Amiel and Straus-Amiel
emissaries to provide refugees with food and other urgent “You created a special Purim
supplies, temporary housing, and comfort. Emissaries in atmosphere for so many
Poland and Germany worked around the clock and others people in desperate need
from locations around the world traveled to the borders with of a spiritual and emotional
Ukraine and to European Jewish communities to assist. boost.”
RABBI MICHAEL SHUDRICH
When the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Rabbi Michael Shudrich CHIEF RABBI OF POLAND
requested that OTS mobilize to collect necessary items and
“bring Purim joy to the refugees,” you answered the call, 23
enabling OTS to coordinate a delegation that brought 1,000
pounds of supplies and created festive megilla readings
at refugee centers around Poland. In addition, Rabbi Yoni
Hollander, principal of OTS’s Derech Avot Junior High & High
School, together with his wife, Haggit Hollander, collected
and personally delivered five tons of medicines and medical
supplies to help Ukrainians in Kyiv.

300,000Each year, secular Israelis in over 80 communities

across Israel connect to Jewish life through the Yachad Program for Jewish Identity.

“In Israel, the matnas The Yachad Program for Jewish Identity offers Israelis warm,
(community center) is where welcoming venues to explore their Jewish heritage and
informal education takes celebrate Jewish life. Programs bring together secular and
place. Yachad programs religious Israelis to celebrate their shared heritage and ensure
focus on Jewish holidays their children will have a vibrant Jewish future.
and life cycle events, bring-
ing parents and children
together and connecting
them to Judaism and to the
community. They are critical
to strengthening the Jewish
fabric of Israeli society.”

L I O R B E C K E R , MATNAS
DIRECTOR, YOKNEAM, ISRAEL

• Shofar BaPark (Rosh
Hashana programming)
and Yom Kippur services

• Chanukah candle lighting

• Tu B’shvat seders

• Megilla Ba’kehilla
(community megilla
readings)

• Pesach programs for all
age groups

• Yom HaShoah (Holocaust
Remembrance Day)
programming

• Yom Hazikaron
commemorations
and Yom Ha’atzmaut
celebrations

• Volunteer initiatives to
help people in need

• Kabbalat Shabbat

• Bar/Bat Mitzvah learning
programs

24

“Young adults living in cities 25
are desperate to connect to a
community and meet people
with similar values,” shares
Chen Fox.

Your support of the Yachad
Program for Jewish Identity is
helping Chen build a community
filled with Jewish content for
young adults in his neighbor-
hood of Northern Tel Aviv. Chen
helps the local Yachad Jewish facilitator organize regular Shabbat
meals and holiday programs that attract between 50 and 70 young
adults each time.

“There is a huge population of people who aren’t necessarily religious
but want to celebrate Jewish traditions and develop a community
that is comfortable for them. Yachad enables us to connect to our
heritage and meet other young adults like ourselves.”

“The Jewish Learning Center is a tremendous
resource for Orthodox conversions. Rabbi Kalb
provides a thorough curriculum of study for
conversion and is a wonderful guide for those
going through the process.”

RABBI ELI WEINSTOCK
JEWISH CENTER OF ATLANTIC BEACH

26

Conversion Programs 2,000Nearly

Thousands of people in the United States, Israel and countries people across Europe, South
around the world want to become part of the Jewish people. America, Australia, India and
Each individual and each community comes with a different Africa have converted with
story, but all seek a warm, welcoming process in which they the help of Ohr Torah Stone.
can learn about Jewish heritage and tradition and begin their OTS emissaries are providing
lives as Jews. Ohr Torah Stone works with people from San Jewish education and
Salvador to Uganda, from Israel to the United States, teaching leadership in many of these
them Judaism, connecting them to Jewish communities, and communities.
helping them convert to Judaism and live full Jewish lives.
208
Spencer Cone grew up with a Jewish
father and non-Jewish mother. “When people have completed
my grandfather researched our family’s Jewish Learning Center (JLC)
roots, he discovered that we’re descen- conversion classes.
dants of “the Shach” (a 17th century
Talmudist who wrote a commentary on 135
the Shulchan Aruch, a compilation of
Jewish law). We are very connected to people participated in OTS’s
our family history, but we didn’t know much about Judaism Conversion Program for
and our home was pretty secular.” Spanish Speakers this year.

Many children who grow up like Spencer would leave Jewish 27
life altogether. However, he gradually learned more, became
involved in Jewish life, and decided that he needed to complete
an Orthodox conversion process.

“I wanted to be accepted by everyone as a Jew. My Hebrew
teacher connected me to (Jewish Learning Center Director)
Rabbi David Kalb, and I joined JLC’s yearlong Basic Judaism
class.

At JLC, I gained an appreciation for the universality of Judaism.
While tradition and halakha (Jewish law) are at the core of
Jewish life, there is room for someone like me, who didn’t grow
up immersed in it.”

Spencer completed his conversion at the end of April and
married Lila Nadelmann on Lag B’Omer (May 19th) in a
traditional Jewish ceremony. “My family has important Jewish
lineage. While most of my family has discarded their Jewish
connection, thanks to JLC, I’m now the one carrying the
Jewish flame.”

85 lectures on

interfaith relations have been
given by the Blickle Institute
for Interfaith Dialogue since
September 2021 at high schools,
seminaries and yeshivas.

31meetings have taken Interfaith Programs

place since September 2021 After 2,000 years facing discrimination as a minority in other
with other faith groups. countries, Jews are now the sovereigns in Medinat Yisrael,
requiring us to consider how halakha (Jewish law) addresses our
16 articles have been relationships with minorities and people of other faiths. The Beit
Midrash for Judaism and Humanity and the Blickle Institute for
published this year in English Interfaith Dialogue launched in 2020 to create a new discourse
and Hebrew on interfaith around interfaith relations and explore the role of the Jewish
activities. people in the story of humanity.

28 Through the Beit Midrash for Judaism and Humanity, four
scholars are engaged in the first-ever beit midrash research and
preparation of halakhic literature related to Judaism’s vision of
world religions and the treatment of minorities in the State of
Israel. The Beit Midrash is currently publishing its first book
(on the status of other religions according to Judaism), in loving
memory of Stewart Harris, z”l. They are working on a second
book on Israel’s responsibility to minority groups and the rights
of minorities in a Jewish state, to be published in 2023. These
books will be used by intellectuals, professors, researchers,
teachers, heads of yeshivot, and political leaders.

The Blickle Institute for Interfaith Dialogue uses the Beit
Midrash’s research to train Blickle Fellows (senior Jewish
educators and organizational leaders, from Haredi to Modern
Orthodox). Through participation in an intensive, yearlong
program fellows meet Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders, as
they explore the three faiths’ approaches to interfaith dialogue
and ways they can work together to advance respectful relations
across Israeli society.

Ohr Torah Stone’s first interfaith program, The Hertog Center
for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC)
shares a positive perspective on Israel with thousands of
Christian tourists, college students and leading academics,
offering an important response to the Boycott, Divestment
Sanctions (BDS) movement.

“There is no substitute for
meeting and striving to
have honest dialogues
with key figures from Arab
society. The goal is for us
to build healthier relations
over the long term.”
RABBI YITZCHAK BEN
DAV I D , COMMUNITY RABBI
IN TZUR HADASSAH AND
A FELLOW IN THE BLICKLE
INSTITUTE

29

Capital Improvements

We wish to thank very generous donors who have enabled Ohr
Torah Stone to develop truly state-of-the-art facilities, beautiful
spaces that foster Torah learning, personal development and
growth. Recent capital projects include:
• Moving to a new campus and dedicating the Beit Midrash

at Midreshet Lindenbaum-Lod.
• Building the Dorit and Ben J. Genet Auditorium at Oriya

High School for Girls (to be completed in the coming
months) which will offer students a space where they can
develop in the creative arts and showcase performances for
the school and broader community.
• Planning for Mishkan Shlomo, a new Beit Midrash in honor
of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin at Neveh Shmuel Yeshiva High
School, in memory of Samuel Pinchas Ehrman.

30

2022 Projected Budget

Ohr Torah Stone worldwide

)‫ יד‬,‫מתן בסתר יכפה אף (משלי כא‬

In discussing the value of giving in secret, King Solomon
explains that giving tzedekah in secret helps build a world
based on chesed. PROVERBS (21:14)

Income $
Participant Fees $9,000,000
Government Allocations $31,750,000
Municipalities and Other Allocations $1,225,000
Donations $8,200,000
Total Income $50,175,000

Expenses $
Salaries $33,000,000
Program Expenses
Utilities, Maintenance and Equipment $9,000,000
Development $3,000,000
General and Administrative
Total Expenses $700,000
$4,475,000
$50,175,000

Ohr Torah Stone’s accomplishments are your accomplishments.
None of them would be possible without your support.

Thank you!

31

Board of Directors Board of Directors
North America Israel

Fred Ehrman, Chairman Zev Weiss, Chairman 
Laurence Schreiber, Vice Chairman Chana Grajower
S. Daniel Abraham (Res.) IDF Br. General Bentzi Gruber
Gabrielle Altman Alissa Fried Harbater
Yoni Bak David Kahn
Benjamin Belfer Rabbi Shmuel Klitsner
Dr. Marvin Belsky Jay Marcus
Miriam Belsky Prof. Tuvia Peri
Jack C. Bendheim Amir Schwartz 
Judy Hecht Berman  Allan Siegel
Jeffrey Cohen Menachem Spitz
Roger Fine
Jack Forgash Senior Management
David Friedman
Bernard Goldberg Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander
Marvin Goldstein President and Rosh HaYeshiva
Eli Haddad  Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin
Dr. Jonathan Javitt Founder and Rosh HaYeshiva
Murray Laulicht Yinon Ahiman, Director General
Dr. Henry N. Lieberman Menucha Wolf, Chief Financial Officer
Joan Papier Lieberman  David Katz, International Director
John Nanasi Yehuda Shtauber, Vice President of Education
Robert Rothenberg Sima Tuchman Freedman
Ronnie Stern Director of Communications
Daniel E. Straus Dori Zofan
Moshael J. Straus Director of International Partnerships
Morry Weiss

32

To donate visit www.ots.org.il/donate

Ohr Torah Stone • +972-2-548-8444 • [email protected]
Ohr Torah Stone North America • 212-935-8672 • [email protected]

ots.org.il