During the summer of 2007 I was a fellow at the first summer of Yeshivat Hadar, an intensive 8-week egalitarian Jewish learning program in Manhattan. It was a transformative summer, and aside from making amazing friends and learning more than I would have thought possible, I left the summer feeling excited by Judaism in a way I never had before, and empowered to change the Jewish world for the better. It was, in a word, phenomenal.
Yeshivat Hadar had 36 fellows this past summer, and is now opening up applications for the summer 2009 program, and for a year-round program that will launch in the fall of 2009. Check out the information below, and feel free to contact me or leave a comment if you have any questions. Applications are available now, and though they aren’t due for a while I encourage everyone to start working on them now–acceptance is competitive, and the application is an intense one. Good luck!
Yeshivat Hadar is animated by three central goals:
·   To foster a community of men and women who engage in intensive Torah study, prayer and action.
·   To offer a passionate vision of traditional Jewish life as a spiritual path.
·   To empower students to build and contribute to vibrant Jewish communities across the United States.
Yeshivat Hadar Summer 2009
Yeshivat Hadar offers 36 fellows an intensive program in the heart of Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The 8-week experience (June 14 – August 8, 2009) will combine traditional text study, egalitarian prayer and social action with a special focus on personal religious growth. Yeshivat Hadar will create a community of learning which will include seminars, havruta (paired learning), elective classes and time for independent study.  Students will complete the program equipped with greater textual competence and broader knowledge of the Jewish tradition as a whole. Students will commit to bringing lessons from their summer experience to their local community.
Yeshivat Hadar 2009-2010
Next fall, Yeshivat Hadar will launch the first full-year, full-time egalitarian yeshiva in North America. The program will offer 15-20 fellows an intensive program in New York City, anchored around empowerment, community and the search for meaning and purpose in Jewish life. Fellows are expected not only to participate in the program but to be partners in its launch as well. While the dates are still being finalized, prospective fellows should be available from September 2009 through May 2010.Â
Like the summer program, the year-long program will create a community of learning which will include seminars, havruta (paired learning), elective classes and time for independent study. Â Students will complete the program equipped with greater textual competence and broader knowledge of the Jewish tradition as a whole. Students will commit to bringing lessons from their summer experience to their local community.
In recognition of the intense time and energy commitment required by the fellowship, Yeshivat Hadar is pleased to offer a generous stipend, intended to cover the cost of tuition and living expenses. Participation in the program is a selective process, and prospective students must complete a full application, as well as references, by February 1, 2009. Â Finalists will be interviewed, and fellows for both programs will be notified in mid-late March.
For those in the New York area, we invite you to join us for an evening of learning with us on Thursday night, January 15th, 2009, 7-9 pm, at West End Synagogue, 190 Amsterdam Ave (near 69th Street), which will once again host Yeshivat Hadar in 2009.
For more information (including student qualifications and a tentative schedule with course descriptions), and for the full application (www.mechonhadar.org/YeshivatHadar/apply.php), please visit www.yeshivathadar.org. For any questions, feel free to email us at info@mechonhadar.org.
Watch a short video about Yeshivat Hadar below.
havruta
Pronounced: khahv-ROOT-uh, Origin: Hebrew, a study partner for learning Jewish texts, the word also refers to the traditional practice of studying Jewish texts in pairs, which is considered preferable to reading them alone.
Torah
Pronunced: TORE-uh, Origin: Hebrew, the Five Books of Moses.
yeshiva
Pronounced: yuh-SHEE-vuh or yeh-shee-VAH, Origin: Hebrew, a traditional religious school, where students mainly study Jewish texts.
