Happenings at the Yeshiva

In the yeshiva, students continued learning Shabbat, focusing on when one may ask a non-Jew to do a melakha for you - and laws of Basar BiChalav, looking at cases of transfer of taste without heat.

On Sunday, February 6, we hosted a YCT Wives program for wives of our musmachim, to help provide a setting for training, networking, and conversation.  There were fabulous sessions with Toby Weiss and Suzy Marder on the challenges and opportunities of being a rabbi's wife (and perhaps even a "rebbetzin").  The participants also met with Dr. Michelle Friedman and Miriam Schachter to talk about exploring boundaries and their own challenges and struggles.  It was a huge success and we look forward to doing it again!

We also had some fabulous guests this week.  Rabbi Dov Zinger, Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivat Makor Chayim, the Steinsaltz Yeshiva High School in Israel, and head of the Beit Midrash LiHitchadshut, visited our yeshiva and spent a morning with the students, learning Gemara and framing and reflecting on how we learn and how we teach, and how we can do say in a way of close attention, mindfulness, and connectedness.   Students were very taken with Rabbi Zinger, a truly great spiritual personality, and we look forward to continue having him at the yeshiva and working and learning with him in the future.  

Rav Zinger was joined by a former teacher of Makor Chayim, Rabbi Dr. Maoz Kahana, a tremendous scholar who is now in the States spending the year at NYU as part of its Tikvah fellowship.  We look forward to bringing Rabbi Dr. Kahana in at a later time to teach and learn with the students.

We also welcomed back Dr. Reuven Kimelman, a world-class scholar on Jewish Liturgy from Brandeis University, as part of our Visiting Scholars series.  Dr. Kimelman taught the second in a series of three lectures on the topic of the Shema liturgy.  Students were thrilled to be taking the class with Dr. Kimelman and eagerly await the final class next week.

And, finally, a big MAZEL TOV to Seth (YCT 2006) and Jamie Braunstein on the birth of a baby girl last Thursday night.  This Sunday, there will be a simchat bat both for Seth and Jamie's daughter, as well as a separate simchat bat for Simon (year 3) and Sivan Livson's daughter.  She'tizku li'gadlan li'Torah li'Chuppah u'li'ma'asim Tovim!  

A MAZEL TOV also goes to Josh Strosberg (year 3) on his engagement last weekend to Andrea Ginsburg of St. Louis, MO. Josh met Andrea while doing his pulpit internship at Bais Abraham Congregation in St. Louis. There was much dance and celebration in the Beit Midrash on Monday morning in their honor.