Zion Blumenthal Orphanage ( he, בית ציון בלומנטל ירושלים, Zion Blumenthal Home Jerusalem) is an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or a ...

and educational institution in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Founded in 1900, it is the oldest active orphanage 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 ...

History

The orphanage was founded near the

Bukharim quarter The Bukharan Quarter ( he, שכונת הבוכרים, ''Shkhunat HaBukharim''), also HaBukharim Quarter or Bukharim Quarter, is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, Israel. The neighborhood was established by Bukharan Jews of the Old Yishu ...

in 1900 by Rabbi Abraham Yochanan Blumenthal (1877–1966), a native of Jerusalem, who led the orphanage for 50 years. Blumenthal's wife, Shaina, served as a director for 40 years. By 1920, the Blumenthal Orphanage was home to 85 orphans. It absorbed many orphans from World Wars I and II and the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. The Blumenthal Orphanage was known for creating a family-like home environment for youth from many different religious communities –

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

, Ashkenazi,

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

, etc. The use of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

as the official language of instruction further served to unite children of different countries and languages. For many decades, the orphanage was a popular site for large events. It was the venue for the inauguration of the

Chief Rabbi of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate C ...

in 1921; the first ''

tish ''TISH'' was a Canadian poetry newsletter founded by student-poets at the University of British Columbia in 1961. The publication was edited by a number of Vancouver poets until 1969. The newsletter's poetics were built on those of writers associa ...

'' of the Belzer Rebbe in Jerusalem after his escape from

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...

-occupied Europe in 1944; and the wedding of Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik,

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...

of the Brisker yeshiva in Israel, in 1946. As the

Geula Geula ( he, גאולה lit. ''Redemption'') is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, populated mainly by Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Mea Shearim on t ...

neighborhood developed around the site of the orphanage, the institution became part of the Geula quarter. It is located two blocks north of the central intersection of Kikar HaShabbat. Its corner lot on Hoshea and Yechezkel Streets has been named Kikar Blumenthal (Blumenthal Square) in honor of the founder, Rabbi Abraham Yochanan Blumenthal.

Clientele

In its early years, the orphanage accommodated children whose parents had been killed by Arab marauders. Others were placed here by their poverty-stricken parents. Today, most of the residents are not orphans, but children whose parents have mental illness or addictions, or who are severely impoverished. Some are victims of physical or emotional abuse.Gordon, Rabbi Arye D. “LA Reception for Zion Blumenthal Orphanage”. ‘’

Hamodia ''Hamodia'' ( he, המודיע – "''the Informer''") is a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Jerusalem. A daily English-language edition is also published in the United States, and weekly English-language editions in England and Israel ...

’’, 2 June 2010, p. C18. The orphanage also accepts Jewish immigrant children from Russia and Ethiopia. By the end of 2011, the orphanage houses 100 children ages 7 to 18. An additional 120 youth attend an on-site

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish education, Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish p ...

high school named Yagdil Torah.

Current activities

The orphanage building is constructed around a central courtyard. An outdoor playground, fully equipped gym, library and

petting zoo A petting zoo (also called a children's zoo, children's farm, or petting farm) features a combination of domesticated animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. In addition to independent petting zoos, many general ...

are available to the residents.Friedman, Hadassah. "My Home Away From Home". '' Binah Bunch'', 18 July 2011, pp. 18–19. The orphanage provides afternoon extracurricular activities such as volleyball, gymnastics, music lessons, computer room, and gardening. In 2004 the orphanage introduced the concept of ''mishpachtonim'', or family units, for boys aged 7 to 14. There are currently five family units on the premises, where groups of 12 boys live in private apartments together with a young couple and their small children. The couple serve as dorm parents, serving and eating meals with the boys and looking after their daily needs.

Faculty

Rabbi Baruch Rakovsky, great-grandson of the founder, is executive director. His mother, Mrs. Rivka Rakovsky, a granddaughter of the founder, is director.

Notable alumni

Over the years, residents of the orphanage have gone on to become "rabbis, attorneys, accountants, clerks, teachers, and professional tradesmen". Notable alumni include Moshe Abutbul, mayor of

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in . History Tel Beit Shemesh The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city w ...

, and

David Azulai David Azulai ( he, דוד אזולאי; 5 May 1954 – 30 October 2018) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Shas for over 20 years from 1996 and 2018. He was also Minister of Religious Services from 2015 until his ...

, member of

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with th ...

for the

Shas Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...

party since 1997.

History

Clientele

Current activities

Faculty

Notable alumni

See also

References

Further reading