This summer, the Teaneck Women’s Summer Beit Midrash experienced a second year of great success. 11 fellows learned Talmud, Tehillim, Midrash, and Rambam full time in the Maayanot Beit Midrash. The fellows were joined by a number of young college age women as well as community women. The community women have remarked that the 11 fellows are not only warm & engaging, but are exceptionally erudite & motivated in learning and serve as an inspiration for them. Instructors were Rabbi Moshe Kahn, Mrs. Daphna Fishman, Dr. Shai Secunda, and Dr. Shira Weiss.
Beit Midrash fellow Enjoying Shiur along with her Mother
Beit Midrash Fellows with Mrs. Daphna Fishman
Fellow in the Beit Midrash
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Rabbi Moshe Kahn
Dr. Shira Weiss
Dr. Shai Secunda
The community shiurim have been embraced by record numbers of women of all ages. Elana Stein Hain presented on Theological Challenges in Bereishit. Women of all ages attended her innovative shiur which was preceded by a very successful chavruta session in preparation for the shiur. Huge numbers of women came out for a weekly shiur on Tensions in Tefilla presented by Rebbetzin Peshi Neuberger. Mrs. Yael Leibowitz challenged crowds to delve deeply into the sefarim of Shmot and Bamidbar in her chumash shiur, “A Precipice in the Desert”. Mrs. Daphna Fishman taught “The Controversy over Maimonedes”, approaching Rambam in a way that attendees found fresh and exciting. Rabbi Kenneth Brander, Dean of the Center for the Jewish Future, delivered a lecture to the group on The Role of Divine Intervention in the Halakhic Process.
Community Women Learning
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Rebbetzin Peshi Neuburger
Mrs. Yael Leibowitz
Mrs. Elana Stein Hain
Finally, the Beit Midrash Fellows ran a month of youth programming for 1st – 9th grade girls at Keter Torah Congregation. Through group interaction as well as high-level chavrutot, our fellows connected with the girls in ways that have left lasting impressions on both.
“The highlight of the program for me was “Being able to go to this with my daughters (ages 21 and 19) and participate in this together, and talk about it afterwards too.”
-Community Participant
“As a participant in this summer's Beit Midrash Program for Women, I wanted to thank you for running this program and promoting Torah learning for women. As a women, there are few opportunities for me to learn Torah, especially gemara, on a high level, so I relished every minute of this program. It is so important to give women opportunities to learn outside the college classroom, and for the community members to see this learning taking place. We are lucky to live in a time when women can enhance their Judaism and the Judaism of their families and communities through learning, and it is important to create opportunities where women can improve their skills and gain Torah knowledge. I was so proud to tell people that I was learning in YU's Beit Midrash Program for Women this summer, and I hope to see even more programs such as this in the future.”
- Beit Midrash Fellow