Transcript [00:00] Joining us now is Rabbi David Fendel, [00:01] Rosh Yeshivat Sderot. Shalom. [00:03] >> Shalom, Yoni. [00:04] >> So, we're talking about your Yeshiva, [00:06] which is located in southern Israel in a [00:08] city which was targeted on October 7th. [00:11] Rabbi Fendel, a few words, first of all, [00:13] about Yeshivat Sderot. [00:15] >> The Palestinians thought they'd make [00:16] this place into a ghost town, and they [00:17] almost did. We're not going to let them. [00:19] We're turning it into a capital of Torah [00:21] Zionists. They tried to destroy it. They [00:23] can't keep up with the pace of all the [00:24] awesome building that's going on here. [00:26] They tried to break our spirit. They [00:28] didn't realize it's invincible, [00:30] unbreakable. Th- hundreds, many hundreds [00:33] of guys learning, living, becoming part [00:36] of the municipality, part When I enter [00:37] the municipality, [00:39] the mayor used to work here, the deputy [00:41] mayor is a graduate, the head of the [00:42] economic development. It's as if [00:44] you reunion of everything that's going [00:47] on. When I walk into the educational [00:49] system, so teachers, one after the [00:51] other, they're all graduates. It's a [00:53] beautiful sight to see how a community [00:56] Yeshiva can make an awesome impact. [00:59] >> Now, your students on October 7th were [01:01] out there on the streets, [01:03] and you were also one of the first who [01:05] came back to the city after it was [01:07] evacuated. [01:08] >> Our guys became the guardians of the [01:10] city. Residents said that when they [01:11] looked out their window through a crack, [01:13] and they saw white shirts and kippot and [01:15] tzitzit [01:16] flying, and real ammunition, and guys [01:19] running, they felt protected. They felt [01:21] that with these Yeshiva guys, [01:23] gone are the days that Yeshiva guys [01:25] don't know how to support themselves. [01:26] And as a major history of Yeshiva, we've [01:29] proven that we can really be the [01:31] guardians of the city. But it's not that [01:33] it's When the city was deserted, we all [01:35] had to desert it. We came back. We came [01:37] back very quickly, the first, because we [01:40] felt it's a responsibility. If the Osem [01:42] factory could come back, then we we [01:45] should also be there, cuz we're also an [01:47] important major factory that produces [01:50] Torah giants, that produces leaders, [01:53] teachers, high-tech people, politicians. [01:56] And that's what a neighborhood Yeshiva [01:58] and Midrasha and Yeshiva high school [02:01] major systems major [02:03] educational systems of religious [02:05] Zionism. [02:06] >> And for the past 3 years, your guys are [02:09] out there in the army, the IDF, in the [02:11] north, in the south. [02:12] >> Hundreds of our students are on the [02:14] front lines all over. One day someone [02:17] comes back from Gaza and he describes [02:19] the unbelievable horrific scenes that [02:21] are going on there and others are in [02:23] Syria. I just got this Shabbat report [02:26] about how Syria is really totally [02:29] Israeli territory and how the residents [02:31] want us to stay. People talk about [02:33] Lebanon and people talk about their [02:35] experiences as a pilot even. We had a [02:38] pilot that on the night of the Iranian [02:40] attack, he got married. And he didn't [02:43] understand why his friends weren't [02:44] coming. [02:45] And when he found out, he said, "After [02:47] the huppah, I'm leaving." [02:49] He said, "Well, then you'll come come in [02:50] the morning." That's the type of mesirat [02:53] nefesh of real dedication that these [02:56] hundreds of soldiers have. [02:57] Unfortunately, [02:59] we buried [03:00] some of our alumni, six major six [03:04] giants, six heroes, six people that that [03:07] are a world unto themselves. [03:09] And unfortunately, [snorts] [03:10] there are wounded. But when you see that [03:12] these guys gave hundreds of days, then [03:15] we know that we're part of something [03:16] big. We're proud of them and even though [03:18] the Beit Midrash was emptier, [03:21] it's going to [03:22] refill on even a higher level. [03:24] >> And we understand that the Yeshiva is [03:25] expanding with the help and support of [03:28] friends in Israel and abroad. [03:29] >> It's frightening how much we're [03:31] expanding. We're building a gigantic [03:33] Beit Midrash. We're building a new lunch [03:36] room. We're building a new college for [03:38] women, a new high school, [03:40] dormitories. We're totally involved in [03:42] building cuz we believe that's our [03:44] responsibility and we have to thank all [03:47] those generous people. It's [03:48] unbelievable. Without them, we couldn't [03:50] have done anything near what we're [03:52] doing. We have to thank you for all your [03:55] generous donations. Every little [03:57] donation counts a lot. Bigger donations, [04:00] everything adds up. We can't do it [04:02] ourselves. We'd love to steal the [04:04] mitzvah for ourselves. We need you. We [04:06] need your help and we thank you [04:09] profusely for all your generosity and [04:12] for all your friendship. It helps us a [04:13] lot. It's what makes this place the [04:15] mixed city of capital of religious [04:17] Zionism. [04:18] >> So, Rabbi Fendel, how many years are you [04:20] in Sderot? [04:21] >> Over 30 years and we hope many, many [04:24] years to come because there are many [04:26] challenges. Yeshiva is expanding and [04:29] even going to different areas, opening [04:31] up new branches, helping to open up new [04:33] branches, new challenges. But in Sderot [04:36] itself, there's a demographic challenge [04:39] and our guys are beginning to enter the [04:41] city, build beautiful Torah homes. The [04:44] enrollment to the first grade in Sderot [04:46] is something awesome. There are tens of [04:49] first graders and many are opting after [04:52] October 7th to go to religious Zionism [04:54] because they realize that maybe they [04:56] have to learn more about why they're [04:58] here, who our enemy is, who our economy, [05:01] what our common threats are and that's a [05:04] major challenge to fill these schools [05:06] with proper teachers and to raise a new [05:08] generation of heroes, of courageous, [05:12] proud Israeli Zionists. [05:14] >> And are you still excited as you see all [05:17] this happening and expanding? [05:18] >> We're too busy to be excited, but [05:20] sometimes when we look and see the [05:23] hundreds of guys learning and then you [05:25] start to learn with them, you say, "Wow, [05:27] we're we're we're part of something [05:29] awesome, part of something great" and we [05:31] realize it's a special schutz that we [05:33] have to live up to. [05:34] >> Rabbi David Fendel, thank you very much. [05:36] >> Thank you, Yoni, and thanks for all our [05:38] friends, all our
