Last week, the directors of Chinuch Atzmai, Rabbi Meir Luria,
Rabbi Tzvi Baumel, Rabbi Mordechai Lev and Rabbi Shraga
Rosenberg, visited four schools founded by Nesivos Moshe, a
fund for the expansion of Torah education in Eretz
Yisroel that was founded in memory of Rabbi Moshe Sherer,
zt'l, from the money raised by the joint trip of HaRav
Aharon Leib Steinman and the Gerrer Rebbe to America. Started
independently by the Fund, these schools will soon be
incorporated into the overall Chinuch Atzmai educational
system.
The tour began in the Nesivos Moshe school in Ramat Gan where
the rabbis visited classes and met with the supervisor of the
Nesivos Moshe Fund, Rabbi Yosef Bronner, and the school's
principal, Mrs. Dickstein. They also tested the children and
hailed their high scholastic level -- proof of the teachers'
diligence.
At the end of the visit, the directors heard a comprehensive
report on the problems of the school which is still in a
shelter that was originally given to the school by Rabbi
Metzger, a prominent educational figure. The school remains
stuck in this shelter despite an explicit promise of the
authorities to allot it a plot of land to build a proper
school building after Chanukah of last year. Even though they
even indicated which plot of land they intended to give to
the school, the promise of the authorities has still not been
fulfilled.
The next stop was the Nesivos Moshe school in Tzoran, located
in the Lev Hasharon region. That school made headlines last
winter due to left-wing demonstrations against the opening of
a religious school in the heart of the settlement. Only a few
years ago, this community did not even have a minyan
on Yom Kippur!
The demonstrations were very ugly as the demonstrators used
vicious dogs in an attempt to terrify the children and their
teachers. The demonstrators also spray painted the walls with
anti-religious slogans and vandalized the school's
property.
But it was precisely these demonstrations that bolstered the
students and their parents, as well as the school's staff
headed by Mrs. Citronbaum, who staunchly insisted on their
right to raise Jewish children in the spirit of Torah and
mitzvos. In Shevat, the heads of Nesivos Moshe and the school
staff reaped the fruit of their efforts when one of the
demonstrators sought to register his daughter in the very
school he had fought so hard against. "I saw the children,
examined the curriculum and the school's educational level,
and was convinced that there is no alternative for such
education," he admitted.
As a result of the reputation of the school and its high
educational level, 15 parents have registered their children
for first grade in the upcoming school year.
In a meeting with Chinuch Atzmai directors, the school's
educational staff discussed the difficulties it has undergone
since its inception, including the court orders demanding
that it vacate the residential structure it currently
occupies and the efforts made by the Nesivos Fund to battle
these court orders.
In Naharia and Afula, the directors were greeted with the
news that despite many financial and environmental problems,
both Nesivos Moshe schools have succeeded in establishing
high standards of education which are drawing children and
their parents closer to Yiddishkeit. The Chinuch
Atzmai directors promised to do their utmost to help all four
schools secure the classrooms, areas, structures and
equipment they so desperately need.
