After an ongoing process, and with the cooperation of the education staff, parents” association, and students, the Orot Etzion Boys School will be renamed Neve Hare”l School after the late Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein. The decision was made through a democratic vote held at the school by the students and educational staff.
The school stated that all suggestions for names that reached the final pool reflected the numerous aspects in which we seek to educate our students. All personalities that were proposed for commemoration were exceptional figures.
“We are excited for the privilege of our school carrying the name and perpetuating the memory of a Torah giant whose spirit and virtues knew no bounds a man who established a system of Torah and Jewish life in Gush Etzion, and whom many members of the school community – parents and teachers alike, were his students and follow his teachings,” wrote the school principal, Tzippi Zacks.
“We are grateful for the privilege of living in the tradition of our forefathers, being a part of the Gush Etzion community, and to be able to place our chosen name alongside the word, Neve, which is an expression attributed to adornment, the flourishing of the Gush, as well as a reference to home.” Zacks added, “Let us pray that we are worthy of the name we have chosen, and that we will know how to fill it with substance that will echo the values of the school through the world: a sanctuary for Torah, Zionism, good attributes, and seeing the beauty and good reason in God and in man.”
The Mayor of the Gush Etzion Regional Council and Chairman of the Yesha Council, Shlomo Ne”eman, said that “As one whose spiritual upbringing was at Yeshivat Har Etzion, I was very touched that the teaching staff and students chose to name their school after our rabbi, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein O.B.M.
“It is a huge privilege for us, the school, and the whole of Gush Etzion. This decision attests to the powerful values of the students and the staff who guides them. Well done to the principal, Tzippi Zacks, the teachers, and staff. Good luck to Neve Hare”l School,” Ne’eman added.
Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein served as the head of Yeshivat Har Etzion together with Rabbi Yehuda Amital O.B.M. (for whom Carmei Yehuda School in Gush Etzion is named. He was a tremendous genius from among the students of the Gaon Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and an instrumental facilitator and founder of the great tradition of Torah that developed in Gush Etzion over time. Rabbi Lichtenstein passed away on 12 Iyar 5775 – 20 April 2015.
