(Courtesy of YU) “Teaching and guiding students through an unparalleled Torah experience while they earn a top-tier degree in Eretz Yisrael isn’t just a privilege — it’s a dream come true.”

Rabbi Eli Wagner’s passion for teaching is unmistakable. The 36-year-old men’s senior rabbinic educator at Yeshiva University’s new undergraduate program in Israel speaks with excitement about the groundbreaking initiative that is reshaping the options for students who want to learn Torah in Israel while pursuing a world-class degree.

“This program is more than just a degree path — it’s an answer to a growing need,” Rabbi Wagner said. “For years, students coming to Israel from overseas had to make a choice: attend an Israeli university with little religious infrastructure or sacrifice their aspirations for a more religious-friendly environment elsewhere. Now, for the first time, they don’t have to choose.”

By combining immersive Torah study with rigorous academics, the program offers students the opportunity to pursue a YU degree while living and learning in Israel. In partnership with Tel Aviv University for business administration and management and Bar-Ilan University for psychology and multidisciplinary Jewish studies, it provides the best of both worlds — an intensive religious framework alongside top-tier academics.

For Rabbi Wagner, who made aliyah in 2012 with his family, YU in Israel is deeply personal. A graduate of Yeshiva University’s Masmidim Honors Program, an advanced track for top Torah scholars, he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, Rabbi Max Wagner, who studied under Rav Joseph Soloveitchik at YU, before earning semicha from the YU Gruss Kollel in Jerusalem.

Gruss became a second home, shaping his growth as a Torah scholar and educator. Years later, he returned, this time as a rabbi and religious educator, teaching in the very study hall where he once learned. Now, as a key figure in the YU in Israel Undergraduate Program, he’s building a path for the next generation of students to experience that same unparalleled blend of Torah and academics.

“Gruss has always been a place of incredible warmth and growth,” Rabbi Wagner said. “Now, our undergraduate students get to experience that environment firsthand.”

The year begins with two months of immersive yeshiva study during Elul, a crucial time for building academic and spiritual foundations, ensuring that students start their journey grounded in Torah learning before beginning their university courses.

The idea for a YU-based college initiative in Israel began as a pilot program. The response was overwhelmingly positive, but after Oct. 7, as antisemitism surged across university campuses worldwide, demand skyrocketed. More young Jews were seeking opportunities to study in Israel but struggled to find a program that met their academic and religious needs.

YU President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman saw an opportunity to bridge this gap. “He understood that strengthening the Jewish future in the Diaspora required a stronger connection to Israel — and at the same time, Israel lacked a model like YU’s,” Rabbi Wagner said.

In fall 2024, the first cohort of students arrived in Israel. The two-and-a-half-year curriculum is carefully balanced: mornings are dedicated to intensive Torah learning, while afternoons are spent in academic courses taught in English at the Israeli universities. The experience is enriched with chesed community service, student life programming, and immersion into the land, culture and Hebrew language.

Because the Gruss campus is based in Jerusalem, students benefit from an inspiring, tight-knit environment and the “nurturing Gruss family” as they study alongside rabbinical students and faculty.

Outside the classroom, students take part in trips across Israel, Shabbatonim and cultural experiences designed to integrate them into the fabric of Israeli life. The program attracts a diverse mix of students, including some who have completed their Israeli army service, others who plan to enlist, and those focused on their degrees before considering future service or careers.

The students, the men and the women, whose Torah studies are led by Rabbanit Shani Taragin, are incredibly enthusiastic.

“While most come from the New York tristate area, we also have students from Miami, Kansas and even Perth, Australia,” Rabbi Wagner said. “They take great pride in being pioneers. Many even volunteer for recruitment events, eager to share their firsthand experiences and serve as ambassadors for the program.”

Rabbi Wagner said that the impact of this program will be far-reaching — not only for individual students but also for the broader Jewish community.

“When students study in Israel within a strong Torah framework, it strengthens their long-term connection to the country,” he said. “Many will stay, build lives here and contribute to Israeli society. And even those who return to the U.S. will take with them an unshakable bond to their homeland.”

For Rabbi Wagner, the program is the fulfillment of a long-held vision — both for himself and for YU. “Seeing students flourish in this environment is extremely rewarding,” he said. “For so many of them, this is more than an academic program — it’s a path to building their lives in Israel without compromise.”

An opportunity to meet Rabbi Wagner and the YUI leadership to learn more about the program in person on Long Island and Teaneck will take place on March 9, and in Boca Raton on March 11. To register, visit yu.edu/yui_tristate2025.