The first minyan on Nachal Maor took place in 1998 but Menorat Maor’s real beginning was in 2001. The timeline below provides a snapshot of our history. Kehillat Menorat Hamaor is one of only 2 or 3 English speaking, religious Zionist – Dati Leumi communities in Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph, which is largely Anglo-Haredi. However, Kehillat Menorat Hamaor is unique in that its membership demographics is distinctively diverse, with a concentration of religiously observant young people in their late twenties to early forties at one end of the spectrum and a concentration of religiously traditional seniors in their mid-sixties to late seventies with a continuum of ages, Torah observance and religious knowledge bridging the two extremes. We are uniquely positioned to appeal to a broad range of the rapidly growing population of Ramat Beit Shemesh. The city of Beit Shemesh is expected to double over the next few years to over 200,000; the vast majority of population growth will be in new communities of Ramat Beit Shemesh, some of which are near Menorat Hamaor. New construction will provide housing solutions for the haredi, dati leumi and general population which is attracting a demographic paralleling our existing membership. Further, the local community is well-known as a desirable destination for people matching our existing membership demographic.
