Rabbi Eliezer "Eli" Sadan (born December 1948) is an Israeli

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

, and the founder and head of the

mechina A Mechina Kdam-Tzvait ( he, מכינה קדם צבאית; "pre-military preparatory", plural Mechinot) is an autonomous unit of specialized educational institutions valuing non-formal education and pre-military training in Israel. Funded and supp ...

"Bnei David", the first pre-military preparatory program in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Sadan is a recipient of the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for Lifetime Achievement for special contribution to society and to the state.

Biography

Eli Sadan was born in 1948 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary. His parents, Rivka Kuti Annemann and Shalom Erwin Sadan, were

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no unive ...

. His father underwent a

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convent ...

, and spent about six months in the

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...

. After the war, his parents completed their studies in Hungary. They immigrated to Israel when Eli was one year old. Before joining the

Israel Defense Force The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...

, Sadan studied for four months at

Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh ( he, ישיבת כרם ביבנה, lit. ''Vineyard in Yavne Yeshiva'') is a youth village and major yeshiva in southern Israel. Located near the city of Ashdod and adjacent to Kvutzat Yavne, it falls under the jurisdictio ...

. He served in the Paratroopers Brigade; meanwhile, he was a commune coordinator in a

Bnei Akiva Bnei Akiva ( he, בְּנֵי עֲקִיבָא, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929. History B ...

branch in North Tel Aviv. After completing his military service, he began studying physics at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. A year later, he switched to Yeshivat

Mercaz HaRav Kook Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraham ...

, where he studied for 15 years and became a student of rabbis

Zvi Yehuda Kook Zvi Yehuda Kook ( he, צבי יהודה קוק, 23 April 1891 – 9 March 1982) was a prominent ultranationalist Orthodox rabbi. He was the son of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palest ...

and

Zvi Thau Zvi Yisrael Thau ( he, צבי ישראל טאו, born 1938) is a Religious Zionist rabbi, a disciple of Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, and co-founder and president of Yeshivat Har Hamor in Jerusalem. Biography Hans (Zvi Yisrael) Thau was born in Vienna t ...

. Rabbi Sadan is one of their leading students; like them, he believes that the state of Israel is

Atchalta De'Geulah In the Jewish classical texts, Atchalta De'Geulah (Aramaic: אתחלתא דגאולה; Hebrew: התחלת הגאולה, ''Hatchalat ha-Geulah''; lit., "the beginning of the redemption") is the period of time in which a new stage of revival in the pr ...

. During his studies, he was asked by Rabbi Kook to assist in establishing

Moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

Keshet in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

, and in establishing a core of Torah scholars in

Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan ...

. Together with Rabbi Tzvi Tau, he was delegated by Rabbi Zvi Yehuda with regarding to prisoners of Zion, among them

Natan Sharansky Natan Sharansky ( he, נתן שרנסקי; russian: Ната́н Щара́нский; uk, Натан Щаранський, born Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky on 20 January 1948); uk, Анатолій Борисович Щаранський, ...

. They even held a secret telephone conversation before Sharansky entered the Russian prison. Afterwards, Sadan held several meetings with US officials, in order to secure Sharansky's release. Reuven Rivlin in mechina Bnei David - Eli (2)

Reuven Rivlin in mechina Bnei David - Eli (2)

In 1988, Sadan established the first pre-military preparatory program (

), together with Rabbi Yigal Levinstein. The mechina is named "Bnei David", and is located in

Eli Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...

. The Mechina was established due to some religious soldiers leaving their religious frameworks during military service. Its goal is to prepare

men for full service in the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

, while encouraging them to serve in combat units and as officers. This track did not exist in the

Hesder Hesder ( he, הסדר "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program allo ...

yeshivas. Rabbi Sadan also initiated the establishment of the first secular mechina program, "Nachshon", established in 1997. In 2016, Rabbi Sadan was awarded the

for Lifetime Achievement due to his special contribution to society and to the State of Israel. Sadan is married, and has twelve children.

References

{{Authority control Israeli educators Israeli Orthodox Jews Israel Prize for special contribution recipients Mercaz HaRav alumni Living people 1948 births