Former Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau Speaking at Ono

Preparation for Shavuot with Former Chief Rabbi Lau at Ono Academic College and Recognition of Rabbi Moshe Reiss

Ono Academic College hosted a special program in preparation for the Shavuot holiday featuring former Chief Rabbi of Israel, David Lau, together with a ceremony honoring Rabbi Moshe Reiss, founder and longtime director of Ono Academic College’s Religious Zionist Administration.

Adv. Lior Frischman, incoming director of the Religious Zionist Administration, praised Rabbi Reiss for his many years of dedicated leadership and described how Rabbi Reiss inspired him to enroll at Ono as a “man whom God’s spirit rests in him.” He also introduced Rabbi Dani Lavi, director of Ono’s Lev Berliner Social Beit Midrash, who emphasized that “the more connected a person is to God, the more connected he must be to his fellow human beings” — a value, he noted, that Rabbi Reiss consistently embodied and taught.

Rabbi Reiss reflected on the counting of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot as a period of gradual growth and self-reflection. Looking back on his years at Ono, he spoke about the remarkable growth of the Religious Zionist population on campus while expressing confidence that its strongest and most productive years still lie ahead.

Adv. Frischman then presented Rabbi Reiss with a plaque of recognition on behalf of Ranan Hartman, Founder and CEO of Ono Academic College.

In his keynote address, Rabbi David Lau opened with an idea drawn from Ahad Ha’am, describing a person as the sum total of his experiences and memories. He connected this idea to Rabbi Reiss’s lifelong contribution to Jewish education and community building before sharing insights into the upcoming Shavuot holiday and the enduring lessons of Megillat Ruth.