Aviva Goldbert

Two years ago, at age 33, Leo Dee seemed to have it all. Married with two young daughters, he lived in London and enjoyed a successful career in finance. Nevertheless, Leo felt that something was missing from his life. “I had no yeshiva background, and I wanted to have the experience of studying in yeshiva,” he recalls. “I decided to take a sabbatical from work and come learn in Israel. I had heard a lot about Yeshivat Torat Yosef (formerly Hamivtar Orot Lev) from my university friends from Cambridge who had studied there,” Leo says. “So it was at the top of the list when I first arrived in Israel and was trying out different yeshivot. This was where I felt most comfortable.”
Today, Leo is still studying in yeshiva at Ohr Torah Stone, and he has no intention of returning to his former life. “I liked learning in yeshiva so much that I decided to quit my job, do four years in kollel and go for semicha,” he relates. Now, as he attends shiurim day and night at the Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary, Leo looks forward to relocating once again with his wife, Lucy, and their family that has grown to include three daughters, ages 4, 2 and 1. “I plan to go back to England and do outreach work,” he says. “My goal is to be a community rabbi or educator.”
As Ohr Torah Stone shapes the future of many young Jews from the United Kingdom, a steadily growing number of OTS alumni are making a tremendous impact on the British Jewish community by assuming educational and leadership roles there, personifying the OTS ideal of Judaism that is grounded in halacha yet open, nurturing and pertinent.
Ohr Torah Stone “imbues its graduates with a love of Judaism, the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” said British chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks in a videotaped greeting to the OTS annual dinner in February. “It gives them a sense of inclusivity and tolerance that is very special. We in British Jewry have been the direct beneficiaries of their program.” Indeed, over the years, scores of OTS graduates have become rabbis, educators and lay leaders in the UK. 


Bringing A Unique Approach to Education

Leo Dee

“The dedication to learning Torah and the tools for analyzing text that I gained at OTS have had a very strong influence on the way I study and teach,” says Aviva Golbert, who directs the high school Jewish Studies program at Immanuel College in London. Golbert, who grew up in the U.S., studied in Midreshet Lindenbaum’s Maria and Joel Finkle Overseas Program from 1993 to 1995 before getting married and making aliyah. After years of working in education in Jerusalem and Haifa, Golbert is currently living in England while her husband carries out post-doctoral research there. At Immanuel College, she oversees a staff of 11 educators, handles a heavy teaching load and develops curricula that reflect Ohr Torah Stone’s commitment to integrating Jewish studies with modern life.

Jewish education in the UK will soon be further enriched with the infusion of graduates from OTS’ new Educator Fellowships program, which is training outstanding young women to teach in Diaspora Jewish schools. Lauren Levin, 23, who has worked as the youth director at the South Hampstead synagogue and run informal programs for high school students at Immanuel College, explains that she came to the Educator Fellowships from London in order to enrich her learning and enhance her ability to contribute to the community. “The Educator Fellowships is a fantastic blend of educational methodology and Torah learning,” says Levin, who holds a university degree in psychology and also studied in the Finkle overseas program at Midreshet Lindenbaum four years ago. “It’s very important for teachers to be excited about the material they teach. By studying in Israel at OTS, we’re living and breathing the subjects that we’re learning, and that experience will make us better teachers.”

Ongoing Support and Encouragement

“A good educator not only delivers information, but must inspire students to explore subjects on their own, and to engage with the ideas that are being taught,” agrees Ilana Hamilton, 22, who came to the Educator Fellowships after earning a degree in social and political sciences from Cambridge University. “The joint courses at Midreshet Lindenbaum and Hebrew University are preparing us to teach effectively while giving us the opportunity to discuss crucial issues such as how children develop a Jewish identity.” Hamilton adds that she looks forward to the continued support and guidance of her instructors in the program when she returns to London to teach high school there.
An ongoing connection with Ohr Torah Stone’s educational programs is also helping and encouraging young OTS-trained rabbis as they invigorate synagogues in England with innovative approaches acquired at the Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary. “The teachers at the yeshiva are inspiring role models who are still available to answer my questions,” relates Rabbi Michael Laitner, whose work as assistant rabbi at the South Hampstead Synagogue in London includes social and educational programming for young professionals as well as teaching, outreach and pastoral work. “It’s great to have so many other OTS alumni around, fostering a sense of collegiality and familiarity with key workers in the Jewish community.”

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