According to statistics, a mass exodus took place this past Pesach. But unlike the Biblical Exodus which Pesach is meant to recall, this exodus was comprised of half a million Israelis who responded to sweet vacation deals promising “true freedom” on this Festival of Freedom by swapping their matza for French croissants and their four cups …

CLICK FOR PHOTOS   Hundreds of Israelis across the country participated in exciting, festive candlelighting events this Chanukah, thanks to 32 Jewish Cultural Facilitators from OTS’s “Yachad” Program. From the north to the south, spanning 80 communities including Katzrin, Yokneam, Petach Tikva, Rechovot, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ashkelon, …

Out of the Synagogues and Into the Public Realm: Rosh Hashana for Everyone (click for photos) “Tens of people gathered around to hear me blow shofar in the public park,” recounts Mordechai Harel, the Yachad Program Jewish Cultural Facilitator in Hod Hasharon. “Right after I started, I noticed a family on bicycles that stopped still, …

Limitless Love to counter Baseless Hatred: Tisha B’Av 2017 What relevance can a fast marking the destruction of the Temple 2000 years ago possibly have for modern secular Israelis? How can one really be expected to mourn over something one has not personally loved, cherished or revered? This past Tisha B’Av, Ohr Torah Stone’s Yachad Program …

“I cannot fall asleep, I keep looking at the photos from this evening’s ceremony and phrases from the various things that were said keep popping into my mind. I see my grandmother’s face before me and my mother’s, and I feel happy, somehow… safe? Because I know that my precious daughter, Lihi, has embraced her heritage over …

“Lag B’Omer is one of the Jewish festivals celebrated by all Israelis, not just the Orthodox,” notes Eran Yunger, the  Yachad Program Jewish Cultural Facilitator in Tel Aviv.  “No matter where you go in the weeks leading up to the festival you’ll see kids dragging wood to the site of their bonfire and preparing for the big …

Israelis embark upon a period of National days after Pesach, beginning with Holocaust Remembrance Day and continuing with Memorial Day and Independence Day one week later. The transition from somber days of personal bereavement and national mourning to the unbridled celebration of Yom Haatzmaut creates an intense, emotionally charged mood throughout …

“‘Ima, I left Egypt today!’ That’s what my nine-year-old son told me when he came home from the Yachad Program‘s pre-Passover activity,” says Bat Yam resident Sigalit Golan. “It was both moving and strange for me to see how the Passover story brought a spark to his eyes because for me, as a child, Passover was always the most boring night …

“In all of my 46 years, this was the first time I ever heard a Purim megillah reading,” says Kiryat Tivon resident Elad Alon, one of 67,482 Israelis who participated in “Megillah BaKehilla,” an initiative of Ohr Torah Stone’s Yachad Program. Through this year’s partnership with the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization, …

CLICK FOR PHOTOS   Yachad: A Warm and Shining Light “There are 75 families living in our building, and the last time we all gathered together was in the bomb shelter during the war,” says Yavneh resident Odelia Ben-Yaakov. “It was a pleasure to be brought together now in celebration; to celebrate life and the Jewish people.” …