The Society for Bible Study is an association founded in 1950 by Professor Chaim Moshe Itzchak Gevaryahu and David Ben Gurion. The goal of the society is to spread the study of the bible in Israel.
The association is an NPO with a certificate of proper management from the Ministry of Justice and a tax relief certificate in accordance with Income Tax Ordinance 46.
“Since I arrived in Israel, I was shaped mostly by the bible, which I only began to understand in depth, here in Israel, and I've been influenced by it more than any other book or literature - Jewish or otherwise.” (Quote from the first Prime Minister - David Ben Gurion).
The association sees itself in the center of public activity for the bible and those who study it, youth and adults alike, in a national and worldwide deployment.
In recent years, we have sensed a growing alienation towards the holy sources and culture that characterized the people of Israel in the period following the founding of the country and until recent years. Therefore, it is our duty now to bring the book of books closer to students while emphasizing the experiences of the bible in accordance with Ben Gurion's will and the vision of the founders as they wrote in the Declaration of Independence that the country would be “founded on the principles of liberty, justice and peace in light of the vision of the prophets of Israel”.
The scholarship committee of the Society for Bible Study, which convenes once a year, attended by at least 4 regular members, decides on the matter of awarding scholarships to bible students and groundbreaking entrepreneurs in the promotion of bible studies among the youth.
Setting up funds in accordance with applications of people interested in commemorating their relatives or setting up a scholarship fund in their name.
The association has created a series of weekly lectures that are available worldwide in Hebrew and English on the teachings and ideas of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the “To Heal a Fractured World” lecture series, since the death of Rabbi Sacks, may he rest in peace.
The association sends weekly articles by Sacks to over 5800 regular recipients by email in Israel and the world, who wish to learn about Rabbi Sacks’ teachings.
The society also holds activity days (also called “peak days”) under the title “Bible with Flying Colors” for a secular state high school in order to bring the youth closer to the book of books and to show them that “the bible is not a religion, it's a way of life!”… This activity is performed under the supervision of education personnel and senior bible lecturers. This year, over 30 schools have registered but due to budgetary limitations, peak days will only be held in 23 schools. We hope that next year, around 40 schools will register to the program.
We’ve achieved an educational momentum in state schools, and created a free website located at www.tanach5@org
in order to allow youths to prepare and take the bible matriculation exams at a 5-unit level, which successfully provides them with extra credit when they enroll in academia.
Schools in the diaspora did not learn about the prophets. The Israeli landscape that can be glimpsed among the prophetic verses was not known to pupils in the Batei Midrash in the diaspora. The messages, which focused on questions of the kingdom, identifying regions, military maneuvers and biblical questions of morality that belong to society and the people are greatly prominent in the prophets’ world of content, but were not present in the daily life of communities in the diaspora.
The return to Israel was characterized with a deep connection to the country and national ethoses, the desire to take the land back "with our feet” and to create an ethos of a strong bond with the land through our presence there.
Bible studies in general, especially the Prophets books, as well as touring by foot in the regions where the events therein took place constitute the link between the scholastic world and the Jewish world of content, and the Israeli reality...
This program is designed to establish the connection to the land - it is a unique branch of Israeli studies that we wish to develop in a way that is accessible to anyone, whether religious or secular.
This program aims to empower and deepen the field of Israeli bible studies, by characterizing the connection between the textual studies and studying “with our feet”, between the ethos of the Beit Midrash and the tenacious, Zionist ethos of a connection to the land of Israel through traveling the land.
We, the members of the association's administration, including me, the CEO, are volunteers (receive no pay) and we elevated the association to a high degree of activity. With your help, we will continue to promote this idea. Good luck!
Israel M. Kristal
CEO
The Society for Bible Study, founded by David Ben Gurion (1952)