On Friday evening of May 2, 1980, a group of students from Nir Yeshiva (Biblical Academy for males), located on the outskirts of the Biblical city of Hebron, excitedly headed to the Cave of Machpelah, the ancient burial site of the Biblical Patriarchs and Matriarchs. There, they joyfully welcomed in the Sabbath with uplifting prayers. Immediately afterwards, they walked to the nearby Hebron neighborhood of “Beit Hadassah,” where pioneering women, committed to rebuilding the city’s Jewish community, had been camping out with their children for a year. Inspired beyond measure by the self-sacrifice of the women, the Nir Yeshiva students came to share the celebratory spirit of the Sabbath with the women and their children.
That evening, however, terrorists bent on destroying the determination of the women at Beit Hadassah threw grenades and fired bullets in the direction of the students, murdering three of them. Heartbroken but resolute, their bereaved peers at Nir Yeshiva made certain that all three would leave behind a blessed legacy. Four years later, students from Nir Yeshiva officially founded, in the hills surrounding Hebron, the community of “Bet Hagai,” an acronym referencing the names of the three murdered students (Hanan Krauthammer, Gershon Klein, and Yaakov Zimmerman).
Five years later in 1989, the residents of Bet Hagai established a youth village for children from dysfunctional families, with welcoming group homes, loving house parents and mentoring Rabbis who ingrain the children with Biblical values and principles. In addition to the regular school program, the children explore a variety of disciplines such as pottery, woodworking, agriculture and farming, imparting to them the skills they need to become productive members of society.
The youth village has a sheep farm, where thank God, there are now 120 sheep. To accommodate the growing herd, Bet Hagai uses more land to graze the sheep, which also solidifies the Jewish presence in the surrounding area. Today Bet Hagai needs your help to expand its existing capability for feed storage. Your gift, will support the troubled youth of Bet Hagai, while securing the Jewish claim to the Biblical Heartland! Thank you for giving generously to the “lost boys” of Bet Hagai and helping them find their place in God’s plan for their lives.