Talk:Chaim Brovender

Rabbi Dr. Chaim Brovender: Dean, Ohr Torah Stone Colleges and Graduate Programs Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshivat Hamivtar- Orot Lev

For over 25 years, Rabbi Dr. Chaim Brovender has stood at the forefront of pioneering Jewish Studies programs for highly educated young men and women who come to Israel from all over the world to study in an Orthodox environment.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Rabbi Brovender attended Yeshiva University before making aliya to Israel in 1965. He received his Doctorate in Semitic Languages from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1974. While studying for his doctorate, Rabbi Brovender began teaching Judaism to students who had come to Israel for the Hebrew University's overseas program.

"At that time, at the end of the 60's, students from abroad had tremendous interest in Judaism, in their roots, in spirituality," recalls Rabbi Brovender. "I started teaching these students informally, bringing them closer to Torah. It had a great impact on them."

Soon after, Rabbi Brovender established Yeshivat Hamivtar for men, teaching Torah to beginners in an open, intellectual environment. At the same time, with the founding of Michlelet Bruria, he revolutionized women's Torah study in Israel by introducing in-depth textual study and Talmud to women's learning, paving the way for other women's yeshiva-style institutions.

In 1988, Rabbi Brovender and Rabbi Riskin, sharing similar goals, merged to form the network of Ohr Torah Stone Colleges and Graduate Programs, which included Yeshivat Hamivtar and Michlelet Bruria, now Midreshet Lindenbaum.

From the United States, England, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe and Israel, young men and women, seeking to spend time in the intense study of Judaism with intellectual analysis and a modern outlook, have been attracted to Rabbi Brovender's unique method of teaching; of engaging each student personally in the Torah. No text is approached passively. There is a constant level of struggling with and questioning of every line of text. Students are stimulated and independently motivated to dig into the texts, to understand the commentaries and to seek truth in their learning. "The only thing we have is Torah," says Rabbi Brovender. "We have to give our students the knowledge to bring Torah to the people."

Rabbi Brovender himself has sought to bring Torah to students outside of Israel. In addition to his responsibilities in Efrat, he commuted to England for the course of a year in order to also serve as the Rosh Yeshiva of the joint Ohr Torah Stone / London School of Jewish Studies program, which was established to train Orthodox Rabbis for England and Europe. Several years earlier, Rabbi Brovender was the driving force behind Ohr Torah Stone's educational program in Moscow, which brought hundreds of people back to their Jewish heritage.

Two generations of Rabbi Brovender's students are teaching in Israel and throughout the world. Deeply influenced by Rabbi Brovender, many use him as their role model, aspiring to teach and inspire others just as he inspired them.

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Israel Programs

Midreshet Lindenbaum General Information Category: Women's Yeshivot

Organizer: Ohr Torah Stone

Dates Information Starting Date : August

Length: 1 year

Requirements: Minimum Age: 18

Maximum Age:

Target Population: Women, Post-High School

Special Requirements: Age: post-High School Religious educational background: Most are Yeshiva high school graduates Necessary Level of Learning: Minimum can read and understand simple Biblical texts. H.S. or College years required for entrance: High school diploma Religious Commitment required: Strong Level of Hebrew required: Intermediate

Description Introduction More than two decades after pioneering chavruta-style Torah study for women, Ohr Torah Stone’s Midreshet Lindenbaum has grown into the largest women’s beit midrash program in the world. Day and night, the beit midrash at the Jerusalem-based center vibrates with the voices of young women as they explore ancient texts and modern responsa, with the assistance of prominent rabbis and women scholars.

Midreshet Lindenbaum has the size and educational resources to offer students the ability to create a personalized course of study within its wide-ranging curriculum. Post-high-school women from abroad participating in the school’s flagship MABAT program benefit from sharing the beit midrash with outstanding students from the school’s other programs, including BRURIA SCHOLARS; Israeli TUSHIA students; ADVOCATES in training to serve in the Israeli Rabbinical Courts; HADAS women’s “hesder” students, and BOGROT post-graduate women.

Midreshet Lindenbaum is paving new highways in the education and rights of Jewish women, and is a primary source of well-educated female leaders and role models for Jewish communities worldwide.

Study Options Midreshet Lindenbaum offers a wide range of courses in Hebrew and English on several levels in Talmud, Tanach, Halacha, Jewish Thought, Mussar, Parshat Hashavua and Jewish History.

Classes generally take place from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Four evenings a week Israeli and overseas students share the expansive beit midrash. Students also have the option of joining selected courses from the Israeli program.

Faculty The staff includes some of Jerusalem’s finest teachers of advanced Torah studies. With an emphasis on full-time instructors, faculty members are available for informal discussion outside of class and their homes are open to students.

Partial list Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Chancellor, Ohr Torah Stone Rabbi Chaim Brovender, Dean, Ohr Torah Stone Dr. David Bernstein Rabbi David Brofsky Rabbi Tuvia Kaplan Rabbi David Fink Nurit Fried Rabbi Alex Israel Noa Jesselson Rabbi Shmuel Klitsner Tova Rhein Dr. Tamar Ross Rabbi Joshua Schreier Shani Taragin Rabbi Morrie Wruble

Living Quarters

Midreshet Lindenbaum students reside in the Neveh Penina building in the residential section of Talpiot, Jerusalem. Four students share a spacious suite, fully furnished with private bath and kitchenette. House parents and dorm counselors live on premises, providing guidance and assistance. Meals are provided in the dining room three times a day, and laundry facilities are located on campus.

Shabbat and Holidays

Students spend one or two Shabbatot together each month. These might include a program in the dorms or a group Shabbaton in a field school, development town, or the community of a faculty member. Home hospitality is available to dormitory residents for “free” Shabbatot and Jewish holidays. The dorms remain open throughout the year, including Pesach and Sukkot.

The Israel Experience

Sharing dorms, meals and classes creates the basis for new friendships and home hospitality with Midreshet Lindenbaum’s Israeli students.

Tiyulim across Israel are an integral part of the program, enhancing classroom studies by bringing the country’s history and heritage alive. These outings include day-long hikes as well as three-day trips to the Galil and Negev.

As a school with a religious-Zionist orientation, Midreshet Lindenbaum celebrates Yom Haatzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim with seudot mitzvah, recitation of Hallel, divrei torah and special shiurim.

Young women at Lindenbaum are encouraged to become involved in the Israeli community through volunteer service. Students contribute their time and efforts to Chessed programs including work with Russian and Ethiopian immigrants, children with handicaps and the elderly. Their dedication is highly regarded by many volunteer organizations which seek out Midreshet Lindenbaum students for their projects.

ATID: Academy for Torah Initiatives and Direction

Faculty:

R. Shalom Berger is on the faculty of the Lookstein Center for Jewish Education at Bar-Ilan University.

• Dr. David Bernstein is the dean of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies.

• R. Chaim Brovender, president of the ATID Foundation, is Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat HaMivtar.

Dr. Simcha Chesner, a clinical psychologist, is director of Jacob’s Ladder Center for Character Education, in Jerusalem.

• Dr. Howie Dietcher, a faculty member of the Melton School of Education at Hebrew University, is the director of Intensive Development Programs at the Mandel School.

Dr. Yoel Finkelman is ATID's Coordinater of Research and Projects. He teaches at Midreshet Lindenbaum.

Dr. Uzy Fuchs is a lecturer in Talmud at Bar-Ilan University and Machon Herzog

• Dr. Beverly Gribetz is the principal of the Evelina de Rothschild Middle School in Jerusalem.

Prof. Binyamin Gross is a lecturer in Jewish thought on the faculty of Bar-Ilan University.

R. Zvi Grumet is the director of the Senior Educators Program at the Lookstein Center.

Prof. Susan Handelman is on the faculty of Bar-Ilan University.

Mrs. Batya Hefter teaches at Matan and directs the Beit Midrash LeNashim in Efrat.

Dr. Elie Holzer is on the faculty of the School of Education at Bar-Ilan University.

R. Yair Kahn is a Ram at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shvut.

• R. Menachem Leibtag serves on the faculties of Yeshivat Har Etzion and Midreshet Lindenbaum.

R. Ephraim Levitz is on the staff of the Branco Weiss Institute for the Development of Thinking.

Dr. Daniel Marom is a Senior Consultant at the Mandel School for Professional Education.

R. Stanley Peerless is the director of the World Council for Torah Education, and is on the faculty of the Lookstein Center for Jewish Education at Bar-Ilan University.

Mrs. Simi Peters is on the faculty of Nishmat.

Dr. Caroline Peyser is a member of the faculty at Midreshet Lindenbaum, and a psychologist in private practice.

• Mrs. Tova Rhein is the director of the overseas program at Midreshet Lindenbaum.

Dr. David Ribner is a Senior Faculty member at Bar Ilan University’s School of Social Work.

• R. Jeffrey Saks is the director of ATID.

Avraham Walfish is on the faculty of Yeshivat Hesder Tekoa and the Herzog College.

• Dr. Joel Wolowelsky is the chairman of Advanced Placement studies at the Yeshiva of Flatbush.

R. Reuven Ziegler is Director of Research for the Toras HoRav Foundation, and editor in chief of Yeshivat Har Etzion's Virtual Beit Midrash.

R. Dov Zinger, formerly Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Mekor Chaim, is founder of the Beit Midrash le-Hitchadshut.

Dr. Avivah Zornberg, a well-known Jerusalem educator, received the National Jewish Book Award for her Genesis: The Beginning of Desire.

• = Board Member