Making Kiruv Last – Forever

As a resident of KGH, Queens, I see them quite often. They are led into the local Batei Medrash or shuls by religious yeshiva students dedicated to sharing the gifts they were granted. They sit down by the tables and learn Hashem’s Torah. They thirstily drink in the ways of G-d which they were never privileged to have been taught in their childhood homes. Who are they? They are the Netzach teens.

Welcome to the world of Netzach Outreach. Netzach (lit.- Forever) is a kiruv organization based in Queens, New York. It was founded by Rabbi Yoav Babakhanov, a rabbi trained and ordained by the Chofetz Chaim yeshiva network.  While JEP (Jewish Education Program) is famously active for reaching elementary school age children, Netzach picks up the gauntlet where JEP leaves off. In their classic large-scale style, Netzach brings in hundreds of less-affiliated Jewish teens under the auspices of their program every year. I was privileged to secure a meeting with Rabbi Babakhanov himself and get an insider’s view of the work that they have been doing for almost eighteen years now.

Rabbi Babakhanov reports “We used to only focus on yeshiva placement. We would arrange meetings with parents of hundreds of Jewish public-school children every year. The first step was to convince them to send their child to a yeshiva. If they would consider it, we would drive them down to all the different yeshiva options and arrange for interviews. We have connections with all types of mainstream yeshivos as well as with all the kiruv yeshivos, and we would work with the families to find the best choice for their child. It’s not easy to find the perfect fit. And even once the parents would be interested and we’d find the right match, there would often be a financial issue. So we would help out with scholarships, sometimes partial and sometimes full.

“Did you find that you and your team were successful in this line of work?” I ask. Rabbi Babakhanov answers “Well, yes. We saw a lot of success – with around thirty new enrollments in the yeshivos every year. But that wasn’t enough for us. We were dealing with close to two hundred families a year, so thirty successes meant that one hundred and seventy Jews were still closed off from their heritage. So we decided we had to do more. That’s when we really started expanding. We decided that we would have to create new learning programs for those who were still in public school and simply teach them ourselves.”

And that’s exactly what they have been doing for many years! Fortunately, Queens has many strong yeshivos with budding rabbinical students who are up to the task, and the Netzach staff is consequently multiplying quite rapidly. Netzach hires local teachers to join their kiruv team from Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim, Ohr Hachaim, and Landers as well. And as the staff list grows, the budget grows as well. While many yeshiva students are willing to do kiruv for free, Netzach’s administration feels strongly that a paid staff produces more. They invest more heavily in the students, and the results are quite real. The paid teachers stay on the Netzach team for years at a time and form lasting relationships with their junior charges, guiding them from stage to stage. Over 100 of their students have been enrolled in yeshivos in the past eighteen months alone!

I wondered what would draw high-school age children to come after a long day in class. Rabbi Babakhanov explained to me as follows. “Well, first of all, they enjoy the learning. But it can be difficult for them, so we invest in making the program attractive. For example, not all our learning is done in the Beis Medrash. Once a week we have a Carlos & Gabby’s learning night. They get to order whatever they want (within reason) and we learn in the restaurant. Also, we have incentivized tests. The boys in the Intensive Program can take optional Gemara tests and earn up to $120 a test! Incidentally, this can end up being quite expensive for us at times. If they all take the tests, we sometime will spend $5,000 a month just on this Gemara program! But we’re glad to do it.”

Of course, what attracts the girls is not the same as what attracts the boys. While both under the auspices of Netzach Outreach, the groups for the girls are altogether distinct from the ones for the boys. The teenage girls have their own hired women teachers (either those recently back from seminary or kollel wives) who learn with them in their own separate locations. Rabbi Babakhanov tells me with a smile “Boys often come for the food. But the girls view their programs as a social opportunity. They get to learn and spend time with friends; it’s a great combo!”

I ask Rabbi Babakhanov “What else do you do with the students other than learning?” His simple response is brief but eloquent. “Nothing! It’s all about learning Torah with them! I mean, we do provide food at every location, and we do make restaurant nights like I mentioned earlier, but the way we bring them close is through Torah. That’s what works.” Then, as an afterthought, Rabbi Babakhanov adds “Oh, actually, we do play basketball with them once in a while. It’s important for them to have that type of relationship with their teachers as well.”

I ask “Would you say that Netzach is primarily a learning organization?” Rabbi Babakhanov responds “Well, yes, but we still do yeshiva placement just like we always have. That becomes a big focus in these months – June, July, August. Although Netzach has evolved over the years to primarily focus on teaching on our own, we still work every summer to send as many of our students as we can to yeshivos. That’s always a gratifying accomplishment.” Rabbi Babakhanov adds “I also want to publicize that we’re working on placements now, so anyone who wants to transfer their child to a yeshiva from public school can contact us if they need help. Whether it’s for your child, or you know a Jewish friend who might be willing, reach out to us! Every Jewish soul deserves to study in yeshiva! We can also help out with scholarships if it’s necessary.”

So there you have it, folks. This is a glimpse of Netzach Outreach. They’ve been around for almost eighteen years now, steadily bringing back all our brothers and sisters back into the fold.  A kiruv group that’s always expanding, growing, improving, and finding ways to indeed make the Torah way of life be imprinted on the neshamos of the Jewish People la’Netzach – Forever.

To contact Netzach Outreach, please call 718-600-4652 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Netzach Outreach is a 501c3 org. 147-42 76th Road Flushing NY 11367

By Shaya Winiarz

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 Shaya Winiarz is a student of the Rabbinical Seminary of America (a.k.a. Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim). He is also a lecturer, columnist, and freelance writer. He can be reached for speaking engagements or freelance writing at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.