Goal   Few organizations are as equipped to deal with the growing alienation from Jewish identity among Israeli youth as the Israeli Defense Forces. A gravity center of Israeli culture, the IDF serves as a threshold into Israeli society, leaving a lasting impression on the hundreds of thousands of young adults who pass through its ranks each year. The IDF recognizes that security is determined not only by borders but also by identity within borders, and is now assuming a leading role in providing Jewish identity education to its soldiers.   Hebrew    After conducting 20 leadership seminars for more than 1,000 senior IDF officers, Shalom Hartman Institute won a nationwide tender in 2007 to provide enrichment seminar programs for the army’s elite. Lev Aharon is a unique leadership initiative exploring the interplay between Judaism and democracy in Israeli society that is tailored to the needs of IDF Majors, Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels. The seminars empower the army’s primary change agents – a heterogeneous cross-section of Israeli society – to serve as educational leaders of an entire generation of Israeli youth.   Structure   Lev Aharon includes two distinct tracks: two-week seminars for Majors and weeklong seminars for Lieutenant Colonels. Each seminar combines lectures by Shalom Hartman Institute scholars, textual study sessions, roundtable discussions, selective site visits, shared Shabbat experiences and guest lecturers exposing officers to a wide spectrum of Jewish life.   Target Population   Lev Aharon is open to senior officers in the IDF who seek to deepen their knowledge of Jewish pluralism and of the intersections between Judaism and democratic principles. Over the coming three years, Lev Aharon will include 10 seminars for a total of some 500 Lieutenant Colonels and 15 seminars for a total of some 300 Majors.   Faculty   Lev Aharon is directed by Ya'akov Castel. The Lev Aharon teaching staff includes Hartman Institute senior scholars such as Rabbi Prof. David Hartman, and Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman, alongside promising scholars such as Dr. Micah Goodman, and Ms. Renana Pilzer.