When she made aliya from Mexico at the age of 18, it took Aliza Goldberg a few months to acclimate to the seminary in which she was enrolled. When she wondered how could it be that there was no seminary in Israel for young Spanish-speaking women, she was met with a challenge: then open one!

And the rest is history. Aliza came to OTS’s Midreshet Lindenbaum and became – at the age of 24! – the founding director of Amlat, the first and only Israeli midrasha for young women from Spanish speaking countries.

This past weekend, alumnae of the program who also made aliya came together for a reunion Shabbaton to mark the 15th year of this amazing enterprise. They arrived with husbands and sabra children in tow to reminisce, meet up and enjoy; 125 people united by one woman who did not give up, and who fulfilled her dream through OTS – in a big way.