VIDEO: Ohr Somayach’s Mentor Missions program, the leader and innovator in integrating the talent and passion of Shomer Shabbos working professionals into the Kiruv movement, has filled registration for its upcoming Mentor Missions Retreat to Israel.

The five day program begins on December 27 and will enable forty baalei batim – doctors, lawyers, and businessmen – to share their life experiences with a group of unaffiliated university students who are on a program at Ohr Somayach in Yerusholayim.

Mentors volunteer nearly a week of time and incur all the expenses of the trip to Israel in order to spend time with an unaffiliated Jewish college student whom they have never met. Many Mentors even offer generous scholarships to help finance the trip for students and sponsor their purchase of tefillin and sefarim.

Past-mentor Yosef Yitzchok “Iche” Rosenbaum, Madison Title CEO, sees a great benefit to his participation in the trip: “Seeing how thirsty the students are [for Torah] is a tremendous mechayev, obligation for us. Things we take for granted obligate us that much more.”

Danny Lemberg, Mentor Missions founder and president passionately observs: “In reality, these businessmen have never left the beis medrash. They are showing that there is a way to work, to take downtime and elevate it for Klal Yisrael.”

Most significantly: the formula works. These “regular” Torah Jews with no kiruv-training prove trip after trip that they can motivate students to return to their heritage. For example, Zecharia Frucththandler of Flatbush will be joining his eighth Mission only a week after dancing at a memorable chasanah – that of his student from three years ago to a Bais Yaakov girl from a good home.

The efforts of the mentors do not end in Israel. Each mentor takes great care to follow up with their students. Mr. Lemberg explains the significance of this part of the program: “If the three most important things in Real Estate are location, location, location; the three most important things in Kiruv are follow-up, follow-up, follow-up.” Accordingly, mentors and students are already planning to reunite at the well-regarded Lakewood Shabbaton scheduled for February 19.

Visit www.mentormissions.com and www.lakewoodshabbaton.com to learn more about participating in future missions or participating in the Lakewood Shabbaton. TLS.