Yeshivat Makor Chaim

Yeshivat Makor Chaim

ישיבת מקור חיים
Motto	"תאמין שיכולים לתקן"
Motto in English	Believe that you can repair
Established	1985 (1985)
Affiliation	Jewish
Officer in charge	Rabbi David Rabinowitz
President	Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
Dean	Rabbi Dov Singer
Students	300
Location	Kfar Etzion , Gush Etzion, Judea , Israel
Website	makorchaim.org

Yeshivat Makor Chaim was established in 1985 under the visionary leadership of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz (Even Israel). Today, the Makor Chaim Educational Institution operates a high school located in the Gush Etzion area, south of Jerusalem. It has been recognized by the Ministry of Education as an Experimental School and a Teacher Training Institution as well. The senior Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Dov Singer is ably assisted by Rabbi David Rabinowitz. In addition to the high school which serves close to 300 students annually, Makor Chaim also operates the "Beit Midrash L'Hitchadshut" (the Renewal Outreach Center), a nationwide outreach study andprayer program for personal spiritual development as well as several training and development programs for educators, administrators and others committed to focusing on the student rather than on subject material.

Educational and religious philosophy

The Yeshiva is known for its Neo-Chassidic ideology. Having said that, The Yeshiva encourages students to find their own path in their Avodat Hashem (Worship of God). It is very common to find two students sitting next to each other in the Bet Midrash, with one learning Likutei Moharan (Hebrew: ליקוטי מוהר"ן, one the main books of the Breslav Chassidic sect), and the other learning a book such as Nefesh Hachaim (Hebrew: נפש החיים, whose author, R' Chaim of Volozhin was a prominent student of the Vilna Gaon and a pioneer of Lithuanian-style yeshivas). The Educational philosophy of the Yeshiva is one that encourages the individual student to excel in the area that interests him, and the yeshiva will readily offer assistance to a student who is in need of additional help. The focus is on realizing the potential of the individual student. This can be seen in the unique programs for Talmud Study that the Yeshiva offers for its students. In the morning Talmud Study period, a high level Talmud class, known as "Eshkolot Iyun" (Hebrew: אשכולות עיון) is offered for interested 10th and 11th graders. The focus of this program is developing the students analytical skills, and being able to find the conceptual underpinnings of the matter at hand. A program bearing the same name is offered for students of all ages during the nightly Talmud Study period. Students have the option of learning a full double-sided pholio (Daf) of Talmud, as opposed to a one sided pholio (Amud). This range of options gives the student the opportunity to find what is best for him, and allows him to develop his own path in Torah learning. Another example of this is found in the afternoon Torah Study period after afternoon prayers. This is a time for students to learn whatever their heart desires, and many develop a deep love and appreciation for the torah by studying a part of the torah that they feel uniquely connected to. Many students say that it is this time of the day that they cherish the most. The same is true regarding the secular studies. The core curriculum as set by the Ministry of Education is taught, but many additional options are available for interested students. Part of the core curriculum are the electives that 11th and 12th graders study. These include Physics, Biology, Literature, Environmental Studies, Computer Science, Land of Israel Studies and History. The student is encouraged to choose what is best for him, and the teaching staff is always ready to assist a student in need of guidance.

In 2005, the Senior Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Dov Singer established the Bet Hamidrash for Renewal (Hebrew: בית המדרש להתחדשות), and the educational philosophy of the Yeshiva started to spread throughout the Israeli educational system.

Since 2007, the school has offered a joint exchange program with Yeshiva University High School for Boys in which a number of YUHSB students spend a half semester at Makor Chaim and then return with a number of YMC students who spend time at YUHSB. It is also offering a similar program with Yeshiva College of South Africa. Those programs include a class of approximately 25 foreign students living and learning in Makor Chaim for about a month, and four students from Makor Chaim going abroad for 5–6 weeks. The goal of those programs is to uplift the sense of zionism and "chious", spirit of life, in the foreign schools students' Avodat Hashem.

Daily schedule

The daily schedule starts at 7:00 am with morning prayers, followed by breakfast. From 9:00 until 12:30 students learn Judaic studies, where they primarily engage in rigorous Talmud Study. Classes in Jewish Thought and philosophy are also taught in this portion of the day. After lunch, the secular studies begin at 13:30, and end at 18:30, with afternoon prayers and additional torah study from 16:20-17:10. This is followed by dinner. Evening prayers begin at 19:15, followed by an hour or two (depending on the learning program in which the student is enrolled) of Talmud Study. The remaining night hours are dedicated to homework, hobbies, relaxing, clubs, and sleep.

The Three Boys

In June 2014, a national tragedy struck Makor Chaim. Three students were kidnapped from outside the grounds of the Center on a Thursday evening as they prepared to make their way home for the Sabbath. Naftali Fraenkel, Gile'ad Shear and Eyal Ifrach never made it home. An eighteen-day intensive search resulted in the discovery that the 3 boys had been murdered by their Hamas abductors moments after they were snatched.

Three months after the abduction, buoyed by the allocation of 32 dunams of land by the State of Israel, Makor Chaim and the She'ar, Ifrach and Fraenkel families "Chose Life". A campaign to build a permanent new educational campus in memory of Eyal, Gilad and Naftali was launched.

The new campus project was to begin construction by the summer of 2015. A special event marking the first anniversary of the boys kidnapping was held in June 2015.