Tanakh Study Circle Held at the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem on
the Eve of Sukkot
(Communicated by Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, this evening (Tuesday,
17 September 2013), at the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem, held an
additional meeting of the renewed Tanakh Study Circle. Sephardi Chief Rabbi
Yitzhak Yosef and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau attended the circle,
which is named after Sara Netanyahu's late father, Shmuel Ben-Artzi.

This is the fourth meeting of the Circle, which was renewed in May 2012. The
Tanakh Study Circle is a tradition from the days of former prime ministers
David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin and is held in cooperation with the
Menachem Begin Heritage Center.

This evening's session focused on the last weekly portion of the Book of
Deuteronomy, 33:1-34:12.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "I would like to open the discussion with
Deuteronomy 34:1-6. Moses our Teacher could not enter the Promised Land and
we are here in his merit and in the merit of the struggle of our people to
be here, the inheritance of our ancestors, and we welcome every moment. It
is a very great privilege to read this great book and know that we are
realizing what the Almighty commanded our people. The fact that this is our
inheritance and we are here, reading these words today, and knowing that we
will remain here forever – thus we are fulfilling the precept."

Prime Minister Netanyahu added, "At this time I would like to send my best
wishes for a quick recovery to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, via his son, the Sephardi
Chief Rabbi, and I am certain that I speak for us all."