Shira+Z

__Good People in the Middle of the Road__

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= **__World Bnei Akiva__** =

__Rationale__
How does Bnei Akiva, a Religious Jewish youth group, attract Jews in the Diaspora to attend its programming, and what program do they run that successfully teaches love of Israel? I think that a lot of where I am and who I am today is because of Bnei Akiva. My Grandma was in Bnei Akiva and so was my mother-which made her decide to live the rest of her life in Israel, and raise her family here.

I am also a participant in this youth group, I really enjoy it and I spend a lot of time doing things that are involved in it. I know how amazing and important this movement is to me and I wanted to know how it affects the rest of the world too.

**__World Bnei Akiva- Research Project__**
Bnei Akiva is the world's largest Religious Zionist youth movement. It is active all over the world and has over 100,000 members. Bnei Akiva was founded by Yechiel Eliash in 1929. At the time the British government was in control of Israel and a lot of groups tried to settle the land. Yechiel wanted to have a place where the Religious Youth could help work the land and so he started Bnei Akiva. Within 25 years the Mazkirut Olamit (World Secretariat) of Bnei Akiva was formed. Why would anyone want to be a part of Bnei Akiva? This movement has activities for its members every Tuesday and Saturday. Why would children want to leave their warm, comfortable home and go to these activities? Bnei Akiva has a very important message that it tries to send to Jews all around the world, which is: to give. A senior citizen, that hasn't been connected to the group for at least 40 years, said:"It is less important exactly what they do at every meeting, it is more important that giving to others is ingrained in them." (//Ostroff, 1//) When people come to the activities of Bnei Akiva they might have to give up in the warmth of their house, their comfortable couch or the TV screen but they are getting much much more! They get values and responsibilities that most kids never get until they are grown up, just like it says in the article, they get the value of giving. Learning how to give is so important, and Bnei Akiva manages to pass on the message that really well. You can see that accomplishment in the fact that a lot of the kids decide to become madrichim (counselors) and give back to the community and to Bnei Akiva. Rav Rafi Ostroff, a father of participants in the group, said "It is what makes us so special, that a Jew always feels the need to give to others" (1). Thank G-d there is B.A. which gives the youth the opportunity to use that natural need to give back to their community. Bnei Akiva offers not only activities for kids and teenagers but also provides the means by which they can apply the values that they learnt to their life. For example: it offers a year's program, where young people, who have finished high school, come to Israel. This program is called Hachshara (training). As well as Hachshara they also get young couples who have grown up in Israel or have come on Aliyah (immigration to Israel) to go on shlichut (missions in the diaspora). Hachshara is a year's program in which youth, who have finished school, come to Israel for a year. There are a few programs within Bnei Akiva which offer Hachshara, such as: Lapid and Masa. "These programs are aimed at familiarizing the youth with real life in Israel as a preparation for Aliyah, but also, and no less important, preparing them for returning to their community to take up leadership roles within Bnei Akiva and in the community" (About Hachshara, 1) which they grew up in. During the program, the young people experience life on a kibbutz, they go to Israeli tourist sites, learn a basic Hebrew and a lot more. Another program which Bnei Akiva offers for adults who want to carry on giving after they are finished being madrichim is shlichut. Since there are a lot of Jews in the Diaspora who assimilate, Bnei Akiva sends young couples to go to communities where a lot of Jews assimilate. These couples inspire the communities with values such as: encouraging Aliyah, helping the community discover their Jewish identity, teaching torah and spreading the love of Judaism, and the land of Israel. The shlichim (emissaries) become very close to the families in their community and by doing so manage to give them the values of Bnei Akiva. Bnei Akiva has definitely managed to touch and change life of Jews all over the world, in so many ways, starting with kids and supporting and helping them all the way to adulthood. It is clear how important it is to Bnei Akiva to help Jews all around the world, give back to their community no matter where they are. I think that a lot of Jews in Israel and in the world can say that if it were not for Bnei Akiva they would not be in the same place where they are today, I know that I can definitely say so about myself. World Bnei Akiva: media type="youtube" key="J04STBgsS9I" height="315" width="420" align="center"

=**__Reflection__** = = =  I started working on this project wanting to learn about a certain organization. Right from the beginning I got stuck, I found two organizations that I really wanted to know about and both really interested me. They were: World Bnei Akiva and PMW. After a lot of debating and help from my teacher I decided to do the research about BA and the profile about someone who works for PMW. I am so pleased with my choice! I have learnt about two amazing organizations which, if not for this project, I wouldn't have learnt about. I was very surprised, when I was learning about BA, that there was so much for me to learn. I am very involved in the movement and knew a lot about it, but I was very surprised to see how much I still had to learn. I think that is a lesson for life, there is always more to learn. Besides the information that I have leant during the project I have also learnt deferent skills which will help me for life. For starters I learnt how to do a proper Interview and once I have the information, how to turn it into an article. I learnt how to take notes and points that I collected from different sites and put them into one flowing article. I also learnt more about the correct way to write a notes page and how to cite my work in the project itself. Looking back on all I have learnt while working on this project I realize that I have learnt much more than I expected. I also think that going through the process as a class has contributed to me, I heard from my friends how many people there are in Israel who are focused on giving and how many organizations there are that contribute to the world. I am so proud to be able to say that I am an Israeli living in Efrat who knows so many amazing people.

= __Notes__ =

"About Hachshara" //Hachshara a year with Bnei Akiva in Israel//, web, 03.11.11 "History of Bnei Akiva", //World Bnei Akiva// 02.11.11

//Rav Rafi Ostroff, "//What is our Secret? Shabbat Hairgun 5770", //World Bnei Akiva, web, 02.11.11//

"ארגונים שולחים - בני עקיבא", //המרכז לשליחות ציונית דתית,// אינטרנט//,// 03.11.11