02 Sep ON SAM, OUR TZEVET, TISHA B’AV & TORAH U’MADDAH
The last few weeks of school have seen a whirlwind of kedusha ensconce Yavneh. Simultaneous with an impactful visit by our scholar in residence, Rabbi Professor Sam Lebens, we have experienced a meaningful Tisha B’av with impactful programs for students, farewelled our Tzevet, and hosted a successful Year 11 Torah u’Maddah conference.
Sam’s visit was short (only ten days) but his impact was significant. Sam ran sessions relating to Torah and philosophy for students of Year 5 to 12, as well as connected to students personally by sharing his journey with students of Years 9-12 at beautiful tisches hosted by the Gochin, Orwin, Adler and Balter families. Sam also made himself available for small group interactions in which students had the opportunity to share with him what was on their mind and discuss their philosophical questions. Additionally, an event held for the community on “Faith, Philosophy and October 7” attracted a wonderful crowd, and provided an opportunity for our parent body (and beyond) to learn from Sam. We are grateful to the Davis family who hosted Sam throughout his stay.
At the conclusion of his visit, we gifted Sam with a booklet entitled “Thank you, Sam!” which contained messages from students and staff reflecting on what they had gained from his visit. Examples of messages included:
- “Thank you Sam Lebens for teaching us that G-d exists, even though I already knew that”
- “Thank you Sam!! You are such an inspiration to all of us. I have learnt so much from you in the short amount of conversations we have had and shiurim that you have given. You are so friendly to every student and teacher and make everyone feel seen and heard. Hope to see you again next year!”
- “You captivate everyone’s attention with ease and also keep us engaged easily and you are happy and able to answer every question (those that have answers of course). I really enjoyed having that smaller session with just you and am looking forward for you returning next year (and the year after that).”
- “Thanks so much for your sessions on philosophy and religion, they were all super interesting and I’ve become so fascinated in philosophy purely because of what you’ve taught us. Hope to see you next year!”
- “During you’re visit to Yavneh I learnt many things in your classes, you truly inspired me to learn more and discover the world of Judaism, thank you so much for speaking to us.”
During Sam’s visit, we marked Tisha B’av at the college. Students attended a full day of programming that included special Tisha B’av tefilla, communal kinnot and a tisch featuring songs that related to the themes of the day. Following this, students were able to select from a cornucopia of talks delivered by staff, our Jewish Life team and Tzevet as well as local and international guests. These sessions explored topics relating to the many facets of the day and were well received by our students. Compounding the sadness of the day, Tisha B’Av marked the Tzevet’s final day at Yavneh. We are incredibly grateful for their contribution this year which has included many Bet Midrash sessions, planned and delivered for our students over the course of the year. We wish Netanel, Noach, Tziki, Chananya, Oriya and Shira much success going forward!
On Friday 16 August, we ran our Torah u’Maddah conference for Year 11 students. It was an incredible event in which the intersection of Torah and a range of areas of general wisdom (Philosophy, Science, Psychology, Fashion, Feminism, Special Needs, Addiction, University, History and more) were explicated by professionals who meld their worldly expertise with an unshakeable fidelity to Torah-true Judaism. A highlight of the conference was a discussion between two religious Justices of Australian Supreme Courts: Justice Marcus Solomon of the Western Australian Supreme Court and Justice Ian Waller of the Victorian Supreme Court. Both shared their journey through the worlds of Torah and Law, describing the challenges and opportunities that emerged from these dual interests, and the way in which one coloured the other.
At the conclusion of the conference, students were challenged to identify the key themes and messages that they had taken from the talks they had selected and then find an area of personal growth stemming from these newfound realisations. Student reflections on the day included the following snippets:
- “Today absolutely blew my expectations… it was an awesome experience.”
- “We want to come back and give a talk [at a future conference], we want to get to that point in our lives where we can incorporate Torah into our professional lives.”
- “It really showed how much Judaism interacts with different ideas and situations.”
- “It really showed the connection between the secular world and Judaism, like how Torah relates to philosophy, fashion, feminism – it showed how it is all intertwined.”
- “All the speakers showed how Judaism is involved in their lives and careers and how it changes their perspectives.”
This incredible fortnight of learning has dovetailed with the Zionist camp season which commenced last Shabbat for our Year 12 cohort. Our Jewish Life team has been working hard on making these camps impactful, inspirational and enjoyable and, be’ezrat HaShem, a full report on the camps will be forthcoming in future editions of Kesher.
Until then, Shabbat Shalom,
Chaim