Memizrach Shemesh – Our tradition of social responsibility

Rabbinic Leadership for Social Change (MERHAV) at Memizrach Shemesh

Who are we?

The  Rabbinic Leadership for Social Change (MERHAV)  program trains a select group of rabbis –pulpit rabbis, dayannim (religious court judges), and novice rabbis and empowers them to become agents of social change within their communities and within Israeli society. The two-year program combines an in depth study of Israeli society and its problems, with exposure to the heritage of the Sephardi Sages – their study methods and philosophy, with a special emphasis on their dynamic encounter with modernity and the tools they used to grapple with social conflicts within their communities.

What do we stand for?

We believe that Rabbis in Israel should not only address the spiritual needs of their community but also their social needs in order to improve Israeli society.

We value the philosophies and writings of Sephardic Rabbis and Sages, as they have a refreshing and important social message that Israeli society can benefit from.

We train rabbis to be sources of information on topics of social justice, education and community empowerment; these rabbis use Jewish texts as a tool to find solutions to Israel’s social problems.

Our Participants:

The Rabbinic Leadership for Social Change program has 36 graduates that are active in schools, synagogues and communities from Dovev on the Lebanon border in the north, to Yerucham in the south.

*There are 12 rabbis in the 2009-2011 Rabbinic Leadership for Social Change group

*Half the rabbis in the current group define themselves as Ultra Orthodox Jews (Haredi) and half define themselves as National Religious Jews.

*One third of the current Rabbinic Leadership for Social Change program lives in the geographic periphery of Israel.

The communities our alumni reach:

*Amit Yeshiva High School
Lod

*Ateret Nechemia Synagogue
Jerusalem

*Beit Din “Emet Ya’akov” for Financial Issues
Bat Yam

*Gross Social Yeshiva High School
Kiryat Gat

*Mikdash Eliyahu Synagogue
Jerusalem

*Or Torah Yeshiva High School
Jerusalem

*ORT Spanien High School
Jerusalem

*Moshav Ramot Meir, Gezer Regional Council

*Weinberg High School
Jerusalem

*Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council

*Sefad City Council
Sefad

Participant Feedback:

“The exposure to Sephardic Rabbinic texts gave me a new perspective on all the sources I studied until now. This learning changed the way I see my role as a Rabbi”

-Rabbinic Leadership for Social Change Graduate, Moshav Dovav

“Since joining the Merhav Program, I am interested in topics I never thought were connected to the torah-a new world of Jewish material has opened up before me!”

-Rabbinic Leadership for Social Change Participant, Director of Yeshiva , Kiryat Gat

Funding:

The Rabbinic Leadership for Social Change (MERHAV) Program has an annual budget of $115,315. We are grateful for the long term support of Avi Chai Foundation and private donors.  A sum of $16,092 needs to be raised annually to fully fund the program.