Ezra Youth Movement

Ezra is a youth movement catering for children from school years 2 to 10. Every week each year group meets for an hour of fun activities prepared by their Madrichim who themselves are in school years 11 to 13. The Groups can be divided into 4 sections, interboys, intergirls, juniorboys and junior girls, all of which meet at PAI house, the Ezra Bayit, at different times on either Shabbos or Motazi Shabbos depending on the time of year.

Ezra organizes 6 sleepover camps and 2 day camps during the year. There are four two week summer camps in August, interboys and intergirls have a winter camp in February and juniors have 'day camps' known as Junior Week in December.
As well as these 8 camps, Ezra, together with the UJIA, organize two Israel Tours for the girls and boys leaving year 11 straight after their GCSEs. These tours take the chanichim all over Israel over a 4 week period during which they have the experience of a lifetime.

Ezra also runs several extra activities including TAP - Torah at PAI. Every Tuesday there is a shuir at PAI for girls in years 10-13; one hour of study in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

Ezra has two main publications, the Dvar Ezra and the Ezraton. The Dvar Ezra is a weekly newsletter full of Divrei Torah and has the group times for that week on its back page. The Ezraton is the Ezra magazine, published several times a year.
Every Shabbos Mevarachin there is a Minyan at PAI House where around 60 Madrichim/ot and Chanichim/ot daven, listen to a Dvar Torah given by one of the Madrichim and partake in a sumptuous Kiddush.

Ezra is a voluntary organisation run by dedicated Madrichim who prepare weekly tochniot and all extra activities. They are overseen by the Rosh Madrichim, university students who are available to help any of the Madrichim should they need it. The Rosh of Ezra is responsible for the youth movement's smooth running and is supported by the parents’ committee who deal with any funding. Finally there are the Chanicichim who come to group every week and make Ezra the brilliant youth movement it is.

Aims of Ezra UK

1. EZRA seeks to promote Torah im Derech Eretz, which it broadly defines as applying Torah hashkofos and values to the pursuit of worldly activities.

2. EZRA seeks to provide a forum for its members, supplementing local educational institutions, to educate, inform and discuss contemporary issues from the perspective of traditional Torah hashkofos and values.

3. EZRA seeks to provide its members with a full range of intellectual, social and sports activities, and recognises the contribution such activities play in the character building of an individual.

4. EZRA seeks to provide its activities to chaverim and chaverot generally in separate settings.

5. EZRA seeks to encourage a period of learning at Yeshiva or Seminary.

6. EZRA seeks to encourage a positive view of Eretz Yisroel, promoting yishuv Eretz Yisroel, with formal and informal activities. It also seeks to emphasise its traditional links with various religious settlements in Eretz Yisroel.

7. EZRA seeks full and active participation of its Madrichim/ot and Bogrim/ot in carrying out these aims.

History

Ezra has a very long but interesting history. Ezra youth movement was founded way back in 1919 but in order to understand how and why Ezra was stared, let us take a little wander down memory lane………...

For centuries the Jews of Europe had been oppressed, persecuted and basically been excluded form society, being forced to live in isolation in the ghettos! After the French revolution, came the “enlightenment” this brought about vast change for everyone especially the Jews, who were now entitled to go to university and hold proper jobs, this became know as Emancipation.
In Germany especially the Jews were welcomed into the society. Unfortunately this led to a large proportion of Jews leaving the Torah, to follow the new German culture. Along with this assimilation came the development of the reform movement, and unfortunately the orthodox Rabbonim were being thought of as sad and closed minded, from this stand point, the future for Torah observance looked bleak.

RAV SHIMSHON RAPHAEL HIRSCH (zt”l)
Born in 1808, in Hamburg, Germany. Even at an early age Shimshon was recognised as an outstanding pupil and student. After receiving semicha, R’Hirsch, went to Bonn University, where he witnessed first hand the lack of attraction that Torah had to intelligent youth at the time. The Torah was considered to be restrictive, anti-intellectual and a no-longer relic of a bygone age.
After a year in university R’Hirsch became a Rabbi in a German town. Where he developed his worldviews. Despite everything he had seen he still believed that emancipation was a good thing. NOT that it should replace the Torah, chas v’shalom!! Rather that the Jew’s newfound qualities and opportunities for secular study should be adapted to the Torah. He felt that secular studies could enhance a persons understanding of nature and the ways of the world, therefore appreciating the majesty of Hashem and thus enhancing Torah study. It was this, Hirsch’s philosophy of “ TORAH IM DERECH ERETZ”
In 1851 Hirsch became the Rav of a small independent shul in Frankfurt, it was here that he had his greatest influence on the Jewish world, and it is from his activities here that EZRA would eventually take its roots.
At this time this particular town was being led by the reform, the orthodox Jews were forced to tow the line and even pay taxes to the reform body!! R’Hirsch established a separate independent kehilla, called Kahal Adass Yeshurun. He would speak out against the reform and assimilation. His imagination was able to inspire the youth of the day and his kehilla grew from JUST 11 shomer Shabbos families to over 500! Eventually in 1876 Hirsch achieved the right for Kahal Adass Yeshurun, to legally separate from the overall community.
Hirsch believed that whilst Derech Eretz was always changing, the Torah and the Halacha were not, and that Derech Eretz of every generation could be modified and that certain secular studies would enhance the learning of Torah. Hirsch established a school and an education system according to his ideology of Torah Im Derech Eretz. Where the schools aims were to produce generations on sincere and dedicated Bnei and Bnos Torah, who were broad minded, but uncompromising in their beliefs.
Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch zt”l died in 1888 having re-established the learning of Torah in Germany and had inspired many people to set up bastions of Torah Im Derech Eretz in western Europe.
After R’Hirsch’s death, his son-in-law Rabbi Dr. Shlolmo Breurer continued to perpetuate his father-in-laws legacy, but it was R’Hirsch grandson Yitzchak Breurer that grew up in his grandfather’s footsteps. Receiving semicha from his father and attaining a doctorate in philosophy and practicing law in Frankfurt. He became a huge Talmid Chochom and became the spokesman for the Agudas Yisroel. Defending R’Hirsch ideologies, against the reform and the eastern European Rabbonim.
Rav Breurer became concerned with youth education, as the modern concept of a youth movement took shape. This movement was to become the predecessor for EZRA today.

The Agudas Yisroel organisation was set up as an alternative orthodox response to secular Zionism, and expanded to include all the religious communities with Europe. In Germany in 1919 the Aguda became know as EZRA, the name alluded to Ezra Hasofer, who had led the rebuilding of Yerushalayim after the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh. Initially the soul purpose of “The Ezra” was to provide a fun and relaxing environment outside school in which Torah values could be learnt.
Groups would mean on a Shabbos afternoon with their madrichim for a shiur, discussion, stories and games. Every other Sunday the groups would go for a picnic in the forests where they would also take part in educational activities. Every area had its own Madrichim/chot, and a Rosh in charge of that area, ALL the Roshim were under the jurisdiction of the “National Assembly of Ezra” and the overall leaders, were 2 brothers Eli and Elie Munk who remained in charge for many years.
As well as this Ezra ran summer camps for all its members from all the towns and cities with Germany, and the local Roshim would meet at the nation Ezra congress and discuss Ezra’s Ideology and the changing times. Ezra was a flourishing youth movement and in 1930 within only 11 years of its birth Ezra had over 2000 members in Germany alone (now isn’t that impressive!)
Rav Hirsch, like many of his time were against Zionism and believed that the Bnei Yisroel were in Golus for a reason, thus the youth movements of Kahal Addas Yeshurun, and other similar communities didn’t have Zionism at the forefront of their ideologies.
Rav Breurer had very different views to his grandfather on Zionism, and after World War 1, when the British were in charge of Palestine. There was a much more positive attitude towards Zionism, and a State of Israel. He saw that the early pioneers to Israel, who were secular Zionists had very little time for religion and didn’t see Torah as an integral part of their lives. The only religious input for the Zionists was from the Mizrachi Party, who believed that they could influence the Zionists to follow the Torah more closely. The Mizrachi party main influence was Hagon Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook and by the mid 1930 had founded its own youth movement Bnei Akiva.
Rav Breurer, despite his positive attitude toward the Zionists, saw that the Mizrachi attitude was not a good one and that they were miss guided as far as Zionism was concerned, Rav Breurer organised a new path POALE AGUDAS YISROEL! PAI became a pro-Zionistic wing with the Aguda, but with religious input. Its goals were to re-build Israel, but not just as a state, but as Eretz Yisroel, as a religious state under the ruler ship of the Torah.
This, along with Rav Hirsch’s ideology of “Torah Im Derech Eretz” became the ideology of PAI. When Rav Breurer made Aliya he continued to be the spokes person for the aguda and built friendships with Gdolei Hador, such as Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld and the Chazon Ish. In Palestine EZRA became the youth movement of PAI. The First PAI settlement was Kibbutz Chafetz Chaim, built in 1933 to commemorate the death of the legendary Chafetz Chaim.
In the 1930 many Jews fled Germany because of the Nazis. The refugees arrived in England. Eli Munk came to London where he established “Munk’s shul” and also EZRA in Golders Green! Thus EZRA came to England. Where, we just like in Germany share the same ideals of Rav Breurer, that EZRA believes in “Torah Im Derech Eretz” and the state of Israel is a Religious state for all of Am Yisroel.

Ezra International