About The late Ora Atzaba
(2021-1941)
The late Ora Atzaba (1941-2021) was the kind of teacher that everyone wishes their children had. A “life teacher” whose impact went far beyond the classroom.
Ora’s life story is a circle of giving and acceptance that exemplifies Rabbi Carlebach’s famous saying: “Every child needs one adult to believe in him.” After arriving in Israel as a child, Ora was fortunate to meet good people and have wonderful teachers. They inspired her to become a teacher herself – a devoted educator with a deep love of this country who spent her entire life guiding her students, new immigrants, and all those who needed her support.
When she was just six years old, Ora (then named Arlette) came to Israel without her parents through the Youth Aliyah organization. Without knowing one word of Hebrew, she was taken into Kibbutz Ginegar in northern Israel, where the youth counselors became her second family. It was there that she decided to adopt the Hebrew name Ora, because this was the name of the legendary teacher who changed her life – a remarkable woman who Ora, even during her last days, still called “my teacher.”
At every milestone in her life thereafter, Ora was privileged enough to meet adults who believed in her and enabled her to progress in multiple fields. She became a groundbreaking pioneer in every field: she enlisted in the IDF, studied in the Hebrew University’s Geography Department, became a geography and homeroom teacher, and worked as an educator and mentor both in Israel and overseas.
Although Ora would gain more honorifics as the wife of Avinoam, mother of Shlomit, and beloved grandmother of Shira, Noga, and Uri, it was the title of “teacher” that defined her life for the longest time. She was a walking encyclopedia with a photographic memory that never failed to capture even the smallest details. She knew every nook and cranny of the Israeli landscape and loved passing down her knowledge and stories.
Geography was the subject she used to educate generations of students about the fundamental values she prized above all. By traveling around Israel with her students, going everywhere from Sinai to Tel Hai, she not only created valuable learning opportunities, but also gave them the chance to develop a greater understanding and love for their homeland, while also cultivating an appreciation for friendship, mutual assistance, and giving.
Ora wrote her master’s thesis on the city of Lod – the historic city where she spent much of her youth. She later wrote the most comprehensive book on Lod’s historical geography and how the city developed from its earliest days, published in 1977.
She taught at the Denmark High School, Beit HaZayar School, and David Yellin College of Education, all in Jerusalem. Today, many of her students still talk about the profound impact that Ora had on their lives as children – an impact that has shaped and continues to shape their adult lives. Over the years, Ora also ran a Hebrew-language ulpan for new immigrants, developing a particular soft spot for Ethiopian students from the Beta Israel community.
After Ora’s passing, the Atzaba family decided that the best way to celebrate her life was to continue her efforts in the fields she loved, in which she had always helped so many people – people who also deserve the chance to meet good, supportive mentors and thereby become part of the circle of acceptance and giving.
Ora’s family will continue to work in her name to help those who wish to become inspirational “life teachers,” while also furthering educational initiatives that promote a love of Israel and empower new immigrants through scholarships and other diverse projects.
