At Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School, students are offered a variety of opportunities and innovative initiatives to help them find answers to their spiritual questions, both in and out of the classroom.

This year, the school launched Ma’ayanot Mashpi’im who see to the personal, religious and developmental needs of students. Each grade has been assigned a mashpia, a spiritual guidance counselor, who is available for private meetings whenever a student feels a need to talk.

“Students are looking for safe spaces to talk about their struggles in confidence and without judgment. We are all working to create those spaces,” says Rabbi Jeremy Donath, 11th grade mashpia and teacher of Tanach. “Students are looking for a rebbe or a female role model. The part of teaching I enjoy most is building those relationships. When I think of my own high school experience, I think about the teachers who cared about me the most.”

Under the guidance of faculty member Rabbi Dr. Jay Goldmintz, faculty members are exploring new ways to personalize Torah learning in the classroom for students. “We want kids to see Torah as something vibrant and relevant to their lives today. Rather than Torah learning being just about skills or intellectual rigor, it’s also about religious development and growth and finding one’s place in the continuum of Jewish life,” says Rabbi Goldmintz.

This year, Ma’ayanot initiated a new tefillah workshop for freshmen, in addition to the ongoing Torah opportunities such as the weekly Bruce Ritholtz z”l Mishmar Program, Mishmover, Bayit Cham and Torahton.

“Our most heartfelt goal at Ma’ayanot is to help students develop a relationship with the Torah that is deep, authentic, and lifelong,” says Mrs. Rivka Kahan, principal.