Was the Torah written by God or man?

Mr. Buchwald, an active member of Aish of the Rockies in Colorado, has made a significant donation in order to enable Aish Global to modernize the presentation of the Discovery Seminary, a program that has impacted thousands around the world. The partnership enables Aish to digitize the timeless material, repackage the presentation for a contemporary audience, and train a new generation of presenters.

Originally developed in 1985 by a team of scholars, the Discovery Seminar presents scientific, rational evidence for the Divine authorship of the Bible, including the historical claim of a national revelation that the Jewish people experienced at Mount Sinai. Perhaps most controversial is the presentation on hidden codes in the Bible.

as prepared in English by Aish and for close to 40 years has been offered in Jewish schools and community centers worldwide as well as weekly in the Old City of Jerusalem at the Dan Family Aish World Center. Radical in its intellectual and evidentiary approach, Discovery became world-renowned and has been attended by hundreds of thousands of Jews around the world.

“I want to share this amazing experience as a legacy for future generations by reinvigorating the program, presenting it to the visitors at Aish Global at the Wall in Jerusalem on a daily basis, and distributing it to Jewish youth through educators throughout the United States.” Mr. Buchwald said.

Mr. Buchwald, who is a close friend and long-time supporter of Rabbi Yaakov Meyer, founder and Senior Rabbi of Aish of the Rockies, experienced the inspiration of the Aish Discovery Program over twenty years ago. He went on to host over 100 friends at the Broadmoor Hotel celebrating his 70th birthday by surprising them with a unique three-day presentation of the Discovery program. The weekend was a fantastic success and proved life-changing to many of them.

Digitizing content and creating shorter-form media to impart traditional Jewish wisdom is part of Aish’s 10-year strategic plan, AishVision2030. Over the next 10 years, the goal is to engage 3 million Jews in learning Jewish wisdom. “AishVision2030 is an audacious plan, but it is the Aish tradition to strive to impact the entire Jewish world,” said Aish CEO, Rabbi Steven Burg. “It means we have to create lots of new material, but also be creative in how we best convey the successful content we already have. The enthusiasm from our supporters and partners around the world fuels our drive to meet this ambitious goal.”

“As with all of the Divine Jewish wisdom that Aish offers to people around the world, in order to keep Discovery’s content relevant, useful, and accessible, we have to routinely reexamine our mode of delivery,” Aish Executive Director, Rabbi Ben Gonsher explains. “With in-person events shut down for two years due to Corona, classes, in general, ceased at the Aish World Center. That challenge presented Aish with an opportunity to revamp the seminar, take a look at how we digitize some of the material, and figure out the best way to package and teach as many people as possible these important “proofs.”

“I knew we had an opportunity and a great match here,” explains Rabbi Meyer. “I introduced Mr. Buchwald to the team at Aish Global so that we can bring the Discovery Seminar into the 22nd century. I have seen first-hand the tremendous impact these lessons have on Jews from every kind of background. We at Aish are working together around the world to keep finding new ways to share it. My friend Herb is giving a gift that will touch millions.”

Rabbi Gonsher adds: “This generous gift is going to help us bring the compelling content of Discovery to a whole new generation. We are updating the presentations with technology and online learning, as well as retraining educators. Now that the Aish World Center has finally reopened post-pandemic, we are receiving requests daily. We hope to have a new model in the field by the end of summer.”