Dear Friends,
Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakai, at the destruction of the Second Temple, saw through the political crisis to grasp what was truly at stake: the future of Jewish culture. In one of the most incredible steps our religious leaders have ever taken, Ben Zakai asked the Roman leadership for Yavneh and its sages, in the midst of the battle. By making a conscious decision to give up hope for the holy Temple, Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakai immediately started to cultivate a new essence for continuing Jewish existence.
Taking an example from Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakai, we at Kolot are attempting to develop our own "Yavneh" to cultivate and secure a dynamic, capable Israeli leadership. We too, seek to know what merits renewal, what must be cast away, and what needs safe and loving keeping. Even as we strive for this knowledge, we actively work with insight we have gleaned, persisting in building wherever we see equal partners in this crucial work.
Moti Bar-Or
Founder & Director