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Meet
Our Married Couples
Baruch
and Ariella Rubin 2006-2008
We
decided to begin living a traditional Jewish lifestyle
when we became engaged in 2003. After spending a
year in Michigan working and going to school, we
decided to spend a year in Israel learning and connecting
to our Jewish roots. Thinking ahead, we applied
to the program at Darche Noam a few years in advance
as we were in the midst of work and school at the
time. Two years later with an 11 week old baby we
headed off to Jerusalem.
We decided on the couples program because we wanted
to be connected to one community of teachers and
students. We had met with Rabbi Shiruin and Rabbi
Shoshan and liked what they had to say. We were
excited about the opportunity to meet other couples.
This was a unique opportunity in Israel that was
not offered by anyone else.
Being able to spend our time learning in Israel
has been a tremendous opportunity. As we spend more
time connecting ourselves to Torah, its depth only
continues to increase. There is no substitute for
full time learning, time in Israel, and having teachers
pass along the inner depth that lies behind and
inside the texts. Torah is truly learned from person
to person, from heart to heart and we are blessed
to have time to be sponges at this stage in our
lives.
Having a baby in Israel is great. It is a very baby
friendly place. A good stroller is a must and finding
child care is a necessity if both halves want to
learn in a serious way. We have been able to find
everything we need here, especially, time to be
bonding as a young family. The other students at
the yeshiva give lots of love and affection to our
son, like many uncles and aunts who pinch cheeks
whenever they get the chance.
You can email us at rubinbrand@gmail.com
Rod and Tova Jussim 2006-2008
While dating, we spent much of our time talking
about our values, trying to decipher if our spiritual
path was "in sync". It became clear relatively early,
that although we had both had bits and pieces of
yeshiva experiences, neither one of us had really
taken the "leap" and committed to full time learning
for a long period of time. We kept discussing the
process, but the reality of quitting our jobs and
going to Israel for a year became both a dream and
a necessity. How could we build a healthy marriage
and raise children to value learning if we ourselves
had not role modeled this behavior?
So, a few months after marriage, we packed up all
of our things in Passaic, NJ, quit our jobs and
headed for the holy land. From the very beginning,
it was very clear that we wanted to be at Darche
Noam. We knew many alumni who shared with us the
commitment to textual learning at both Shapell's
and Midreshet Rachel. We knew that we both wanted
to learn-that was not negotiable. Knowing that we
would be learning with the same Rabbis, socializing
with other couples, taking special couples shiurim,
participating in special shiurim for married women
and men-these perks put Darche Noam over the top.
Often friends would say-why don't you stay in America
and learn? Going to Darche Noam was twofold-the
opportunity to start our marriage in a Torah environment
where we could BOTH learn and the ability to do
it in Israel. Since we have been here it has been
amazing-our relationship has grown since we have
centered our lives on Torah learning. We only hope
we can continue this growth when we no longer have
the privilege to learn full time!
You can email us at tovajussim@gmail.com
Gavriel and Devorah Lewin
2004-2006
Gavriel, grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and came
to Darche Noam after teaching for 2 years in the
inner-city schools in St. Louis, Missouri, as part
of Teach For America. Devorah, grew up in Santa
Barbara, California and came to study at Midreshet
Rachel after completing law school at UC Berkeley.
Both were drawn to Darche Noam by its diverse faculty,
its emphasis on fostering independence in learning
and its focus on developing the whole Jew.
The two were introduced by mutual Rabbeim and were
married in Jerusalem. After their wedding, they
continued learning in the married couples program,
a decision that enabled them to begin their marriage
immersed in Torah and surrounded by their mentors.
"We are indebted to Darche Noam not only for introducing
us, but also for giving us the building blocks to
create a home and raise a family dedicated to Torah
and mitzvot."
The Lewins currently live in Baltimore, Maryland,
where Gavriel is a secular studies teacher at Yeshivat
Rambam and Devorah is a real estate lawyer.
You can email them at devorahmaho@hotmail.com
Daniel and Shoshana Citron
2002-2004
Within weeks of getting married in 2003, we were
living and learning in Darche Noam. Immediately
on becoming engaged we had submitted our application,
with a very, very long cover letter, knowing that
Darche Noam was the perfect environment to start
off and nurture our marriage. As a bochur in the
yeshiva I had seen a number of couples successfully
begin a beautiful marriage in Darche Noam.
Despite the fact that the standard of learning in
Darche Noam is unsurpassed and the Rabbonim are
truly excellent, we did consider other yeshivas,
mainly because I had already completed 2 years in
Darche Noam. However, the total package that Darche
Noam offers a married couple is impossible to beat
for couples like us (despite the fact that back
in our day no stipend was paid!). Darche Noam is
a community, the Rabbis, their famililies, the bochurim
etc. are all one big family. Such a strong caring
support network is really key for a new couple who
have left their families behind in chutz la'aretz.
Having said that, two of my brothers had chosen
to study in the yeshiva at the same time as me and
rumours were that the Irish were taking over! We
particularly enjoyed the contrast between the privacy
we had in our simple but perfect apartment and the
interaction we could choose to have with the bochurim
during 'In Shabboses' etc. The Yeshiva's tolerance
of all forms of Torah Judaism matched our Hashkafa
and we naturally gravitated to a few of the Rabbanim
whose derech we admired and wished to emulate. In
addition the Yeshiva offered a number of married
couples and first year of marriage shiurim which
were full of Torah wisdom applicable to building
a solid Torah marriage.
Before arriving, Shoshana had just finished a teaching
qualification in London and before that she had
attended a number of seminaries with various hashkafas.
Midreshet Rachel gave her an opportunity to improve
her learning skills, exploring new texts and develop
close friendships.
All in all, Darche Noam gave us the perfect environment
to build the foundations of our marriage in a supportive,
Torah focused environment. The amount that we developed
in that time was a product of the effort we put
in, however the Darche Noam experience certainly
helps a couple maximize growth in observance and
midot.
We decided to return to London in time for me to
get a job before our first child was born. We promised
everybody we'd return to Eretz Yisroel within 3
years although we felt that 5 years was more realistic!
B"H I found a job almost immediately and within
3 years we have managed to move back to Eretz Yisroel
currently living in Beit Shemesh near Rabbi Silverberg
and Rabbi Aaronson.
We thank Darche Noam and its staff for all they
have given us including this wonderful experience.
You can email us at shoshcitron@yahoo.co.uk
Joel and Jackie Lynn 2001-2003
Jackie and I got married in October, 2001 in Baltimore,
Maryland, where I was a Hillel Director and Jackie
was getting her Masters Degree in Social Work. After
that academic year, we set off for a year of learning
in Israel. While I was considering several yeshivas,
I picked Shapell's because of the unique opportunity
for Jackie and me to learn from the same rebbeim
and live in the building where I was learning.
Shapell's and Midreshet Rachel v'Chaya turned out
to be the perfect place for us, and I returned for
a second year at Shapell's. We loved living "on
campus" and being such a part of the community -
 especially
celebrating the birth of our son with a Shalom Zachor
and Bris in the yeshiva building which was also
our home (and having so many guys around to help
us clean for Pesach three weeks later wasn't bad,
either!).
Thank G-d, three children and some years later,
our dream of living in Jerusalem and learning in
Israel is still in progress. Shapell's gave me the
background I needed to join a more advanced yeshiva
and Jackie the background to run a Jewish home in
our apartment in Har Nof, Jerusalem. We still maintain
our close relationships with our rabbis and friends
from our years at Shapell's and MRC.
You can email us at jlynn@actcom.com
Daniel and Yael Aldrich
1998-1999
We came to Darche Noam via Berkeley, CA from North
Carolina, where we'd been at university. After learning
about the married couples program, we decided to
postpone entry to graduate school in Boston (at
Brandeis and Harvard) to spend one year learning
at Darche Noam. (We've come back twice to learn
for vacations since that time.) More than any other
program, Darche Noam provided an opportunity not
only where we could share the same rabbanim, so
that we received the same (as opposed to conflicting)
teaching, but also so that we could experience the
couples-only program. Through joint meetings with
husbands and wives at the houses of married couples,
along with separate meetings for the women and men,
rabbanim from the yeshiva worked to help us align
our marriage and values with Torah and Yahadus.
Because we shared amazing teachers, such as Rabbis
Wagensberg, Fischer, Karlinsky, and Farber, we built
common spiritual and intellectual ground through
textual study and interaction. We highly recommend
the program for couples in their first year of marriage
(as we were) or in their 100th.
You can email us at daniel.aldrich@gmail.com
Amos and Ellen Levi 1990
By the time Ellen and Amos met in graduate school,
Israel was already a core component of their Jewish
experience. They frequently spoke about previous
time spent in Israel and how amazing it would be
to go back and spend time there as a couple. After
they married and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, their
spiritual journey together continued. During their
second year there, an opportunity arose for Amos
to lead a student Israel trip (a precursor to Birthright
Israel). Ellen's employer, the Jewish Community
Federation of Cleveland, sent her to Israel for
a professional conference at the same time. On the
plane ride home, Ellen said that she didn't want
to be one of those people who always look back and
say "it would have been nice if we had…". If they
wanted to learn in Israel, then they should be doing
so. Within two weeks, their minds were made up.
The choice of Darche Noam was a "no brainer." They
wanted to be in a place where they could grow together
and be guided by the same teachers. They wanted
an experience where they could deepen their textual
skills and appreciate the complexity and diversity
of the frum world. They loved having the opportunity
to develop meaningful relationships with many of
the same teachers and rabbis both in and outside
of the classroom. Six years later, their time at
Darche Noam continues to impact them as individuals,
as a couple, and as a family every day.
You can email them at alevi@associated.org
Back to the Married Couples
Program
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