Happenings at the Yeshiva

In addition to the intense learning of all the students, we have begun our Lishma - Community Kollel program led by Rabbi Nati Helfgot.  This program is open to anyone from the larger community and takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 AM -12:00 PM.  The first two hours are devoted to Gemara learning  in chavruta followed by a shiur, and the last hour is a shiur on Tanakh or on Contemporary Poskim.  We have started with 5 participants, and we know that the numbers will continue to grow.  It is so wonderful having the presence of these community members in our beit midrash and having their voices added to the kol Torah of the yeshiva.

This week Rav Nati also gave his first class on The Structure and Meaning of the Yamim Noraim Liturgy.  We also look forward to his shiur next Friday morning and the Structure and Meaning of the Selichot. 

As part of our Elul work and preparing for Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, we were thrilled to once again bring in Merle Feld this last Wednesday to lead a session on Spiritual Writing as a Preparation for the Yamim Noraim.   All students participated in this session, and almost unanimously they found it to be a helpful practice to get in touch with their inner thoughts and spiritual life and to grow during this time of year. 

This Wednesday also saw the second week of the Educator Program classes.  Students in this track began their structured internships this last Monday, with three of them working at Heschel and two at SAR under the mentorship of expert teachers.  This Wednesday night, in addition to a class on pedagogy, students participated in a field-work seminar sharing and reflecting on the observations that they made during their internship work.   We have an amazing team of teachers and supervisors for this program - Daniel Held, Ruth Fagen, and Molly Pollak - and we know that students will emerge fully prepared to teach in our day school and on college campuses and the highest level.