Hadar (educational institution)

Last updated

Hadar is an educational institution on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. [1] [2] The institute offers various programs to support the development of traditional yet egalitarian Judaism. [2] A major component of the institute is Yeshivat Hadar, which offers both summer and year-long fellowships for students to learn full-time in the yeshiva setting. Prominent rabbis associated with Yeshivat Hadar include co-founders Shai Held, Elie Kaunfer, and Ethan Tucker. [3] [4]

Contents

Although its main objective is to train lay leaders rather than rabbis, [5] Yeshivat Hadar announced in February 2019 that it would ordain rabbis. [6]

History

Founded in 2006 by Rabbis Shai Held, Elie Kaunfer, and Ethan Tucker as an institution for intense Torah study and as an advisory for congregations and minyanim looking to reinvigorate their prayer services, Hadar has since grown to include a unique array of offerings that reflect the true splendor—hadar in Hebrew—of Judaism. Hadar offers summer and year-long fellowship programs for young Jews wanting to expand their knowledge of Torah; it teaches core Jewish values, Jewish ideas, and communal music (Rising Song Institute with Joey Weisenberg) through three centers for learning; and it offers short-term seminars for Jewish leaders of all stripes, from teachers to rabbis (rabbinic yeshiva intensive) to Hillel professionals (Jewish Professionals Institute) to lay people who want to make a difference in their own communities (Executive Seminar). In March 2017, Hadar celebrated its first 10 years with a year-long, weekly podcast on Pirkei Avot , [7] a siyyum on Seder Nezikin, and a national shabbaton that drew more than 500 attendees.

Fellowships

Yeshivat Hadar offers year-long and summer fellowships for full time study. Mornings are devoted to Talmud and afternoon courses typically cover topics such as halakha , midrash , maḥshava , and tefilla . In addition to learning Torah, fellowships include communal prayer, service, and community building activities. [8]

Work with independent minyanim

Yeshivat Hadar's leadership assists congregations in reviving their services and invigorating independent prayer. Groups wishing to found or re-energize their own prayer communities have turned to Rabbi Kaunfer's book Empowered Judaism. Joey Weisenberg, a Yeshivat Hadar faculty member also wrote a book for independent minyanim, Building Singing Communities. Mechon Hadar’s website contains information and resources to help independent leaders enhance services. [9] Yeshivat Hadar has a longstanding relationship with Kehillat Hadar, an egalitarian prayer community on Upper West Side of Manhattan, though they operate as separate institutions. [10]

Related Research Articles

A rabbi is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as semikha—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic eras, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The title "rabbi" was first used in the first century CE. In more recent centuries, the duties of a rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshiva</span> Jewish educational institution for Torah study

A yeshiva is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha, while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The studying is usually done through daily shiurim as well as in study pairs called chavrusas. Chavrusa-style learning is one of the unique features of the yeshiva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torah study</span> Studying the Torah, Talmud or other rabbinic literature

Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the mitzvah ("commandment") of Torah study itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern Orthodox Judaism</span> Movement in Orthodox Judaism

Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law with the modern world.

A Midrasha, typically, is an institute of Torah study for women of post-high-school age, somewhat equivalent to a men's yeshiva; most are located in Israel. The midrasha is also somewhat parallel to a "women's seminary", which functions in a similar form. While the terms may sometimes become interchangeable, "midrashot" are commonly linked to Religious Zionism, while the women's "seminaries" are usually associated with Haredi Judaism.

Partnership minyan is a religious Jewish prayer group that seeks to maximize women's participation in services within the confines of Jewish law as understood by Orthodox Judaism. This includes enabling women to lead parts of service, read from the Torah, serve in lay leadership positions, sit in a more gender-balanced format, and in some cases count as part of a minyan ("quorum") of ten men and ten women. Partnership minyanim began in 2002 simultaneously in New York and Jerusalem, and have now spread to over 30 communities in at least five different countries around the world.

Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School (YCT) is a Modern Orthodox yeshiva, previously self-described as Open Orthodox, founded in 1999 by Rabbi Avi Weiss.

Open Orthodox Judaism is a Jewish religious movement with a commitment to following halacha, increased emphasis on intellectual openness, and a more expansive role for women. The term was coined in 1997 by Avi Weiss, who views halacha as permitting more flexibility than the normal practices of Orthodox Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irving Greenberg</span> American rabbi

Irving Yitzchak Greenberg, also known as Yitz Greenberg, is an American scholar, author and rabbi. He is known as a strong supporter of Israel, and a promoter of greater understanding between Judaism and Christianity.

The Conservative Yeshiva is a co-educational institute for study of traditional Jewish texts in Jerusalem. The yeshiva was founded in 1995, is under the auspices of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and is part of the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center. As of 2023, the Roshei Yeshiva are Joel Levy and Joshua Kulp.

Orthodox Jewish feminism is a movement in Orthodox Judaism which seeks to further the cause of a more egalitarian approach to Jewish practice within the bounds of Jewish Law. The major organizations of this movement is the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) in North America, and Women of the Wall (WOW) and its affiliates in Israel and internationally, known as The International Committee for Women of the Wall (ICWOW). In Israel, the leading Orthodox feminist organization is Kolech, founded by Dr. Chana Kehat. In Australia, there is one Orthodox partnership minyan, Shira Hadasha, in Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC Minyan</span> Independent minyanim in Dupont Circle, Washington D.C, United States

The DC Minyan is a lay-led unaffiliated Jewish congregation that holds worship services and other events in the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center (DCJCC), located in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, D.C., in the United States.

An independent minyan is a lay-led Jewish worship and study community that has developed independently of established denominational and synagogue structures within the organized Jewish community. Some began in the late 1990s and most since the year 2000, though some are several decades older. These new groups often combine a commitment to halakha/Jewish law with egalitarianism, and strive to create worship services where traditional prayer can become "spiritual experiences".

Musar literature is didactic Jewish ethical literature which describes virtues and vices and the path towards character improvement. This literature gives the name to the Musar movement, in 19th century Lithuania, but this article considers such literature more broadly.

Shai Held is President, Dean, and Chair in Jewish Thought at the Hadar institute, which he founded in 2006 with Rabbis Elie Kaunfer and Ethan Tucker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilah Kletenik</span>

Gilah Kletenik is an academic and Open Orthodox rabbi.

Elie Kaunfer is an American rabbi who serves as president and CEO of Yeshivat Hadar in Manhattan. Kaunfer has been named as a leading American rabbi by The Forward and Newsweek.

Ethan Tucker is rosh yeshiva and co-founder of Yeshivat Hadar in Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yitzchak Shlomo Zilberman</span>

Yitzchok Shlomo Zilberman was an Israeli Haredi rabbi and educator, pioneer of the Zilberman Method of Torah study. He founded Yeshivat Aderet Eliyahu, part of a community that follows the path of the Vilna Gaon.

References

  1. ↑ Sales, Ben (March 5, 2017). "At 10, egalitarian yeshiva wants to expand learning among Jews in the pews". Times of Israel.
  2. 1 2 Hadar website "About Hadar". hadar.org.
  3. ↑ "People". Hadar Institute. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  4. ↑ Rockland County Jewish Standard 'How is Mechon Hadar different than the Pardes Institute?' February 26, 2011 http://jstandard.com/content/item/how_is_mechon_hadar_different_than_the_pardes_institute/17339
  5. ↑ "Hadar's Popular Egalitarian Yeshiva Grapples With Sex Before Marriage". The Forward. April 20, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  6. ↑ JTA. "Traditional, egalitarian Yeshivat Hadar plans to ordain rabbis". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Pirkei Avot | Hadar". Mechon Hadar. June 29, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Jewish Journey Project - Mechon Hadar". November 29, 2014. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Mechon Hadar is an educational institution that seeks to empower a generation of Jews to create and sustain vibrant, practicing, egalitarian communities of Torah learning prayer and service. Mechon Hadar has two major initiatives: Yeshivat Hadar and the Minyan Project. Yeshivat Hadar is the first full-time egalitarian yeshiva in North America. In fall 2014, they will begin the sixth year of the year-round program offering fellows an intensive program in NYC anchored around empowerment, community and the search for meaning and purpose in Jewish life.
  9. ↑ "Independent Minyanim". Hadar Institute. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  10. ↑ Jewish Week "Hadar Settles Down" January 11, 2011 http://www.thejewishweek.com:8080/news/short_takes/hadar_settles_down

40°46′36″N73°59′00″W / 40.776575°N 73.983417°W / 40.776575; -73.983417

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.