For some hesder yeshiva students the bein hazmanim provided them with an opportunity to expand their knowledge in another area other than Torah, taking a course to improve their an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician ) skills.
The hesder talmidim were using the opportunity for some advanced training, with most of them entering the the IDF for 18 months of military service. The course was provided by Magen David Adom.
Some of the talmidim who are not entering the army will be ‘on call’ in their home/yeshiva area to assist in first response in those areas. This is particularly true for talmidim living in periphery community such as Kiryat Shmona, Maalot, and Yerucham.
In exchange for the course, the talmidim committed to doing at least one weekly shift at a MDA station. Sixty talmidim took part in the advanced course. MDA Director-General Eli Bin praised the hesder talmidim and their willingness to become involved in the organization’s lifesaving work.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
AMEN, should be a chiyuv that all men take basic EMT courses and it should be part of the CORE CURRICULUM called ‘pikuach nefesh’.
Wonderful. I’m sure some will feel it’s bitul Torah but most people cannot learn all day every day and its high time our leaders recognized that fact
“another area other than Torah”
This is a great example of people using their bein hazmanim constructively. Well done!
Nice, but wouldn’t it have been better if they would have combined the program with some Torah learning as well? That would have been more impressive. Bein Hazmanim is in order to rest a bit from Torah learning, not to rest “completely” from Torah learning. Granted each individually may have still spent some time learning, but it is definitely not the same as a group learning Torah together.
Learning hatzolas nefoshos is NOT an area outside Torah. Bitulah, zehu kiyumah. This not actually studying inside a text is the biggest way of keeping torah going.