News And Events

South Korea Ambassador Visits Bnei Brak

Mr. Yang Sam Ma, South Korea Ambassador in Israel; Rabbi Yaakov Asher, Mayor of Bnei Brak and the great Rabbi Yosef Brook, head of “Netivot Olam”Yeshiva attended a special discussion concerning the fundamentals of the Talmud and its centrality in the life of the Jewish people, as part of a tour the Ambassador took around the city, which he did in order to hear about the Talmud, which is translated to English and is read by millions of South Korea residents who own and enjoy it.

The fascinating visit started at Rabbi Yaakov Asher’s chambers, the Mayor, who emphasized the Torah of Israel as the main justification for the Jewish people being and existing in Israel, and that the Torah is the deed in which was written about Israel as an inheritance to the people of Israel, for all generations. The Mayor also emphasized that as he knows, the Korean people is looking for the uniqueness in the wisdom of the Israeli nation, and is the reason for them learning the Talmud, while in addition to it, the Talmud is the main educational book of the Jewish people, and as he knows, in Korea education is very much emphasized.

Mr. Yang Sam Ma, the South Korean Ambassador spoke of the reasons for the Korean people to know the Talmud, out of wishing to know the secret of the Jewish people’s wisdom, and among that, spoke of the fact that even though Israel is one of the smallest nations in the world, 28% of Nobel Prize winners are Jewish. The Ambassador emphasized, that after looking into it, the Korean people has realized that the origins of the Jewish people is in learning the Talmud.

The Ambassador said that though the Talmud is not part of the mandatory education curriculum in Korea, it is still on bookshelves in most homes. He also told that the Korean people shows a lot of interest in the history of the people of Israel and that about 50,000 tourists come, each year, from Korea to Israel, and today there is also a direct flight to Israel. In conclusion he added that his wife gave him, as a gift for his birthday, all the volumes of the Talmud. Accompanying Ambassador was also Mr. Yosef Sarudi, businessman and friend of the Ambassador.

From the city hall, the visit continued to “Lehava”center, in which free lessons are given in computers which is operated in cooperation with city hall and treasury department. The center activates as a service to the schools authority and all classes in it are separated, and children of all ages go there from all parts of the city. The essence of the project and its way of operation was presented by accountant Mali Gordon, of the education department in city hall, also in charge of this project.

In the “Mayaney Hayeshua”hospital in Bnei Brak, the Mayor and the Ambassador met with the hospitals’management who reviewed the impressive development of the institute, adding more units, departments and new and unique equipment. Rabbi Dr. Moshe Rothschild, founder and president of the hospital; Rabbi Gershon Lidar, CEO and Professor Mordechai Ravid, medical director emphasized that although the hospital is located around many other will known hospitals, people still come to it from everywhere because of the combination between high level medicine, warm and welcoming treatment to everyone, upholding medicine according to the Halacha rules and sanctity of life matters.

The Ambassador’s visit created a lot of excitement, in “Netivot Ha’Olam”Yeshiva, with Rabbi Arye Visper, student in the Yeshiva, who fought in the Korean War decades ago, and also received a medal from the Korean government. A broad panel was held in the yeshiva, in which participated the head of the yeshiva, the Mayor, the Ambassador and students of the yeshiva, among them doctors and science scholars, who emphasized the importance of learning the Torah among the orthodox community. When 3 year old kids come from their Talmud and Torah lessons on Saturday nights with notebooks filled with Torah writings on the weekly Torah portion and present them before their parents who are happy to ask them and get answers from them during Shabbat dinner. Professor Doron Orbach, chemical labs director in Bar Ilan University; businessman Rami Feler and Mr. Yoel Bardugo, former economic consultant to “Teva”, three of them students in the yeshiva, presented in front of the Ambassador their life’s theory on learning the Torah and the Talmud as a main principle for the people of Israel, all the time and everywhere, and that is also the foundation of their entering the world of Torah and the yeshiva.