הסוציאליסט הדתי אברהם (אויגן) מיכאליס: משנתו החינוכית ופועלו בגרמניה למען ההתיישבות בשנים 1948-1926

Abraham (Eugen) Michaelis’ vision was fulfilled with the founding of the first religious kibbutz, Rodges, by religious pioneers who were graduates of his movement. He was a contemplative man who upheld socialist values and built this enterprise with his own hands. He believed that the Zionist vision was essential for the continuity of the Jewish people. He maintained to the pioneers that religious socialism was the only path to a harmonious life of Torah in which individuals are integrated into society and not alienated. Students of his movement in Europe were educated according to a model that combined the Torah and its commandments, studying, and working the land. Following World War II, thousands of concentration camp survivors were sent to the pioneering settlements in the Land of Israel. Before their immigration, a program was established to build a unique educational institution that followed Michaelis’ principles. The religious youth village (Kfar HaNoar HaDati) in Kfar Hasidim has successfully operated for decades and enabled the absorption of hundreds of young immigrants to Israel. Its graduates fulfill its ideological path in the pioneering settlement enterprises of Torah Va’Avodah (Torah and Labor) in kibbutzim and moshavim throughout the country.The proposed research seeks to analyze and explore the educational teachings of Abraham (Eugen) Michaelis. Born in Hamburg, Germany, he spent decades establishing a Zionist enterprise. His work influenced the early development of national-religious Zionism. His educational teachings formed the foundation for religious socialism, upheld by religious kibbutz members and advocates of the Torah and Labor movement.The first religious pioneers in the “East” advocated for a nation that would combine a socialist view with observance of the commandments, Torah study, and religious education. These principles formed the basis for the religious pioneer movement headed by Michaelis. A religious Zionist Jew born in Hamburg, his writings and deeds drew on the vision of religious Zionism founded in Germany in order to fulfill the dream of a religious pioneer movement based on social justice in the Land of Israel. His vision was revolutionary in his time, particularly compared to the Orthodox Judaism that then dominated in Europe. It combined practical aspects of European culture and of the Land of Israel during the British Mandate.