Tafnit

Tafnit is the scheme offering it’s participants to experience the best that Israel has to offer. The idea is a synthesis program of studying and experiencing the more physical sides of our spiritual country by volunteering at different options throughout the year. The program caters for serious minded young men and women that do not want to obligate themselves to one place of learning for a whole year, but on the other hand, want to spend a considerable time of studying in order to enhance their Torah and academic skills during the year in Israel. The program has a fair mix of work and study spread equally over the year.

The year begins with a month of working and living on Kibbutz. The idea is to experience that special atmosphere of the large family of a kibbutz, while living as a ‘chaver’ of the kibbutz by working in one of the fields of employment that the Kibbutz has to offer. The participants will be dividing their time between work, initial orientation in Israel and bonding the group together.

The second stage is living and working in a development town in Israel (Beit Shemesh) and to volunteer in the fields of education and social needs of the local Israeli citizens. The idea is to experience independent living in Israel while working and giving to the community at large.

After the Kibbutz and city period the time for more spritiual work has arrived on the Year Program. We will go up to a serious intensive learning period of Torah for the boys and girls. The participants spend two months studying Chumash, Jewish philosophy, Talmud, Ethics and much more. The idea is to enrich ourselves through the amazing amount of Torah scholars that are available in Israel, to strengthen our Jewish identity and to be able to return to our communities and teach what we have learnt. The studying is intensive and requires a serious commitment on behalf of the participants.

The next stage is a special option will be made available to volunteer for a two month period of individual volunteering by choosing your own scheme according to the following options:

• Marva – a course in the Israeli Army, living and training as an Israeli soldier would
• MDA – Completing a Magen David Adom First Aid course, and then volunteering at a MDA station
• Social Volunteering – living and working in a children’s village or other options.

The participant can choose one of these options for a period of 2 months.

The summer in Israel is the time when we leave the country for a week and go to Poland. It is one of the highlights of the program. Poland is viewed as an educational must and is prepared meticulously by the educational staff of the program as to make the whole experience meaningful and a lifetime experience.

The last major component of the year is the Machon Lemadrichim. The Machon is a four month Jewish leadership course dealing with various contemporary themes regarding Israel and Judaism. Jewish history, Israel and Palestinian relations, Religious Zionism, Holocaust and Tanach are just a few examples of the issues taught, discussed and debated in an open and non-biased manner. Such topics can be contentious and controversial, yet for anybody to understand Israel and the Jewish world today, it is essential that s/he is informed about them. The participants will experience a high level period of studies, taught by a wide range of speakers, organized by the Torani Machon of the Jewish Agency, specifically tailored to the Bnei Akiva Hachshara program. Obviously, tiyulim around the country are an intrinsic part of the educational process of the machon.

The variety of the Bnei Akiva Tafnit scheme makes it the most dynamic, interesting and exciting program.