Yeshiva Temimei Darech of Tsfat has launched a mega fundraiser to finance its move to a new location this spring that will bring its gashmius surroundings more in line with its well reputed spiritual standing.
A regular favorite for the bochur seeking a decidedly ruchnius atmosphere, the yeshiva will move at the beginning of a new semester on beis Iyar/April 23 (the Rebbe Maharash’s yom holedes) from a modest and somewhat cramped basement setting to markedly upscale quarters on the site of a former 5-star boutique hotel.
Nicknamed “the castle” by the locals for its past function as an Ottoman Empire fortress, the new property comes complete with arched hallways, designer patios, luxury sleeping rooms, an orchard, olive grove, outdoor fountains and a pool. Hardly the stuff of typical yeshiva life, but yeshiva founder and director, Rabbi Shalom Pasternak, said it was time to raise the bar on the gashmius in style to grow the yeshiva and attract more bochurim.
“The number and level of students we can enroll is directly correlated not only to the quality of the program, but also to the comfort and attractiveness of the facility,” Pasternak, who founded the yeshiva in 2009 as the first in northern Israel to cater to English-speaking male ba’alei teshuva, says in a just released relocation campaign video. The yeshiva, known for its warmth and strong curriculum of pnimius and revealed Torah over its nearly 15-year history, now has a mix of ba’alei teshuva enrollees and more experienced learners.
From an educational standpoint, the message can be viewed “as the fulfillment of the Rebbe’s teaching that the physical was created to enhance the spiritual,” said Pasternak, a Vassar College graduate turned shliach of the Rebbe of 20 years.
At 5,000 square feet sitting on an acre of land, the new location will offer comfortable living and learning space for 30-full-time students in a brightly lit and spacious atmosphere, Pasternak said.
A triple match fundraiser seeking to raise $360,000 for the move is underway with a final two-day drive set for Tuesday Feb. 28 and Wednesday March 1, corresponding to the 7th and 8th of Adar.
He said the yeshiva and friends were busy ramping up for the final funding push that will incorporate some 60 ardent supporters “in the spirit of shnas Hakhel” reaching out together to friends and connections worldwide to help do what the yeshiva has dubbed as the theme for the move: “Taking it home.” Two donors are already in place who have pledged to triple each contribution, with donations already being accepted at campaign website: takeithome.org.
The proceeds from the campaign are earmarked to outfit the new location for yeshiva use, raise the bar on remuneration, institutional fare, amenities and other expenses.
The material upgrade is being matched by curriculum improvements with the help of newly named Torah Learning Program Director, Rabbi Shmuel Kopel, who also directs the yeshiva’s growing semicha program. Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein, a world renowned posek and author, has also been added to the adjunct staff, with admired mashpia and maggid, Rabbi Shamai Gozlan, rounding out the main staff roster.
Individual donations are already being solicited and can be made at the website: www.takeithome.org. Applications for entry into the yeshiva can be sent through www.thewayinside.org.
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