Sigalit

Age: 29

"I'm an acupuncture physician and was always oriented towards holistic thinking and healing.

My friend told me about Midreshet B'erot Bat Ayin. I specifically asked for a place to study
that was holistically minded. This is a powerful setting to get close to Hashem and build a lasting foundation for how to live. I went to another school and felt that I couldn't creatively grow. I felt kind of limited in the expression of spiritual values even though we were studying Torah. I was really looking for the place where I belonged. What's unique here is Chassidut, this is a unique place to develop a love for life.

Each place that Hashem created has a unique gift to offer. A combination of things that are not easily
found rest here in Bat Ayin, drawing out my wanting to be close to Hashem.

I was always very spiritual and felt very connected but I didn't really have enough direction for answering
the unanswerable questions in life.

Being in Israel, every day I'm here I feel deep gratitude. Learning at B'erot Bat Ayin is a very unique
way to get into the real essence of Israel, connecting to the land and understanding what being Jewish is
all about.

If you have any questions about studying here, you can contact me at: vdabach@hotmail.com.

Madalina

Age: 31

I had been looking for a midrasha, but I had no idea where and what. The only thing I knew was that I need to be careful where I would learn, because beginnings are so important.

A friend of mine in Holland rang the door out of the blue (Hashem sent her my way) and we started to talk and I told her that I was looking for a midrasha. She said "you have to go to Bat Ayin!" I thought at first that it must be crazy, but she put the idea in my mind. I went home and I checked on the internet and saw a beautiful site about B'erot Bat Ayin and fell in love with the place. The friend that suggested Bat Ayin wrote songs about Bat Ayin and I was curious to see with my own eyes what the place was all about.

She said that Bat Ayin is a baalei teshuva yeshuv and people are very open minded and that it's in nature. I knew that for me, it's very important to be out of the city. After I checked one or two other midrashot in Yerushalayim and felt nothing, I made my decision to apply to Berot Bat Ayin. My rebbetzin in Holland put me in contact with another woman who had learned at Midreshet B'erot Bat Ayin and she said it's beautiful and a good place for me to start learning. That was it, I did not need to know more!

Now I have already been in the midrasha for the last 10 months. I've never lived like this before...in a caravan and with so many people around me. It's definitely a special experience to be in a community, to go to families for Shabbas, to be surrounded only by beautiful religious Jews. It's an amazing feeling, everyone speaks the same "language," the language of truth. This is so important for me, it is helping me to connect in a stronger way to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, to get closer to Him. It's a totally different feeling
to live in an yishuv than to live in a city and I enjoy it a lot.

I've grown a lot since being in the midrasha. Of course I am still a baby, just learning how to breathe and walk in this life!

I have learned to focus on seeing the good in everybody and not to get stuck in the klipot.

I love Rabbi Pinchas Winston's shiurim, he reminds us that we first need to bring out our own redemption in order to get to the level of tikkun olam and to be able to recognize Moschiach. Rabbi Benarroch's classes are great as well, he starts with something, goes to different things and when you almost forgot the beginning he comes back with some powerful strong ideas. Rabbi Izkowitz is great also, he knows plenty of kabbala and chassidut. The basic point is that I can learn something from every shiur and also from the way of living here. I am learning to break my midot and b'ezras Hashem to become a better soul walking in the right path on this journey called life!

I think it's a great experience to be here. I have no clue what Hashem has in store for me next or where I will be tomorrow or next week or next year, but I have no worries and I am happy for the decision that I made to come here. At Berot, I am neither the oldest or the youngest, some of us are religious by birth, some of us are baalot teshuva and some of us are converts. So is very easy to find your own place. People are friendly and open and they made me feel welcome here. I think it's a perfect place for those of us who do not fit in other places. I think that almost anyone can feel comfortable here without age or nationality borders and I also believe that B'erot Bat Ayin is a great place for those of us who want to walk on the way of truth!

Malka

Age: 21

I was on a spiritual search and hunting forever on the internet when I came upon Bat Ayin. The more I read, the more I liked it. I got excited and thought "this is me" and my family thought "this is you." The last time I visited Israel and extended my trip, I was so pulled to the land that when I left I had a huge longing to return to Israel.

I wasn't looking for the run of the mill seminary, but for something more spiritual. Midreshet Berot Bat Ayin is very unusual and open-minded. I can ask questions and take time to absorb what I'm learning. The atmosphere is positive and encouraging. Students are welcome from all sorts of backgrounds. We are exposed to different kinds of hashkafas and can explore Jewish thought in a different way. There are also very deep kabbalistic classes that sound like pure emet. The challenges here are spiritual and intellectual.

I also like to be around nature and to be healthy. The schedule is balanced with being in the outdoors - getting in touch with nature and the earth - and being in the study room or chevruta. There is also the chance to get more in touch with our bodies by doing yoga. Even in our food, we take into consideration healthy cooking.

My family was originally Orthodox of the standard Jewish Ashkenazi style, but after some changes everyone rebelled and went different ways. No one was into their religion except for me. I went into private jewish schools all my life because I felt it was the right way. After high school though, I didn't feel a lot of strength in my foundation and felt the pull of the materialistic society I lived in. Living in a busy city with a metropolitan lifestyle was getting to me.

When I got out of the city, I received a reminder of what I really wanted. Midreshet Berot Bat Ayin has given me the freedom to grow, become independent and work on myself in very profound ways. It is helping me to figure out who I am and what I want and my head has been cleared of superficial distractions.

Machteld (Merav)

Age: 62

I originally came to Berot Bat Ayin because I was interested in an Orthodox conversion. When I researched the program, I found that it seemed open and creative with an agricultural part that focused on nature. I also enjoyed that on Thursdays we go to the Old City in Jerusalem to study and that we have yoga classes.

I never thought I’d learn so much in two weeks. It has been important for me to be with younger people because it helped me to loosen up my previous lifestyle and thought processes. I can now see some things clearer, rather than being caught up in them. Younger people are at a stage of life where while the mind can still be convoluted, on another level, they are open rather than stagnant due to a lifetime of experience.

Music here is really important because I love music.

Before coming to Midreshet Berot Bat Ayin, I worked for 27 years in community health and retired a year ago. I had always wanted to come to Israel for an extended period of time.

Since being here, I have come to realize that I want freedom, rather than constriction. After my stay, I plan to go to Jerusalem for five months to take an ulpan. I will then return to Vancouver, Canada.

I cannot imagine being the same person coming back.

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