After 60 years: Ayelet Hashahar inaugurated shull in Kibbutz Be'eri

60 years since the establishment of Kibbutz Be'eri near the Gaza Strip periphery, the organization of Ayelet Hashahar inaugurated a shull at Kibbutz Beeri with the participation of Chairman of Ayelet Hashahar Rabbi Shlomo Raanan, Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau, head of the Eshkol Regional Council Gadi Yarkoni, kibbutz members and many guests.

Kibbutz Beeri - named after the literary name of Berel Katznelson - is a secular kibbutz located in the Gaza area. The establishment of a shull in the kibbutz was accompanied by many difficulties and objections on the part of many members of the kibbutz and the organization Ayelet Hashahar escorted the construction of the synagogue throughout. For 60 years the kibbutz was considered "strictly secular" and could not accept the fact of building a synagogue in the center of the kibbutz.

Only after much discussion and countless gatherings, with Ayelet Hashachar aiding the individual kibbutz members who wanted the establishment of the shull, most of the kibbutz members voted in favor of its establishment.

Chairman of Ayelet Hashahar Rabbi Shlomo Raanan said at the dedication ceremony of the synagogue that "there is no doubt that even Berl Katzenelson the namesake of the kibbutz, would recognize and appreciate the importance of the synagogue at the Kibbutz and that he must have realized the need and importance of the existence of a synagogue in every Jewish community in Israel. The vision of Ayelet Hashahar is taking shape here in Beeri, in Kfar Aza, in Kibbutz Ein Harod and many more from the north to the south".

Eshkol Regional Council head, Gadi Yarkoni, said at the event that "there is no greater joy as head of the Eshkol Regional Council, as son of Hashomer Hatza'ir, secular and graduate of Ma'ale Habesor, than standing and congratulating Kibbutz Beeri for opening a new synagogue. It is a great honor for me."

Chaim Choter-Yishai, one of the elders of the kibbutz, gave a moving speech at the inauguration of the synagogue and was particularly moved by the fact that he would have the merit to pray after decades in which he did not visit a shull. "After sixty years of not praying, suddenly there is a synagogue," he said. "I stand at the Amud of Chazan, and I remember all the prayers from start to finish, everything," he described the excitement. "It was not easy, there were a lot of friends who said to me, 'Over my dead body, there will not be a synagogue here, and I said, 'Over my live body, there will be a synagogue here."

The organization Ayelet Hashahar was established 18 years ago by Rabbi Shlomo Raanan, whom the poor situation in many settlements and kibbutzim touched and would not leave him in peace. The organization deals with the establishment of synagogues and Hachnasas Sifrei Torah in kibbutzim and towns across the country.

The organization also established the 'Association of World synagogues', which serves as an address for all aspects of synagogues anywhere in the world and many communities around the country and the world make use of it.

The activity of Ayelet Hashahar reaches its peak during the High Holy Days and festivals in which the organization sends volunteers to dozens of kibbutzim and moshavim throughout the country, who complement minyanim and serve as ba'alei tekia and chazanim. On the upcoming Yom Kippur the organization will hold approximately 70 minyanim in kibbutzim throughout the country, with these minyanim having many participants for whom it would be the first prayer in their lives.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!