Rabbi Eliezer "Eli" Sadan (; born December 1948) is an Israeli

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

, and the founder and head of the

mechina A mechina kdam-tzvait (; "pre-military preparatory", plural mechinot) is an autonomous unit of specialized educational institutions valuing non-formal education and pre-military training in Israel. They are funded and supported by the Ministry ...

"Bnei David", the first pre-military preparatory program in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Sadan is a recipient of the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for Lifetime Achievement for special contribution to society and to the state.

Biography

Eli Sadan was born in 1948 in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary. His parents, Rivka Kuti Annemann and Shalom Erwin Sadan, were

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...

. His father underwent a

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

, and spent about six months in the

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...

. After the war, his parents completed their studies in Hungary. They immigrated to Israel when Eli was one year old. Before joining the

Israel Defense Force The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, Sadan studied for four months at

Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh (, lit. ''Vineyard in Yavne Yeshiva'') is a youth village and major yeshiva in southern Israel. Located near the city of Ashdod and adjacent to Kvutzat Yavne, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council ...

. He served in the Paratroopers Brigade; meanwhile, he was a commune coordinator in a

Bnei Akiva Bnei Akiva (, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929, advocating the values of Torah and labor. Bne ...

branch in North Tel Aviv. After completing his military service, he began studying physics at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

. A year later, he switched to Yeshivat

Mercaz HaRav Kook Mercaz HaRav (officially, , "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious ( Hardal) yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. Located in the city's Kiryat Moshe neighbo ...

, where he studied for 15 years and became a student of rabbis

Zvi Yehuda Kook Zvi Yehuda Kook (, 23 April 1891 – 9 March 1982) was an ultranationalist Orthodox rabbi. He was the son of Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. Both father and son are credited with developing K ...

and

Zvi Thau Zvi Yisrael Thau (; born 1938) is an Israeli Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, a disciple of Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, and co-founder and president of Yeshivat Har Hamor in Jerusalem. Biography Hans (Zvi Yisrael) Thau was born in Vienna to Galicia ...

. Rabbi Sadan is one of their leading students; like them, he believes that the state of Israel is Atchalta De'Geulah. During his studies, he was asked by Rabbi Kook to assist in establishing

Moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

Keshet in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

, and in establishing a core of Torah scholars in

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

. Together with Rabbi Tzvi Tau, he was delegated by Rabbi Zvi Yehuda with regarding to prisoners of Zion, among them

Natan Sharansky Natan Sharansky (; born 20 January 1948) is an Israeli politician, human rights activist, and author. He served as Chairman of the Executive for the Jewish Agency for Israel, Jewish Agency from June 2009 to August 2018, and currently serves as ...

. They even held a secret telephone conversation before Sharansky entered the Russian prison. Afterwards, Sadan held several meetings with US officials, in order to secure Sharansky's release. In 1988, Sadan established the first pre-military preparatory program (

), together with Rabbi Yigal Levinstein. The mechina is named "Bnei David", and is located in

Eli Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...

. The Mechina was established due to some religious soldiers leaving their religious frameworks during military service. Its goal is to prepare

men for full service in the IDF, while encouraging them to serve in combat units and as officers. This track did not exist in the

Hesder Hesder ( "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program allows Orthodox J ...

yeshivas. Rabbi Sadan also initiated the establishment of the first secular mechina program, "Nachshon", established in 1997. In 2016, Rabbi Sadan was awarded the

for Lifetime Achievement due to his special contribution to society and to the State of Israel. Sadan is married, and has twelve children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadan, Eli Israeli educators Israeli Orthodox rabbis Israel Prize for special contribution recipients Mercaz HaRav alumni Living people 1948 births Israel Prize Rabbi recipients Clergy from Budapest Israeli people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Hungarian emigrants to Israel 20th-century Israeli rabbis 21st-century Israeli rabbis