The Boy Aspires to Study Torah, But His Background Holds Him Back. What Can Be Done?

What does a very young boy do when his parents fall ill, and there's no one to support the family? Rabbi Greenbaum encountered such a boy one day, while offering him service at his workplace. Neriah (a pseudonym) loved learning Torah and wanted to study it, but the situation at home was bad.

"What are you doing here?" Rabbi asked him. "I want to go to yeshiva, but no one will accept me. They don't understand that I have a strong willpower." Rabbi recognized Neriah's determination and maintained his willpower with loving support at the yeshiva. His determination was planted in the fertile soil of a quality yeshiva that understood his heart and allowed him to strive for Torah excellence. What fruits did the effort yield?

"After four years, Neriah completed his studies at the yeshiva at such a high level that he finished several tractates and achieved a 5-unit matriculation certificate," Rabbi happily summarizes the happy ending to Neriah's story.

What Do You Do With Kids Who Want to Learn But Can't Succeed?

Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Greenbaum's entire life's work is dedicated to education. Rabbi, chairman of the Wolfson Fund, is the founder and head of Yeshiva "Nehora" and the "Ziv Or" yeshiva network, and chairman of the "Or Israeli" youth movement. In our generation, a generation witnessing the birth pains of the Messiah, where we see the waves of return in Israel, it seems that Rabbi's mission, focused among other things on the world of outreach, is a natural mission - there must be a proper and respectful educational response with uncompromising Torah excellence for the dear children, the second generation of the returnees. This need arises from a problem often seen today: children do not always integrate into the regular yeshiva world due to family and environmental backgrounds, despite their aspiration and desire to learn.

There are also children from all walks of life who do not always succeed in persisting in Talmudic studies throughout the day. They aspire to learn and want to learn, but find it difficult. The option of combining Talmud studies with other subjects that refresh the learning is open to them, and after four years, students acquire the strength to study the Talmud all day. Rabbi Greenbaum has worked all his life so that such children and teenagers can take root in the world of Torah, grow, and succeed because they are deserving.

Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Greenbaum

On the Advice of Great Israeli Rabbis: 'Ziv Or' Yeshiva as a Bridge to Safely Step into a Higher Yeshiva

"Over the years we've been involved in outreach, we've seen children we've brought closer, and they are in schools that don't understand their complex family and environmental situations," explains Rabbi Greenbaum. "On the advice of Israel's great rabbis, we opened a place tailored exactly for them – the "Ziv Or" yeshiva network. Students who studied in Torah schools continue in the Torah world, but if they don't succeed fully, we continue to develop them in Torah studies while integrating studies for matriculation."

In practice, the "Ziv Or" yeshiva network serves as a bridge that leads students safely onward in Torah life. After finishing at "Ziv Or", the student is ready from all aspects for a higher yeshiva.

What were the circumstances of establishing the yeshiva?

"The first "Ziv Or" yeshiva was established in Karmiel about nine years ago. Its current location is in Kfar HaHotim. This happened in response to requests from parents seeking a Torah response consistent with the family and home spirit, and to allow learning in additional areas and providing extracurricular activities. About five years ago, another branch was also opened in Netanya due to requests from the central region concerning students seeking a similar Torah response. Additionally, immigrants from France wanting innocently to enroll their children in high school found themselves in state institutions that did not match the home's spiritual direction, and from there, children left the world of Torah. By the grace of Hashem, after establishing the yeshivas in Karmiel (Kfar HaHotim) and Netanya, the phenomenon gained momentum, and today the "Ziv Or" yeshiva network exists in Kfar HaHotim, Netanya, Ramla, and this year, another yeshiva was opened in Be'er Yaakov."

What is the daily structure for children studying at Ziv Or?

"Until 1:00 PM, they study sacred studies in depth, and until 5:30 PM, they study high school subjects. Then, the children are integrated into various Torah activities in their places of residence. Graduates of the "Ziv Or" yeshiva network continue to higher yeshivas, thus preparing themselves for life and practical living."

Today, due to the success of the "Ziv Or" yeshiva network, there are higher yeshivas that continue to nurture "Ziv Or" students before they venture into life as adults, and the Wolfson Fund, under the leadership of Rabbi Greenbaum, continues to support graduates who choose to enter the workforce.

One of the prominent projects of the Wolfson Fund is the "Or Israeli" movement, led by Rabbi Greenbaum and Rabbi Yitzchak David Grossman, who together founded youth clubs across the country, where young people begin the initial process of returning to the faith. Thank Hashem, they are now spread across dozens of holy yeshivas nationwide.

On the Love for Education, Passed Through the Generations: "It All Began Before I Was Born"

How did the life's work begin, even before "Ziv Or" yeshivas, the Wolfson Fund, and "Nehora" yeshiva?

"It all started before I was born. My father, Rabbi Yisrael Mordechai Greenbaum, and my grandfather Rabbi Baruch Zvi Greenbaum, were educators who did so out of a mission of love for Hashem and love for others with all their souls and might. They imbued me with the love for education."

Rabbi Greenbaum was born in the city of Rehovot and studied in the Torah Talmud of Independent Education there. After studying at "Ituri" Yeshiva in Jerusalem, he continued his studies in the holy city at "Hebron" Yeshiva. After his marriage, he began studying at a seminar for rabbis at the "Noam" seminary in Kfar Saba, and then began teaching at the "Noam" yeshiva high school.

On the Achievements: Rabbis, Dayanim, Doctors, and Accountants All Sons of Torah

In 1993, Rabbi was appointed as an envoy on behalf of the Jewish Agency in the city of Antwerp, Belgium, after the establishment of "Yavneh" yeshiva high school, the first of its kind in all of Europe. "It was important for us to educate students on the love of Torah and love of the land. It positively influenced their parents as well. Today all the students have left Belgium, without exception, and immigrated to Israel.

In conclusion, Rabbi Greenbaum concludes and says: "'Go, my children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of Hashem,'" only when they go out into the world, says the Rabbi of Lublin, only then do they learn the fear of Hashem. This is our goal - to instill the fear of heaven for continued life with the help of Hashem because we wholeheartedly believe in the fulfillment of the verse: 'Train a child according to his way.'"

To contact "Ziv Or" Torah educational centers, click here.