Ohr Somayach began over thirty years ago as a response to the desire of a handful of young people to learn more about Judaism. It quickly grew to be not only a sensitive respondent to the needs of the Jewish community, but an active initiator of new and innovative educational programs around the world. From Cape Town to California young Jews are being introduced to the dynamic experience of Jewish learning at Ohr Somayach.

Yet, when we speak of these young people, we use the term 'Baal Teshuva' - one who returns. But in any language, how can one who has always been somewhere else "come back"? The Sages say that the souls of all Jews, those who had already been born and those who were not yet born, were present at Sinai. Thus, one could speak of return in terms of a collective unconscious, or deja vu.

But there is a more immediate way of relating to the phenomenon of thousands of young Jews being awakened to Judaism. 'Teshuva' means return, but it also means answer, or response, or perhaps...echo.

It is the answering echo of a covenant that has reverberated through the centuries; a covenant binding a people and their G-d with a law and a land. Jerusalem - home and hearth, symbol and cornerstone of Jewish existence - is both the source and resonator of this echo.

The Ohr Somayach International Audio Library is proud to present this catalog in the hope that we can offer you convenient opportunities to expand your Torah learning. Take advantage of today's fast-paced, high tech world, and turn your walkman, auto tape deck or computer into a live lecture where you enter the rich and exciting world of Jewish history, philosophy and ethics, tackle a complex halachic idea or explore the world of Chumash and Nach with some of the world's foremost educators and scholars. Selected lectures are available on-line on our Web site through "Real Audio".

We have organized this catalog by subject and by speaker. If you are interested in a specific subject or speaker please refer to the table of contents. You may find titles listed more than once under different categories. The reason for this is that some of the lectures overlap on more than one topic.

We hope this catalog will be one more avenue in your pursuit of Torah knowledge. Please feel free to contact us for comments and ideas to help us serve you better.

Sincerely yours,

OHR SOMAYACH INTERNATIONAL AUDIO LIBRARY

Copyright © 1993-2003 Ohr Somayach International. Send comments to: audio@ohr.israel.net