 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|||
| OHR Online | |||
 |
|||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| OHR Online | |||
|
|||
|
|||
    
|
|
|
|
SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY ISSUEPROMOTIONS AND PRAISE FOR HADASIn September, Talia Bromkish, 20 and Orit Penning, 21, attended ceremonies that marked their promotion to second lieutenant status in the Israel Defense Forces. Like their male counterparts in hesder yeshivas across the country, Talia and Orit spent the months before their army induction in intensive beit midrash study -- made possible by Ohr Torah Stone's two-year-old Hadas program. The only framework for women that combines Torah study and army service, Hadas is opening new horizons for religious women and bringing new idealism into the Israeli army.
The second Hadas group has already completed its period of Torah study and its 20 participants have joined Talia, Orit and other Hadas pioneers at two army bases in Israel's north. Their 14 months of army service begin with basic training and courses in education that train them to teach immigrant soldiers or soldiers from disadvantaged backgrounds. Talia, who first taught Hebrew to recent arrivals from the former Soviet Union and was then promoted to supervisor, now oversees all 10 supervisors in the program. Her staff includes some members of the second Hadas group. "For eight months, we sat in the beit midrash together and received. That gave us the confidence and strength to go out into the army and give." "The support we get from Hadas is like a visit from home," adds Orit, who coordinates the training program for 40 female soldiers who will teach Hebrew language, Judaism, mathematics, English and more to soldiers who have not completed high school and are considered "at risk." "Our Hadas teachers visit us often on our bases, to give us support, answer our halachic questions and teach shiurim - which often attract non-Hadas soldiers as well. Hadas is with us every step of the way." Hadas director Rabbi Ohad Tohar-Lev returns the compliment. "These young women are actually transforming delinquent youths into responsible adults," he marvels. "I've seen them do the impossible. A year of personal growth in the beit midrash has helped our students develop the self-confidence and sense of responsibility that will see them through the army - and stay with them throughout their lives."
Toward the end of the course, I was put in charge of preparing one of the soldiers, Gabi, for his examination in math. In a little over a month, I had managed to teach him addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. I was now supposed to teach him fractions in three weeks...
Gabi has ADHD in addition to several Learning Disabilities. I had to take him all over the base just to get him to study. Anywhere but in a classroom. After he took the final exam, I asked him how he did. "Maybe a 40" he said, disappointedly. In the end, his score was a 93!"
|
||
|
||||||
"Commanders are already noticing that women from Hadas stand out for their excellence," says Orit. "That's not surprising, because all of us are enthusiastic about accomplishing what women couldn't do just a few years ago."