In this Issue:
Torah Related Items
CYIR Welcomes Daniel "MUSH" Meyer as its Director of Programming
CYIR Co-Sponsors Chol HaMoed Blood Drives Throughout Israel
"Saving Women from the 'Chain'" - Haaretz Article About CYIR's Prenuptial Agreement, written by Susan Breger, CYIR Intern
Current and Upcoming Events
A Unique Service for Rabbanim in Israel
Good and Welfare
Torah Related Items
 a) Divrei Torah Bulletin: Please find NCYI’s Divrei Torah Bulletin for Tazria written by Rabbi Moshe Teitelman, Young Israel of New Hyde Park, NY, by clicking this link.
b) Torah Mitzion, the organization that has established Religious Zionist Kollelim throughout the world, has produced a Shmittah Educational Kit, in conjunction with the Jewish Agency for Israel, and Mahut - Beit Midrash L'Morim. The kit contains lesson plans on a CD-ROM which employ profound and challenging texts in twelve units - each covering a differnt aspect of Shmittah. Each unit includes a written lesson plan for the rabbi/teacher/counselor as well as a comprehensive source sheet for participants. The CD can be purchased for NIS 40 from Torah Mitzion - office@torahmitzion.org; 02.620.9020
c) ADVERTISEMENT - Pomeranz Bookseller of Jerusalem has a huge selection of Pesach Haggadot including the just released Rav Lau Haggadah in English and the Rav Soloveitchik Haggadah. For these and other exciting Haggadot, please click here.
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CYIR Welcomes Daniel "MUSH" Meyer as its Director of Programming
Anyone who has followed the happenings of CYIR: Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel over the past few months will agree that its resurgence has been nothing short of miraculous. CYIR published a second to none Shmitta Guide which led to a public lecture that was attended by over 320 people; CYIR’s Counseling Center has renewed activity, with over 40 calls received each month; strategic partnerships with other organizations such as the Jerusalem Great Synagogue have yielded joint programs; the Eye Squad project has been launched and is quite successful; and the list continues to grow. This increased activity has drawn more rabbis to join the organization and lay leaders to join an advisory board for the purpose of supporting CYIR’s programming.
In order to keep up with the current level of programming and have the ability to implement new initiatives, CYIR has announced the hiring of Daniel "MUSH" Meyer as its Director of Programming. Meyer comes to CYIR from the World Mizrachi organization where he served with distinction for 10 years as the Assistant to the Director-General & Programs Director. "I am thrilled that MUSH will be joining our professional staff" said Rabbi Aaron S. Tirschwell, CYIR's Chief Program and Development Officer. "His reputation as the consummate professional is well known throughout the Orthodox organizational world."
CYIR is indebted to National Council of Young Israel for playing a crucial role in making the position of Director of Programming a reality.
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CYIR Co-Sponsors Chol HaMoed Blood Drives Throughout Israel
 Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel, in conjunction with American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA), will be once again cosponsoring a series of blood drives in Israel during Chol HaMoed Pesach:
- Monday April 21, 4:00 PM - 9:30 PM, Le Meridian Hotel, Haifa
- Tuesday April 22, 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Kinar Classic Hotel, Galilee
- Wednesday April 23, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
- Thursday April 24, 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Golden Tulip Hotel (formerly the Magic Nirvana), Dead Sea
Further details can be found on our website: www.youngisraelrabbis.org.il
AFMDA collected more than 800 units of blood from American tourists in 2007; Young Israel is playing a key role in reaching AFMDA’s goal of doubling that figure in 2008. Keep in mind that that Magen David Adom supplies 97% of the blood used by Israeli hospitals and 100% of the blood for use by the Israel Defense Forces.
For information as to who is eligible to donate and other questions, details please contact Jonathan Feldstein at jfeldstein@afmda.org; 057-761-4220
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"Saving Women from the 'Chain'" - Haaretz Article About CYIR's Prenuptial Agreement, written by Susan Breger, CYIR Intern
 "According to halakha (traditional Jewish law) and contemporary Israeli law, a Jewish woman must receive a religious bill of divorce (a get) in order to remarry. In the absence of a get, any child of a future relationship will be a mamzer ... and will be stigmatized under Jewish law. A woman can likewise be recalcitrant, but there are numerous loopholes for men that can free them of the consequences of having a recalcitrant wife..."
"...Several variations of the prenuptial document have been drafted by different religious institutions. One option, the Agreement for Mutual Respect, put forward by the Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel, obligates the recalcitrant person, upon being asked for a divorce, to support the spouse with up to half of his/her net income, until it is granted..."
"...It is imperative that the prenuptial agreement become standard procedure in Israel. As more couples sign, social stigma will vanish and it will become a normal part of the marriage ceremony. The rabbinate should actively promote the agreement when a couple goes to register for marriage. Information about the prenup should be part of the curriculum in premarital courses required of men and women, and should be publicized through schools, youth movements and the army."
Click here for the full Haaretz article by Susan Breger, CYIR Intern.
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Current and Upcoming Events
SAVE THESE DATES:
Chol HaMoed Pesach Monday-Thursday, April 21-24 - CYIR Co-Sponsors Blood Drives throughout Israel with American Friends of Magen David Adom. See above.
Thursday, April 24 (4th Day of Chol HaMoed Pesach) - Young Israel Sefer Torah Dedication to the Israel Defense Forces - at the Golden Tulip Hotel (formerly the Magic Nirvana), Dead Sea. Details to follow.
Sunday May 4/Erev Rosh Chodesh Iyar - CYIR presents the next lecture in the Rabbi Sholem B. Kowalsky Memorial Lecture Series at Heichal Shlomo, 58 King George Street, Jerusalem. Details to follow.
Monday, May 26/21 Iyar - CYIR's Judaic Heritage Program for Israel's Deaf and Hearing Impaired Annual Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration.
Friday, May 30, 2008 – CYIR Celebrates 18 Years of Service to Israel by honoring its Founders, Leaders and Builders.
May-June 2008/Iyar-Sivan 5768 - Get-Refusal Courses - CYIR, MATAN, and the Rackman Center for Advancement of Women will be offering two simultaneous courses (one in Hebrew, the other in English) to train people to disseminate prenuptial agreements and to raise consciousness regarding the problem of agunot. The courses are directed by Rachel Levmore, CYIR's Coordinator of Prenuptial & Get-Refusal Prevention Projects. Details to follow.
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Unique Resource Available to Rabbanim in Israel
 Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Rosh Yeshiva of Ateret Cohanim in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem and the rabbi of Bet El, will respond to all SMS messages on any issue regarding halacha or hashkafa.
Rabbi Aviner was born in 1943 in Lyon, France, and was involved in the Bnei Akiva youth movement, rising to the position of National Director. Rabbi Aviner is a qualified electrical engineer and holds an MA in mathematics.
When he emigrated to Israel in 1966, he settled on Sde Eliyahu in the northern Jordan valley near Bet She'an. He subsequently went to learn in Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem, under Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook. Later, he became the rabbi of Lavi and afterwards the rabbi of Keshet in the Golan Heights. Since 1981 he has been the rabbi of Bet El. He served in the IDF and is a lieutenant in the reserves
SMS messages can be sent by Rabbanim to Rabbi Aviner at 052 365 3028.
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Mazal Tov
Rabbi Nachman Kahana (Young Israel of the Old City; CYIR Executive Board Member), and his wife Feiga on the birth of a great-grandson.
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CYIR: Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel