A total of 2,000 Israelis attended seminars and lectures when
Arachim sent some of its top lecturers on a lecture tour of
the US to introduce the foundations of Yiddishkeit and
emunoh to Israelis in America who were severed from
Jewish tradition.
The tour began with lectures by Rav Yaakov Elitzur and Rav
Yosef Kehati in West Hartford, Connecticut and ended in
Houston, Texas. Lectures and other gatherings were held in 35
different communities in Florida, Texas, California, Nevada,
Arizona and New York. Rav Yeinun Kalzan, an Arachim lecturer
based in New York, also took part in some of the lectures
given around the country.
Each of the communities gave Arachim a warm reception and
local Jewish leaders treated the staff with respect. The
majority of the participants were Israeli expatriates
(yordim) who showed a thirst to hear about the beauty
and uniqueness of the Jewish home and the positive impact of
traditional Jewish education. Various other lectures were
also given on topics such as personality development.
Rav Yitzhak Avital, director of Arachim's Events Department,
said in most of the locations the events stirred considerable
enthusiasm and his'orerus. In some instances the venue
had to be changed at the last moment to accommodate large
demand.
In Tampa, Florida an astonished rov said the Arachim lecture
drew the largest turnout his shul had ever seen and
previously no one had realized how many Israelis were living
in the city.
During the course of Adar, Arachim is holding seminars in
England, Mexico, South Africa and France in addition to the
dozens of seminars that take place in Israel throughout the
year.
