New York—A new initiative from Yeshiva University’s Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Studies (GPATS) will provide new opportunities for local high school girls to engage in high-level Judaic studies with the support and mentorship of GPATS students and faculty.
Called Sunday Night Learning: Empowered by GPATS (SNL), the program will feature a series of events that are open to female students at any high school. Each event will begin with a dinner and chavruta (partnered) learning with current students in GPATS, a program designed to provide young women with opportunities to immerse themselves in post-graduate study of Judaic topics. The learning will be followed by advanced shiurim (lectures) from GPATS and YU faculty on topics that will range from Tanach to gemara and Jewish philosophy.
The first event of the series will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, December 18 at the Bais Medrash of Bergenfield, 371 South Prospect Avenue, Bergenfield, New Jersey, 07621. Nechama Price, director of GPATS, will deliver a shiur titled, “These Are a Few of Their Favorite Things: Favoritism in Tanach.”
“I feel privileged to be able to run such an incredible program and to facilitate learning between post-college and high school students,” she said. “The goal is to feature an array of topics and styles to show students the vastness of Torah. We hope that this will provide inspiration for participants and spread our passion for Torah study.”
The idea for the program actually originated with Dr. Jessica Kornwasser, a mother who was intrigued by Price’s discussion of GPATS and women’s learning at YU’s annual ChampionsGate Leadership Conference. “After hearing Nechama Price and several other Stern College Judaic studies professors speak at Championsgate, I found myself wishing that my daughter, a sophomore in high school, could get a glimpse of the Torah learning that awaits her in college,” said Kornwasser. “The idea was met with enthusiasm by Nechama and several other mothers of high school girls, and Sunday Night Learning began to take shape.”
“I was really excited by the idea of spreading the message of women’s learning to a younger generation,” added Price.
“GPATS provides our community with a graduate opportunity for women to learn Talmud and halacha on the highest level,” said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, vice president for university and community life at YU. “Many of the GPATS graduates go on to serve the Jewish community in unprecedented ways. To have our GPATS scholars engage with young women in high school is just another way for them to contribute to the Torah scholarship of our community while simultaneously benefiting from the informal teaching experience created by SNL.”
For more information, contact Nechama Price at [email protected].
