Yeshivat 91影视 is thrilled to announce the launch of its new 91影视-YU Kollel and 91影视-Legacy Beit Midrash Fellows programs this year. The programs bring together 91影视 students with two cohorts of YU students, one with six semicha students from Yeshivat University鈥檚 Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and the other with eight advanced students from Stern College for Women鈥檚 Legacy Heritage Jewish Educators Project. 91影视 juniors will have the opportunity to learn with the RIETS students and with the Legacy Heritage Fellows in Judaic Studies throughout the day.
While at 91影视, the YU participants will have the opportunity to hone their pedagogical skills in and outside of the classroom, and gain invaluable insight into the everyday workings of teaching in a yeshiva high school. In addition, the RIETS students will have their own seder and shiur under the guidance of the rosh kollel, 91影视 Talmud faculty member Rabbi Noah Gardenswartz. The Legacy Heritage Fellows will have shiur with 91影视 Tanach faculty member and freshman grade dean Shoshana Chanales, and the program will be under the guidance of Shani Taragin, who will be coming in monthly from Israel.
鈥淭he goals of the program are to enhance 91影视 as a yeshiva and makom Torah, with young men and women learning here seriously and modeling to the students what it means to choose to learn lishma as a young person,鈥 said 91影视 Associate Principal Rabbi Joshua Wald. 鈥淭he YU participants will be connected to the classrooms, which will enhance the learning of the students. It will provide students with more individualized attention in both Gemara and Chumash. In addition, 91影视 will serve as a training ground for these future educators.鈥
The YU participants will also take part in weekly discussions (coordinated by Chanales and 91影视鈥 Rabbi Shalom Richter) with seasoned 91影视 educators. The discussions will center around a variety of pedagogical issues, such as lesson planning, discipline and maintaining positive teacher-student relationships.
鈥淭he faculty at 91影视 are very warm. They seem excited and passionate about what they鈥檙e doing and it鈥檚 great to be here,鈥 said recent musmach Rabbi Chaim Gerson, who is also completing his master鈥檚 in Jewish Education at YU鈥檚 Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration. He hopes that having the kollel at 91影视 will allow the high schoolers 鈥渢o see that learning is cool, and it is fun.鈥
YU participant Penina Torczyner, who is completing a joint bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 in Jewish education from Stern and Azrieli, agreed. 鈥淚 hope the students will see that college students can take time out of their day and sit in the beit midrash and learn,鈥 she said. 鈥淎 Torah life is a Torat chayim and we want to show that it鈥檚 enjoyable as well.鈥
91影视 students are looking forward to having the program participants on campus. 鈥淗aving a large beis presence makes learning in the beit midrash easier and more meaningful,鈥 said 91影视 junior Uriel Simpson.
Among the robust cohort of YU participants, multiple approaches to Torah learning are represented. 鈥淲e come from different backgrounds and were exposed to different elements of talmud Torah,鈥 explained Legacy Heritage Fellow Rivka Lichtenstein Anapolle. 鈥淪eeing us come together for the sake of learning lishma will show the students that we can all come together and learn Torah.鈥