For anyone who has ever experienced climbing a mountain, there comes a point when you feel you can go no further. Every step becomes a challenge, muscles you never knew you had start to ache, the blisters on your feet burn, and yet, your entire body is filled with exhilaration. There is one overbearing thought reverberating inside your head that outweighs all the pain and gets you to continue to push on: “you must get to the top!” When you finally reach it, you instantly know that it was all worthwhile. Looking out in every direction at the world below stretching out to the horizon--distant mountains, towns, roads, speckled farms, coupled with the blinding sun, beating wind, and clouds that seem so close you could reach out and touch them—you literally feel like you’re on top of the world!
There are few experiences in life that are as immediately gratifying as climbing a mountain, but any major life accomplishment—finishing a masechta, passing a test, breaking a negative character trait—requires the same process of discipline, perseverance, and commitment. In fact, the more subtle accomplishments are more rewarding in the long run. But for kids who have felt like failures their whole lives, climbing a mountain may be their first time ever feeling like successes.
The Gift of Life
Many people are already aware of the value of wilderness experiential education with so called “kids at risk.” Nonetheless, until now it has been basically relegated to the realm of summer camps. ACE is one of the first year round educational facilities catering to boys who have not “made it” in the regular yeshiva system, that uses the therapeutic effect of hiking and other positive hands-on experiences together with a serious Torah education to produce a revolutionary transformation in their students. ACE is like no other yeshiva high school I have ever visited—a family is probably a more accurate description than yeshiva. The boys that I spoke with are happier at ACE than they’ve been anywhere else in years. For many of them it’s the first place that they’ve felt they can really be themselves. “The school is giving me something no school has ever given me,” one of the boys said. “It’s given me life! It’s amazing, in my few months here, I’ve learned more than I’ve ever learned in my life! I feel like I’m part of a family here—I’m missed if I don’t show up. ACE has given me meaning for the first time in my life.”
The students’ full schedule begins at 7:15 in the morning and ends late at night. The day starts with davening followed by serious classes in gemarra and hashkofa. Throughout the day the boys partake in various hands-on instructional classes such as martial arts, carpentry, photography, and music, while simultaneously completing their GED’s. There are two exciting weekly trips: a strenuous hike in the pristine Israeli wilderness and another educational or inspirational trip. When the boys arrived the first day they were each shown to their dorm rooms, bare of everything but a mattress. “If you want a bed, you have to make it yourself,” the Director, Rabbi Ariel Fishman, told them. “We take the phrase ‘you make the bed you sleep in’ literally. It’s like a bank account—whatever they put in, is what they get back. It’s all about the effort.” The students gave me a tour of the yeshiva facility and proudly pointed out all of their handiwork--from designer solid wood bunk beds to bookshelves, shtenders and guitar stands! I was in awe at the quality of their work—all in two months! “We get to sleep in beds we built—we worked for it!” one of the students exclaimed with excitement. “I get to have these skills forever.”
Making Connections
ACE is a unique blend of all the talented and diverse staff members. After spending two years doing outreach in a Jewish school in Chile, ACE Dean, Rabbi Yechiel Weisz, started teaching at Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem but began to feel that he was fighting a downhill battle. “For every kid we’re bringing in, we’re loosing two,” he said. He started to toy with the idea of founding a program that was based on achievement and trust to help combat the problem affecting the teenage population. He approached his Rav, Rabbi Yaakov Haber, who introduced him to Rabbi Ariel Fishman. Rabbi Fishman has been teaching wilderness education programs to struggling boys on the outskirts of the yeshiva system for over 12 years, and he found that the positivity of the summer had a ripple effect on their whole lives. The two instantly hit it off and they decided that they had to do something together.
Meanwhile, a mutual acquaintance, Rabbi Alter Klein, the director of Ohr Somayach’s collegiate outreach program began speaking to a prominent member of the Ramat Beit Shemesh community, Dr. Yechiel Reit. Dr. Reit divides his time between US emergency rooms and Israel, where he volunteers as a doctor for the Nachal Haredi. When discussing the problem affecting the teenagers of the community, Dr. Reit beseeched him to find a way to light the fire of passion beneath them. Rabbi Klein was inspired by the plea, and suggested to Fishman and Weisz that they make a school for fringe teenagers devoted to inspiring passion within them to succeed in life by combining physical challenge with Torah. Within weeks of their first discussion, a group of parents approached them and expressed interest in enrolling their kids immediately.
They next turned to veteran mechanech, Rabbi Chaim Soloveichik, the son of the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Aaron Soloveichik zt”l of Chicago, for guidance from his 20 years of experience. When he heard about ACE he felt that this was really something Klal Yisrael needed. Rav Herschel Shechter told him that helping these kids was a mitzvah of hashavos aveida, returning a lost object. He agreed to join the team as Mashgiach Ruchani and maggid shiur to bring his years of experience teaching Torah to the front lines. Before long, they had put together a handpicked team of talented rabbis and after consulting with a number of gedoli Yisrael, they opened their doors this past December with the first group of boys.
Pushing the Limits
A number of yeshivas have opened up over the past few years to respond to the crisis of so many teenagers who aren’t motivated to learn to prevent them from continuing to fall through the cracks. “Many yeshivas acknowledge that these kids aren’t capable of learning a full day so they give them a few hours of learning and the rest is free time,” Rabbi Fishman said. “They don’t realize that these boys are not failing because they are incapable of learning—they’re failing because they have too much energy to sit in one place all day. They need to learn hands-on in more specific situations. We’ve created a scenario where the whole day is structured with productive activities. Not only do they partake in a serious morning seder that sets the tone for the entire day, but as they are doing wilderness adventures and building their carpentry, they are also learning very important life skills and character traits that will help them along the way.”
Rabbi Soloveichik tries to make his shiruim relevant to the students' lives, teaching topics that interest them in a down-to-earth manner. He starts off each shiur with question and answer. “They want answers to the questions they’ve had all their lives but were always afraid to ask. We build up their self esteem through Torah,” he said. Rav Chaim learned a lot about education from his father. Despite the fact that Rav Aharon Soloveichik zt”l was a tremendous lamdon and masmid, learning 18 hours a day, at his levaya, the main focus of his students was the fact that he really cared about them. Rav Aharon was approachable at any time of day or night, whether for Torah, Hashkafa or personal advice. “That’s what students need to feel today,” Rav Chaim said. “One more or less Tosafos isn’t what’s going to make a difference.” Many of the boys report enjoying learning for the first time in their lives.
The rest of the day is filled with a variety of different activities where the boys learn to push themselves to their limits, both physically and emotionally. As an emotional challenge, the students recently visited the oncology ward of a major hospital and went from room to room playing guitar and singing for people on their deathbeds. “They’re used to running away from reality to drown the pain,” Rabbi Fishman said. “At the hospital there’s no place to run. They’re looking eye to eye with someone on his deathbed. They have no choice but to face it.” The result was that the students overcame their fears and just started singing and dancing until they really got into it. Elderly patients were crying from joy, giving out heartfelt brochos to the boys as if they were their own sons. Although the experience was emotionally challenging, all the boys agreed that they wanted to do it again.
The physical challenges occur on the weekly hikes and daily martial arts and carpentry workshops. During a winter hike in the Golan Heights, the boys went swimming in an ice cold pool of natural mountain spring water. “Who goes swimming in the middle of the winter in the Golan Heights with snow dripping in from the Hermon in the distance?” Fishman asked. For many of the boys, hiking is an extremely therapeutic and inspirational activity. “These kids are used to constantly avoiding responsibility and being labeled as failures," he said. "In most sports you can sit out when you’re tired. These activities force you to succeed because you can’t quit. There are wild animals all around. We’re miles away from any civilization, where are they going to go if they quit? The alternative of keeping up with the group is much better!” Rabbi Weisz, originally from Switzerland, recalled hiking with his father in the Alps when he was growing up. Afterwards they would feel so energized that they would come home and learn daf yomi together, despite their physical exhaustion. “When you feel good about yourself you naturally want to learn,” he said.
The Executive Director, Rabbi Alter Klein, explained that every activity is selected with care. “Every single second is accounted for--building self esteem, relationship with Hashem, and group dynamic—there’s no empty filler time. It’s an educational process. The boys wake up early and fall asleep by eleven, exhausted but fulfilled.” One of the parents recounted that before his son came to ACE, he hadn’t davened in years. Recently, he had to stay home sick from yeshiva and was too ill to daven Mincha. He called his Rebbe at ACE and asked him how to make it up. “I have seen him become completely transformed from his past negativity. He’s waking up early even when he’s home and trying to be more responsible and active. He has a much greater self awareness, simcha, self esteem. He’s a completely different kid—you can hardly recognize him!” Parents frequently call Rabbi Fishman and say that they don’t understand how he was so successful with their sons. “It’s not me,” he tells them. “All I did was give them the opportunity to be themselves. I hand them the tool box; they take the tools and use them. The rest of the day is spent letting them help themselves with the tools that they have. These guys are my heroes. Any success is because of their own efforts.”
What’s Causing These Boys to Rebel?
“Every boy’s situation is different,” Rabbi Fishman said. “Each one could be a book. The common denominator is that they’re not getting any satisfaction from the traditional yeshiva system at all. The expectations were set for them without taking into account any of their personal strengths or weaknesses. The current system may work for the masses, but it doesn’t always work for each individual. These are the casualties.” He feels that the main lack in the yeshiva system today is that there’s no middle ground for a boy who wants to do good, but isn’t cut out for full time learning. “Once you wear the label of someone who didn’t make it in yeshiva, there’s no stop along the way short of being mechalel Shabbos. These kids don’t want to be rebellious; they’ve just never been given a fair chance to succeed. We need a whole new niche in the educational system. No one has defined a middle level. There’s either one extreme or the other: you are either a successful yeshiva guy, or you leave it completely.”
Shloimi is a case in point. He was doing great in the regular yeshiva system until he reached 10th grade when he suddenly stopped fitting the "yeshivish mold." He no longer had the patience to learn all day and he wanted more outlets for physical activity. In the next two years he bounced in and out of dozens of yeshivas. Each time his self esteem fell more and more until at last he was so broken it was easy for him to fall in with the wrong crowd. Thankfully, his parent's found ACE just in time. “I’m a lot happier than I’ve ever been before in my life," he said. "I’m not sure what I want to do after I graduate, but I’m motivated to become something for the first time. I think I’m great and can finally succeed in life! These are the first rabbis who I feel really care about me. Every single type of kid will do well here. This is what learning Torah is supposed to be like.”
When I mentioned the term “kids at risk” Rabbi Fishman got excited. “These guys are not at risk. They’re not troubled kids. They are the sunshine on a rainy day. When you get them to feel good about themselves they’re more joyful, more sensitive, and kinder than anyone out there. I say that with full confidence about every single guy here and everyone hanging out in the park or in some rehab center. From my twelve years of experience I see that the most sensitive guys are the ones who fall through the cracks, not the hardened ones.”
Dr. Gil Elmaleh, the Dean of Students at Yeshivas Toras Shraga and a behavioral cognitive therapist, meets with the boys on a weekly basis to discuss personal issues. “We try to give them the skills and coping mechanisms to deal with issues today so that they can succeed. They’ve experienced one failure after another from getting kicked out of schools, shuls, and parks their whole lives; their self image is in the garbage and they feel broken. At the end of the day, everyone has the power to succeed, we just need to pinpoint their specific strengths and retrain them to think positively.”
He feels that Klal Yisrael’s greatest strength—our community—is also our weakness. Because these kids don’t fit into the standard expectations of the community, they are shunned and feel like failures. “We need individuality to allow people to reach their potential on their own unique platforms within the community,” he said. “That’s what ACE does. They develop individual character within the context of the group. By providing these boys with structure and a lot of love, they thrive. They gain a positive view of themselves and they can give back to the community.”
According to Dr. Elmaleh, it would be a terrible shame if this type of model wasn’t duplicated to some extent on a larger scale in the greater Torah community. “If the community is able to reach out to the kids who are different when they are young, you don’t need places like ACE to pick up the pieces.”
Nourishment for the Soul
One of the boys felt like such a failure that he refused to show any positive emotion in public for many years. One night, during Kaballas Shabbos in the woods outside the dorm, Rabbi Weisz heard him harmonizing in the background. A week later, his parents called up Rabbi Weisz crying on the phone that they couldn’t believe that their son had started singing and smiling again. “In a positive environment the neshama is nourished,” Rabbi Weisz said. “It’s like polishing an old tarnished candlestick. Before you can start polishing it, you have to remove the rough dirt. That’s what happens when you take away the negative criticism that happens too often in yeshivas. Then they can really shine. Each of these kids have tremendous potential. The Yeshiva's goal is to make each of them into ovdei Hashem in their own way.”
Rabbi Weisz once heard from one of his mentors that a good teacher is like a cook who prepares a meal for his students. A master mechanech on the other hand, is like a mother: he gives from himself. “If a mother smokes, drinks, and doesn’t treat herself properly, the baby will suffer. The best way to teach is by example. They see the way we treat each other and the way we treat them and they try to emulate us. We build such strong trust and responsibility that they don’t want to break it for anything.” Recently, one of the boys was given a day off to attend a family simcha. The next day was Thursday, before an off-Shabbos and his father asked him to stay home to help him with some household chores. “It’s almost Shabbos. What’s the point of going all the way back for one day?” his father said. “Abba, I would love to stay,” the boy responded. “But, they let me out as a sign of respect. I need to go back.”
On the first day of yeshiva, one of the boys didn’t want to go downstairs for Shachris. Rabbi Fishman tried every tactic in the book to get him to come but it was to no avail. He was afraid that if the first day started off on a bad foot, the other boys would stop coming also. Finally, he asked the boy when he last put on tefillin. The boy hung his head in shame. He hadn’t worn tefillin since his bar mitzvah and had forgotten how. He was too embarrassed to go downstairs for fear that he might put them on wrong. Rabbi Fishman showed him how to put them on in a private room, and before long he was davening with the rest of the boys, three times a day—something he hasn’t done for as long as he can remember. “Now I see that davening is a beautiful thing,” one boy said. “Sometimes I even put on my tefillin and watch the sunrise. You have to try it!” He proceeded to tell me his favorite personal quote: “why do we fall? So that we can pick ourselves back up!”
One time Rabbi Weisz asked one of the boys why he doesn’t like to daven. “Nothing I davened for in life ever came true,” he said. “You came to ACE,” Rabbi Weisz responded. The boy instantly broke out in a big smile. Hashem finally rewarded him for all his years of suffering and feeling like a failure.
On the Horizon
One of the major ingredients for success at ACE is the small size and personal attention, insuring that no boy has a chance to get lost. Nonetheless, they already have plans to open up another three programs next year that will share staff members and communal space, but will run independently. “We are ready to open 50 groups like this,” Rabbi Klein said. “We have the patented formula; we have the staff and space. The only thing lacking is the funds.” They’re looking for motivated and positive kids to enlist to join the team for next year. The potential students need to have reached a stage in their lives where they want to change, but just need a supportive environment to help them do it. The new recruits will begin a new first year program that will run side by side the returning second year guys. Next year ACE is also starting a post high school beis medrash program for serious guys who want to build their life skills together with their Torah learning. They will partake in rigorous morning and evening sedarim providing a strong derech halimud together with alternative skill building activities in the afternoon such as craftsmanship and hiking. The goal of everything is to build themselves into responsible, healthy adults.
“We’re creating people,” Rabbi Weisz said. “We plan on having a 100% success rate. If one boy falls through the cracks that’s a failure. There's something for everyone here.”
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