July 2, 2008 -
Today we visited with Rev Yitzhak Grossman of Migdal Ohr, in the city of Migdal Ha’ Emek. Migdal Ha’ Emek is a development town, initially built primarily for immigrants from Eastern Europe and Northern Africa. It has had a checkered history, starting out in the 1950s as a town filled with crime, unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse and a severe lack of faith. Migdal Ha’ Emek was a very dangerous place.
The Disco Rabbi
This brings us to Rev (Rabbi) Yitzhak Grossman. When I met him, it was very clear that I was in the presence of an exceptionally holy man, a man of unusual caring. The Rev decided after the Miracle of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, when Jerusalem was delivered to the Jews, that he would give his life to G-d in such a way that he would make a meaningful difference. He told us that he could have become an assistant Rabbi at a nice Yeshiva or Synagogue in Jerusalem and have had a comfortable life. Instead, he arrived in Migdal Ha’ Emek in 1968, because G-d told him people needed him there. He asked where the Yeshiva was and where were all of the kids who were supposed to be there for prayer and learning. He was told to go to the streets and the discos to find them.
So that is what he did, even though he did not know what a disco was. He found them there and became known as the “Disco Rabbi”. The footage of this Orthodox Jewish Rabbi dancing with kids and showing them that he was willing to reach out to them is amazing. He found that these children were not loved nor cared for. They were not in school and no one was educating their minds or their souls. He decided that he would provide them with the educational and spiritual nourishment that they needed. Rev Grossman first took in 18 children from the streets and clothed, taught and protected them. He convinced neighbors to house other orphans and foster children that he was saving off of the streets and out of broken homes. Ultimately he built a campus for them.
Migdal Ohr
Forty years later, Rev Grossman proudly took us on a tour of his school campus at Migdal Ohr . It is now home, school and synagogue to 6,500 boys and girls of all ages, from toddler to 2 years post high school. These children come from all over Israel and learn important values that they take with them forever. He graduates 650 children a year now, many of whom leave school to meet their military obligation as officers. To date, Migdal Ohr has graduated over 15,000 children from the 30 types of schools on the campus.
Prison Rehabilitation Program
He has developed the most effective prison rehabilitation program in the country in the local jail. The program is such a success that it is now used in other Israeli prisons. He introduced us to a young man who was so thankful for the Rev having saved his life. After completing eleven years in jail, as well as surviving a broken home with alcohol abuse, he went into the Yeshiva and became a Rabbi. He now works at Migdal Ohr and prays every day that the Rabbi can continue doing for others what the Rabbi did for him.
Helping National Defense
In the Second Lebanon War in 2006, the campus of Migdal Ohr had to be evacuated because of the rocket attacks. One of his graduates had been called up for active duty and, along with 800 other soldiers, was housed in an unused warehouse in Tel Aviv with no air conditioning in sweltering heat. Without hesitation, he told them to use Migdal Ohr’s campus. When the soldiers arrived around midnight, he sent them all into the pool, had food and music for them and provided them with spare clothing. He made them understand how they were revered for their service to Israel, and that they were loved. He told them that all 800 would come back safely from Lebanon. Several weeks later upon their return from Lebanon, all 800 of them were greeted at Migdal Ohr with another party!
Migdal Ha’ Emek today
Rev Grossman thanked us for coming. He said our visit was a confirmation of the work that they are doing every day. He stated unequivocally that you cannot save a town or a village without first saving the children. He said that “I collect kids to give them souls and to make a better Israel”.
Today Migdal Ha’ Emek is a different place, with over 75 manufacturing plants, low unemployment and a better, safer community. Without the efforts of the Disco Rabbi over the last forty years, this city would still be the small, tough, hopeless development town it was in the 1950s and 1960s.
Lessons Learned
The power of one man to take risks to turn around a community is a lesson that could be extrapolated to many towns throughout the Middle East, the West Bank and Gaza. If only one brave imam or one brave teacher would start to change the hearts and minds of the Palestinian children, so that they could believe that they were valued and loved and that they will have a good life, it could be the tipping point that could make peace in the Middle East achievable.
The Disco Rabbi
This brings us to Rev (Rabbi) Yitzhak Grossman. When I met him, it was very clear that I was in the presence of an exceptionally holy man, a man of unusual caring. The Rev decided after the Miracle of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, when Jerusalem was delivered to the Jews, that he would give his life to G-d in such a way that he would make a meaningful difference. He told us that he could have become an assistant Rabbi at a nice Yeshiva or Synagogue in Jerusalem and have had a comfortable life. Instead, he arrived in Migdal Ha’ Emek in 1968, because G-d told him people needed him there. He asked where the Yeshiva was and where were all of the kids who were supposed to be there for prayer and learning. He was told to go to the streets and the discos to find them.
So that is what he did, even though he did not know what a disco was. He found them there and became known as the “Disco Rabbi”. The footage of this Orthodox Jewish Rabbi dancing with kids and showing them that he was willing to reach out to them is amazing. He found that these children were not loved nor cared for. They were not in school and no one was educating their minds or their souls. He decided that he would provide them with the educational and spiritual nourishment that they needed. Rev Grossman first took in 18 children from the streets and clothed, taught and protected them. He convinced neighbors to house other orphans and foster children that he was saving off of the streets and out of broken homes. Ultimately he built a campus for them.
Migdal Ohr
Forty years later, Rev Grossman proudly took us on a tour of his school campus at Migdal Ohr . It is now home, school and synagogue to 6,500 boys and girls of all ages, from toddler to 2 years post high school. These children come from all over Israel and learn important values that they take with them forever. He graduates 650 children a year now, many of whom leave school to meet their military obligation as officers. To date, Migdal Ohr has graduated over 15,000 children from the 30 types of schools on the campus.
Prison Rehabilitation Program
He has developed the most effective prison rehabilitation program in the country in the local jail. The program is such a success that it is now used in other Israeli prisons. He introduced us to a young man who was so thankful for the Rev having saved his life. After completing eleven years in jail, as well as surviving a broken home with alcohol abuse, he went into the Yeshiva and became a Rabbi. He now works at Migdal Ohr and prays every day that the Rabbi can continue doing for others what the Rabbi did for him.
Helping National Defense
In the Second Lebanon War in 2006, the campus of Migdal Ohr had to be evacuated because of the rocket attacks. One of his graduates had been called up for active duty and, along with 800 other soldiers, was housed in an unused warehouse in Tel Aviv with no air conditioning in sweltering heat. Without hesitation, he told them to use Migdal Ohr’s campus. When the soldiers arrived around midnight, he sent them all into the pool, had food and music for them and provided them with spare clothing. He made them understand how they were revered for their service to Israel, and that they were loved. He told them that all 800 would come back safely from Lebanon. Several weeks later upon their return from Lebanon, all 800 of them were greeted at Migdal Ohr with another party!
Migdal Ha’ Emek today
Rev Grossman thanked us for coming. He said our visit was a confirmation of the work that they are doing every day. He stated unequivocally that you cannot save a town or a village without first saving the children. He said that “I collect kids to give them souls and to make a better Israel”.
Today Migdal Ha’ Emek is a different place, with over 75 manufacturing plants, low unemployment and a better, safer community. Without the efforts of the Disco Rabbi over the last forty years, this city would still be the small, tough, hopeless development town it was in the 1950s and 1960s.
Lessons Learned
The power of one man to take risks to turn around a community is a lesson that could be extrapolated to many towns throughout the Middle East, the West Bank and Gaza. If only one brave imam or one brave teacher would start to change the hearts and minds of the Palestinian children, so that they could believe that they were valued and loved and that they will have a good life, it could be the tipping point that could make peace in the Middle East achievable.
2 comments:
Dear Jim,
Thank you for educating us in your terrific blog writings. Your observations are eye-opening, detailed, analytical, nuanced, and very satisfying to read. It is fun to read your conclusions after describing opposing points of view. Thank you for taking us with you on this amazing journey. With love and respect, Phyllis Rappaport
Thank you Jim for your wonderful story describing "The Holy Man of Migdal Ha' Emek". I loved the way you told it. The world needs to hear more about "holy people" who have made important positive changes. They are always willing to sacrifice and I will always remember "you cannot save a town or village without first saving the children." It is easier to develop a soul with the young.
God has blessed you too.
Sally C.
Post a Comment