Yehoshua Dov Maline
Yonkers, NY
Derech Program
One fateful day, bouncing innocently on the trampoline with his friend, Yehoshua was asked, “Why don’t you take off your tzitzit?” That got the ball rolling, and soon, he himself was off and running. School was too rigid and life was too fast, so at the tender age of 12 years old, Yeshoshua had basically finished his formal education and began a personal journey.
His mother wanted to send him to Israel, and he was more than happy for the adventure. Meditation and philosophy filled his days on the kibbutz, and when he returned to find his best friends with peyote and tzitzit, his Jewish spark ignited and his tzitzit too returned – tie-dyed of course.
Another trip out to Israellanded Yehoshua in the Derech Program at Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem alongside those very friends from Miami and the signs were just too much. He is now in his second year of study and planning on a third. He says the relationships he has with the rabbis here are the best of his life.
