By: Sara Yocheved Rigler

Like all the residents of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, our family was dedicated to Kiruv Rehokim. We routinely had Shabbos guests for whom it was their very first Shabbos, for whom introducing them to a little Yiddishkeit was like opening a door to an unknown world. Many of them walked through that door and kept on walking, to Torah learning and full observance. But then came Covid-19. Israel imposed a lockdown, and health experts made it clear that people shouldn’t have guests outside their own nuclear family. Kiruv, the mitzvah that animated the Jewish Quarter, came to a screeching halt.

But not for Heritage House, the free Jewish hostel in the Old City dedicated to introducing Judaism to unaffiliated young Jews. They have managed to continue their holy work while following the guidelines of the Ministry of Health.

Heritage House’s program “Way More Israel” offers American Jewish college students a top internship in their field of study, while giving them a place to live in the Old City. For example, Zak is a pre-med student from Los Angeles with a minimal Jewish background. Heritage House got him an internship in the Emergency Room of Shaarei Tzedek Hospital. Twice a week the students on “Way More Israel” have a session of Jewish learning, carefully calibrated to introduce Judaism with increasingly deeper and more engaging ideas. By the end of the program, each student is learning one-on-one with a Heritage House staff member.

Heritage House considers follow-up the golden key to having a lasting effect. Therefore, Zak continued to learn with his “chavrusa” even after returning to college in America. In other cases, connecting Heritage House “graduates” to Torah organizations in their home cities changes the direction of their lives. Rachel came to Israel years ago and stayed at Heritage House’s free hostel. Her Jewish family back in Philadelphia never went to synagogue, and Rachel was content to be a cultural Jew. She rejected Rebbetzin Chaya Weisberg’s repeated invitations to attend a class at Neve. After Rachel returned to her pre-med course in Philadelphia, Rebbetzin Weisberg and the Heritage House staff kept offering to set her up at a Shabbos meal or class. Their persistence finally overcame Rachel’s resistance, and she agreed to attend a program at the local Aish HaTorah. Today Rachel, a doctor, is frum, married, and living in a frum community in Israel.

With a lack of international travelers, leaving Heritage House’s hostel often empty, Rabbi Matan Weisberg, who took over as the head of Heritage House from Rabbi Meir Shuster, z”l, innovated a new program. “Capsule Shabbatons” are held for secular Israelis in the 25-30-year-old range. The Shabbos and Motzei Shabbos programs are held outside, on the Weisbergs’ balcony, which boasts the world’s best view of Har HaBayis and the Kotel.  “These Israelis are very open and meaning-oriented,” says Rebbetzin Weisberg. “The Shabbatons are geshmak. We’re allowed by law to have up to 20 people. They all love it. And, as usual, we devote a lot of energy to follow-up, to making a permanent difference in Jewish lives.”

The mitzvah of kiruv rehokim has not disappeared amidst Covid-19. We dare not abandon the Zaks and Rachels whose Jewish souls long to connect to the Yiddishkeit of their great-grandparents. We can each make Heritage House our sheliach in this important mitzvah. By donating to Heritage House, you get a share in the Jewish life of Zak and Rachel and all their generations.