Ganei HaEla is located close to Emek HaEla which also inspired its name. The Emek HaEla is where Dovid HaMelech fought Goliath.
History
Ganei Haela is a planned community located in Ramat Beit Shemesh. It began with two neighbors Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb and Yehuda Fulda who both made aliyah from the USA. Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb had the idea of bringing the American Synagogue model to Israel - where the synagogue is the center of life. Yehuda Fulda, a real estate developer was considering plans to develop a community that was designed and planned around American family standards and style of living. Yehuda Fulda felt strongly that Americans would be more comfortable living in homes that were designed closer to what they had in the USA with high end features. Both felt that working together would be a winning combination. They brought in Shelly Levine of Tivuch Shelly to market the project.
Demographics
The residents of Ganei HaEla will be only Orthodox Jews, specifically Dati Leumi Torani. The neighborhood will be mostly a community of English-speaking olim from the USA, UK and Canada.
Synagogue and Religious Leadership
Ganei HaEla will have one Central synagogue under the leadership of Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb. Rabbi Gottlieb is the former Rabbi of Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Baltimore. He received his rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University, where he was also a member of Wexner Kollel Elyon. In addition to publishing numerous articles and co-editing two scholarly works, Rabbi Gottlieb is the author of Ateret Yaakov, a book of in-depth essays about a wide range of halachic topics. Currently he is a Rebbe for the Shana Bet American Program at Yeshivat Har Etzion.
Ground Breaking Event
Ganei HaEla is a family-centric project, and because of that, the children were included in the ground breaking ceremony. The "construction fence" was decorated with pictures drawn by the children of Ganei Ha'Ela. Over 65 original drawings were submitted, and were then enlarged and transformed into water-proof stickers, which were placed along the "construction fence" that surrounds the building site. On December 9th, the 4th night of Chanukah, the families gathered together with celebratory music, food and snacks, and spotlights, as each child got to "unveil" and autograph his or her own drawing. The evening culminated with a raffle, prizes for every child, and a fireworks display.
Community Vision
The vision of Ganei HaEla is to create a cohesive community where families who share a commitment to the Torah, the Jewish people, and Eretz Yisrael can come together in a warm and friendly environment to support each other. At the center of Ganei Ha’Ela will be the Beit Knesset - where daily and weekly tefillah will take place. Creating an environment which is sensitive to the sanctity of tefillah and which enhances its members’ personal prayers is one of the goals of Ganei HaEla. The Beit Knesset will also house a vibrant Beit Midrash, as regular Torah study and shiurim will be an integral part of life in Ganei Ha’Ela. It is expected that a large variety of classes will be offered - covering a range of topics, including Parshat HaShavua and Tanach, in-depth Gemara and Daf Yomi, and Halacha. Creating a “culture of chesed” is another building block of the community. A full range of activities, ranging from a welcoming environment for visitors or new residents to visiting the sick to preparing meals when a new baby is born, or countless other examples, are all expected at Ganet Ha’Ela. As a community built on values and a religious vision, Ganei Ha’Ela is being planned with a rabbi who can guide and inspire its members. Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb, an experienced and highly regarded rabbi, will be the rabbi of the community. The religious and emotional development of the neighborhood children is a top priority at Ganei Ha’Ela and, therefore, many programs, such as Shabbat groups for little kids, parent-child learning, fun trips, teen onegs and Se’udat Shlishit programs, are planned. Creating an environment that will foster the religious and emotional development for our children is a priority at Ganei Ha’Ela. The children will be introduced to Shabbat groups, parent-child learning, trips, and Purim carnivals while the teenagers will engage in onegs, Se’udat Shlishit programs, “Ask the Rabbi” sessions, and supervised recreational activities.
American Style Construction
Ganei HaEla is the first project in Israel to utilize lightweight steel and drywall construction. Almost every single home in Israel is built from cement and block. Yehuda Fulda, has extensive experience in Steel construction and felt that this was a great opportunity to build the homes in a much higher quality fit and finish. , an internationally renowned company is providing the steel framing.
