Preparations for the new yeshiva school year in northern Samaria reached a new stage on Monday, when about 40 students joined the first team-building day for the new branch of the high yeshiva Bnei David from Eli. The school is scheduled to open on the first day of Elul in the renewed community of Ganim, and the group included recent 12th grade graduates who are expected to form the founding class, alongside older students who will begin years two and three there.
During the visit, the students toured Ganim, met the spiritual staff and heard about the vision of rebuilding the area as part of the renewal of the four northern Samaria settlements evacuated in 2005 under the disengagement plan. The day’s highlight was a festive completion of a Talmudic tractate by student Matan Cohen, held in the settlement, the first such ceremony in Ganim since residents were removed about 21 years ago.
The new branch will operate under the management of Bnei David in Eli, headed by Rabbi Yehuda Sadan. The Ganim branch will be led by Rabbi Neria Bolk, who said, “Baruch Hashem, we merited to come up today with about 40 students to Ganim ahead of the opening of the yeshiva on the first of Elul. במהלך היום עסקנו בגיבוש החבורה ובהיכרות עם החזון הרוחני של בית המדרש החדש. בעזרת ה' נפתח את שערי בית המדרש ונצמיח מקום של תורה שיהיה מקור אור וברכה לצפון השומרון המתחדש”.
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan joined the students and said, “Remember this morning, you are making history.” He added that 21 years after the evacuation, the community is fulfilling the vow to return to northern Samaria, and said Ganim will host a thriving yeshiva and a large settlement. He said the goal is to bring many families to the area and make the return irreversible.
