Vision
Hulya organization – a joint venture of The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) and the Matanel Foundation – is intended to be an address and a social network for young European rabbis, assisting them in completing their training and providing resources enabling them to invigorate their communities and attract new audiences.
Activity
So far Hulya offers young rabbis around Europe a few training programs, emphasizing, in addition to discussing current Halachic issues, means to attract Jews to the synagogues and the Jewish way of life, the pursuit of social and psychological issues, the use of modern media technologies, and collection of resources. Hulya offers young rabbis in Europe resources for
• The establishment of kindergartens (Ganim) in their communities
• Organizing communal Shabbat celebrations
• Providing scholarships for students combing Jewish with general studies
Maternal Ganim: Hulya supports, on behalf of the Matanel Foundation the establishment and running of Ganim, with 50,000 Euros each over three years, under the following conditions:
2.1. The Gan is established and run according to the rules of the country.
2.2. The Gan bears the name “Matanel Gan”.
2.3. The Gan applies a program similar to those implemented in the orthodox Ganim in Israel.
2.4. The Gan is run in two languages at least, the language of the country and Hebrew.
2.5. The Gan admits girls as well as boys and keeps parity between the genders, without favouring one gender over the other.
2.6. The Gan encourages Jewish liturgy by teaching liturgical music as well as prayers from the local community and from other communities such as Yiddish prayers and Sephardic pyyutim.
2.7. The Gan encourages among children theological and philosophical awakening activities and inquiries, in order to better cope with their natural predisposition for transcendence and G-d.
2.8. The Gan is run according to the orthodox rules of behavior, as prescribed by the Great Rabbinate of the country.
Matanel Shabbatonim: Hulya subsidies shabbatonim which include at least one night outdoors.The subsidy for such shabbatonim has been fixed at 50 Euros per night per participant in the West and at 30 Euros per night per participant in the East. The Hulya subsidies would not exceed 15,000 Euros per year in western Europe, and 10,000 Euros per year in eastern Europe, for the same rabbinical institution. Hulya does not subsidize the same entity twice within 5 years.
Matanel Scholarships for Judaic studies: The scholarships are intended to encourage Judaic studies in Batei Midrash run by rabbis. They are distributed directly to the students.