Lamdeinu is beginning its ninth year of teaching Torah to men and women who relish being active learners. We are fortunate to be living in a time with an abundance of available shiurim. Lamdeinu goes further. Zoom enables Lamdeinu to attract the highest-caliber teachers and interested, enthusiastic students from all over the world. Students engage with a variety of textual sources and discuss them, chavruta style, with each other. “We care about deep, thoughtful, insightful learning,” said Founder and Dean Rachel Friedman. “In-depth text study is our specialty. The text is always in front of you and ideas flow from engagement with the text.”
This approach is different from being in a shiur where you are one of many listening to a speaker. “If you believe in the Torah way of life, it’s not just what you do and practice, it’s how you feel when you do it,” said Friedman. “We create relationships and bond over Torah study. And the relationships that grow here are deep and strong. During the pandemic, Lamdeinu was vital; it kept everyone together. Things in the world were chaotic but Lamdeinu was a refuge, a place of connection. Our students stay connected over Torah learning. And our chavrutas feel like a part of ourselves.”
Whether you have only an hour a week or an entire morning, Lamdeinu offers classes across the range of Torah topics including Chumash, Parshat hashavua, Navi, Gemara, Halacha, tefillah, Jewish philosophy and Jewish history. One of the most popular classes is Parshanut HaMikra on Sefer Bereishit, led by Friedman for women only, on Monday morning. New this year is a two-part class on “Making Korbanot Meaningful,” for men and women, taught by Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Zuckier on Monday at 1 p.m. Another new class is “Villains of the Bible,” a four-part series taught by Channa Lockshin Bob, for men and women, on Wednesday morning. Beginning on November 23, Rabbi Yitzchak Twersky will teach a class about “How Midrash Elucidates Tanakh Characters,” for men and women on Wednesday mornings. On December 21, Rabbi Twersky will give a class on “A New Light on Chanukah,” for men and women.
While the classes are taught in English, a working knowledge of Hebrew is helpful for many of the texts. Friedman encourages anyone interested in taking a class to call her to discuss which classes would be a good fit. Before many classes, students get pages of sources and guided questions so that they have time to prepare with chavrutas and discuss with family and friends. “We don’t have the expectation that you have 10 extra hours to prepare; you really can master the material in classroom time,” she emphasized.
Students come from a range of cultural and educational backgrounds, which gives the classes diverse perspectives and leads to lively discussions. “We have students who grew up in Israel and know a lot about the Hebrew language, literature and poetry,” Friedman said. “We have people with backgrounds in math, science and secular poetry. It’s fascinating to give a piece of text to 20 people and see how each engages and reacts. People don’t always agree but they’re comfortable engaging; they analyze the pros and cons and are always respectful. That’s why relationships that develop here are so deep.”
Lamdeinu has several in-person and experiential events each year, some exclusively for women. “The majority of our students are women and this is a very comfortable and exciting space for them,” said Friedman. “Last year for Yom Ha’atzmaut, we started our women’s celebration with tefillah and shirah and then had a musicologist sing and talk about the history of Israeli songs from the time of the establishment of the State.”
This year, Lamdeinu’s annual Chanukah breakfast for men and women will take place in person on December 11 at 9:15 a.m. Lamdeinu will honor longtime student and devotee Ruth Krasner and will present a Gemilut Chesed Award to former program director Esti Mellul. “We’ll have a morning of Torah, fun and inspiration!”
For more information and a complete class schedule, visit www.lamdeinu.org or email program director Debbie Negari at [email protected].
By Bracha Schwartz
