When Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat Har Etzion, spoke at Ma’ayanot’s chanukat habayit in November, 1996, he emphasized that “if Torah is to be taught, then it needs to be taught seriously to assure that indeed Torah is understood and absorbed with the seriousness, earnestness, exhilaration, excitement, and passion that is coming to it.” Almost 20 years ago Ma’ayanot took up this mantle and opened its doors, hoping to create a place of Torah learning where young Jewish women would not only become conversant in and passionate about Torah and Halacha (Jewish law), but leaders in transmitting these values as well.
A number of recent indicators demonstrate that Ma’ayanot has indeed become a leader in the world of women’s Torah learning today.
First and foremost, the Ma’ayanot community was proud to recently learn that senior Sarah Hiller took first place in the girls’ division of Yeshiva University’s prestigious Bronka Weintraub High School Bekiut Program. This voluntary learning program, which, according to YU’s website, is designed to “instill an appreciation of knowledge for its own sake,” challenges high school students to learn an entire masechta of Gemara with Rashi (this year it was Gemara Ta’anit) and take five exams throughout the school year. Sarah ranked as the first place winner by earning the highest cumulative score (over 99 percent!) on these exams.
To help students prepare for the Bekiut exams, Ma’ayanot offered an 11th grade Bekiut elective that was designed, in part, to cover the material on the exams. Sarah was one of six students who chose to take this elective, and their teacher, Rabbi Zev Prince, noted that in addition to the three periods a week of intense Gemara learning, the students needed to significantly supplement their classroom learning with independent learning to succeed on the difficult exams; indeed, Sarah estimates that she spent at least 14 hours independently studying for each of the five exams.
When asked why she participated in this rigorous program, Sarah responded, “I saw this as a cool opportunity to learn a whole mesechta, something that I had never done before. It was also an opportunity to help with skill-building, which it definitely did.”
Another cool fact: While this bekiut program is only seven years old, this is the third time that a Ma’ayanot student has finished in first place. The other winners were Sarah’s sister Gabrielle Hiller (’09) and Jordana Wietschner (’10). Also of note is the fact that two additional Ma’ayanot students, Shiri Tsour (’10) and Daniella Grodko (’11), have won runner-up prizes in this contest as well.
On the topic of impressive Torah statistics, it is also noteworthy that almost 30 percent of students studying this year in Yeshiva University’s Graduate Program in Advanced Talmud Studies (GPATS) were Ma’ayanot alumnae. Even more impressive, of the 10 students enrolled as of this writing in the inaugural Advanced Talmud class being offered this summer by Lamdeinu (a new center for Jewish learning in Teaneck), five are Ma’ayanot teachers and one, Ellie (Shulman) Schlanger (’01), is a Ma’ayanot alumna. It is also notable that Shira Schiowitz, the new Associate Dean of Lamdeinu, is the former Chair of Ma’ayanot’s Tanach department and continues to serve as a mentor for new Ma’ayanot teachers.
Ma’ayanot is also heavily represented in the American branch of Nishmat’s Yoatzot Halacha Program; not only is the program housed at Ma’ayanot, but of the 12 women who have either completed or are currently learning in this program since its inception, four (i.e., over 30 percent) are or have been affiliated with Ma’ayanot: Dena Block is a Ma’ayanot alumna and current Ma’ayanot teacher; Tova Sinensky is the former Chair of Ma’ayanot’s Talmud department; Rookie Billet is Ma’ayanot’s immediate past principal, and Shifra Staiman is an alumna from the Ma’ayanot class of 2006.
Finally, through Ma’ayanot’s Continuing Education program, members of the community are able to experience the same high level of Judaic instruction that Ma’ayanot students enjoy on a daily basis. Each year, during the yamim noraim, Ma’ayanot invites the community to attend its annual Yom Iyun, which includes a keynote address that is followed by two break-out sessions where participants choose from among numerous shiurim offered by the Ma’ayanot faculty. In addition, Ma’ayanot faculty members also offer numerous shiur series throughout the school year that are open to the community. The schedule for the 2014-15 school year includes:
(September 18) – Dr. Oshra Cohen, Guidance Counselor: “The Psychology of Teshuva”;
(October 23 & 30, November 6, 13 & 20) – Ms. Elana Flaumenhaft, Assistant Principal and Tanach Teacher: “Ezra, Nechemya, Chagai & Zecharya: The Forgotten Neviim”;
(December 4, 11, 18 & 31, January 8 & 14) – Rabbi Zev Prince, Director of Religious Programming and Talmud & Halacha Teacher: “K’tav V’Kabbalah: The Story of the Sidrah as Told by the Sages of the Talmud”;
(February 12, 19 & 26, March 12, 19 & 26) – Mrs. Leah Herzog, Director of Israel Guidance and Tanach Teacher: Topic TBA;
(April 16 & 30, May 7, 14, 21 & 28) – Mrs. Rivka Kahan, Principal & Dr. Rayzel Yaish, Director of Guidance: “B’chol L’vavcha U’vachol Nafshecha: The Interplay of Torah and Psychology.”
(For more information about Ma’ayanot’s Continuing Education program, please contact Pam Ennis at [email protected].)
