Rabbi Yehiel Halevi Seruelov — Association of Jews of Vilna and vicinity in Israel

Rabbi Yehiel Halevi Seruelov lived from 1879-1946. He was a rabbi and educator in the Moriah and Ezra schools in Vilna. In his youth he was a Maggid Misharim (wandering preacher) in the towns in the Vilna region. In 1902, he founded the Tiferet Bahurim Association, whose main goal was to spread Judaism and Zionism to the members of the communities in Vilna; it was mainly directed at young people who chose not to study in yeshivot. Much of the activity was carried out at evening classes, and it included talks on national and religious topics. The Zionist spirit was very evident: during the seudah shlishit (the third meal on Shabbat), they sang Hebrew songs with a Zionist theme. The association was located in the courtyard of the Schulhof synagogue.  In 1922 the building burned down, but was later rebuilt. Following the Vilna Association, similar associations were established throughout Lithuania.

Rabbi Yechiel was one of the pioneers of religious Zionism, and gave many speeches on behalf of Zionism and the Jewish National Fund. In 1920 he participated in the establishment of the Mizrahi Center in Vilna with 12 other rabbis of the city. In 1921 he was attacked by a Polish soldier who began to pluck his beard and barely survived.

After the approval of the Mandate for the Land of Israel by the League of Nations, he attended a celebratory meeting of all the Zionist institutions in Vilna, gave a welcoming address and even published a greeting card that was distributed in the city. He educated his children in Hebrew schools, and two of his daughters immigrated to Palestine (Israel) in 1922. His daughter Nehama and her husband Shlomo Unger were murdered in the Arab massacre of Jews in Hebron in 1929.

In 1934 he immigrated to Israel with his wife and some of his children and even changed his name to Israeli. Before his trip to Israel, a festive prayer service was held in his honor in Chor-Shul (the Choral Synagogue) and hundreds escorted him as he was leaving. A special booklet called "Your Ascent to Peace" was published in his honor.

Yitzhak Broides, who documented the history of Zionism in Vilna, wrote: "Rabbi Yechiel Israelov, head of Tifereft Bahurim, is a devoted and loyal Zionist. In 1934 he immigrated to Eretz Israel and even here - in Tel Aviv - he continued the work he had been doing in Vilna and founded the Tiferet Bahurim association at the synagogue named after the late Hagra (an acronym for the Ga'on of Vilna)." In Israel, he served as a rabbi and teacher in the synagogue named after the Hagra in Tel Aviv. After he made aliyah, Rabbi Yisraeli-Israelov, set up activities similar to Tiferet Bahurim at his synagogue, and many young people studied there. Rabbi Yisraeli-Israelov initiated the festive outing to the nearby beach on the eve of Pesach to read "Shirat Hayam" (Song of the Sea, traditionally recited in synagogues on the last day of Passover) in public. Another event of the year that was celebrated by a large crowd was the Simchat Beit Hashoeva on the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles), which became a celebration in memory of the Hagra. His son Shlomo fell in the underground struggle against the British and two of his sons, Yeruham and Israel, perished in Vilna.

Read more: Israel Rosenson, Tiferet Bachurim