My name is Indashu. I was born in Ethiopia in 1983. I was airlifted to Israel along with my family as part of “Operation Solomon” in 1991. Three of my brothers did not survive the journey. Our family moved into a trailer park set up for new immigrants at Neve Oved, a small town near the Sea of Galilee. I learned Hebrew at Ulpan and went to school in Tiberias. In 2002 I was one of the first Ethiopian Jews to enter Yeshivat Tefachot. The Yeshiva helped me to find my way in Israeli society, and gave me vocational training in engineering.
After 5 years of intensive study I discovered I had a natural gift for counseling Ethiopian students learning in the Yeshiva. I decided to develop these skills while seeking a career in education.
I met a wonderful woman and we got married in 2010. The Yeshiva gave us a stipend and accommodations, which enabled me to set up a home and continue my Torah studies.
A year later my Rav advised me to devote myself to community service in keeping with the Yeshiva’s philosophy of outreach to the Jewish people. I decided to take a job as a mentor at the Yemin Orad Youth Village in the lower Galilee for a year. One of the challenges I faced that year was helping the kids recover from the Carmel forest fire, which devastated much of the campus. My own background, and the training in compassion I received in my years at Tefahot, prepared me to give the young people I worked with the right kind of guidance and emotional support.
My wife and I now live in Petach Tikva. I earn a living as a computer programmer. During my years at Tefahot Yeshiva I absorbed the vision of Tikkun Olam – the Jewish mission to perfect the world we live in. That ideal continues to inspire me in everything I do.