Yeshiva University s Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Studies

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1 Yeshiva University s Graduate Program in Advanced Tamudic Studies Dear Friends, We are honored to present to our community of friends and supporters the inaugura Graduate Program in Advanced Tamudic Studies newsetter. With it, we invite you to earn more about the GPATS experience hagdi Torah u hadirah (to enjoy the spendor of Torah), to further the growth of Torah earning for the women in our community. Yeshiva University s Graduate Program in Advanced Tamudic Studies is a two-year master s program where women study on an advanced eve and further their growth in Tamud, Torah knowedge and Haacha. Whie in the program, women can aso attend casses in the Azriei Graduate Schoo of Jewish Education and Administration and the Bernard Reve Graduate Schoo of Jewish Studies to improve their pedagogic skis and knowedge of Bibe and Jewish history. This program creates an eite cadre of femae schoars of Tamud and Haacha who study for the sake of growing as Torah observant Jews with strong ahavat and yirat HaShem. Many go on to serve as forma eaders and roe modes for the Jewish community. We are so proud of our aumni. More than 100 women have become teachers in many high schoos throughout the country, in countess seminaries in Israe, invoved in JLIC (Jewish Learning Initiative on Coege campuses a over the country), NCSY and as Yoatzot Haacha in Israe and America. They are iteray sharing Torah a over the word. In this first newsetter, we are peased to share highights of our program, students, facuty and aumni. We speak with aumna Tova Warburg-Sinensky, fu-time chair of Koheet Yeshiva High Schoo Tamud Department, about her experiences before, during and after her time in the GPATS program. Additionay, our members of esteemed facuty describe their experiences working with GPATS women and our current students share their goas for their time in the program. We ook forward to your support of this important program and sharing in many future accompishments. Thank you in advance for your partnership, Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander Vice President for University and Community Life, Yeshiva University Professor Nechama Price Director of GPATS

2 An Interview with Aumna Tova Warburg Sinensky, Chair of Koheet Yeshiva High Schoo Tamud Department Q. Can you te us about your pre-coege background? A. I m from Engewood, New Jersey. I attended The Moriah Schoo, The Frisch Schoo and Beit Midrash Migda Oz before going to Stern and then GPATS. Front row: ( r) Rache Shapiro, Eeora Sandman, Chana Shestack, Professor Nechama Price, Zissy Turner, Micha Schechter, Bima Maged. Back row: ( r) Jennifer Strauss, Victoria Chabot, Makena Owens, Sara Rozner, Rivka Rosenbaum, Chaya Rayman, Taia Mootsky, Sarah Robinson. Not shown: Dr. Juie Joseph What Current GPATS Teachers and Students Think GPATS is a unique program that aows women to grow in their knowedge of Torah and Tamud. The students invoved in GPATS tend to be particuary committed to devote their careers to communa service. Current GPATS student Bima Zeinger comments: I fee very privieged to be a student at GPATS. Learning fu time brings me much joy and sipuk [satisfaction/fufiment]. The rigorous earning and knowedgeabe, encouraging rebbeim hep me advance spirituay and inteectuay so that I become a better equipped contributor to the Jewish community. Student Sarah Robinson adds: GPATS is giving me the toos to eventuay become a eader in the Jewish community. The depth and compexity of earning at GPATS faciitates the fufiment of an individua aspiration to the comprehensive study of Torah at the highest eves. GPATS students are growth-oriented and are deepy invested in their persona, reigious and inteectua growth, said Rabbi David Nachbar, maggid shiur to the master s program in Bibica and Tamudic Interpretation at Stern Coege for Women. Their maturity and dedication is a source of strength for me, and it is a priviege to participate in their education. GPATS provides us with an incredibe opportunity to expore Torat HaShem with uncompromising depth and breadth. The program s aumni are at the forefront of the discussion of femae roes in schoarship and eadership they serve as educators, synagogue schoars or are otherwise active contributors to Jewish communa ife. The diaogue around women s roes has yieded robust conversations, and GPATS facuty member Rabbi Moshe Kahn states: The study of Tamud at the highest eves is not an impediment or hindrance to spiritua and reigious growth. On the contrary, it is a vehice through which to achieve it. The GPATS facuty has been phenomena in treating student s questions and various approaches to earning with patience, respect, and gente guidance. I have been chaenged to think in new ways and appreciate the vaue that is paced on chavruta earning and engaging in the text, Taia Mootsky said. I recognize and appreciate that this may be a once in a ifetime opportunity to devote mysef entirey to earning Torah. Learning in GPATS is a bessing. It fees ike Shabbat every day, said Victoria Shabot. ( r) Rabbi Gedayah Berger, Rabbi Moshe Kahn and Rabbi David Nachbar Q. Why did you choose the GPATS program? Was it aways a goa of yours to appy? A. Since high schoo I was in ove with gemara earning. GPATS just seemed ike a natura next step for me. Q. What was your favorite part of the GPATS program? A. I oved the conceptua, yet textuay-grounded approach of Rabbi Mayer; and the carity of Rabbi Berger s presentation, as we as his expertise in haacha. This was and continues to be so vauabe to me. Q. What opportunities came from being in the GPATS? A. On Fridays during my second year at GPATS, I heped out in Rivka Kahan s gemara cass. At that point she was in an administrative roe and that was aso a great entry point for me into Ma ayanot. From this, I was abe to present a mode esson at Ma ayanot which ed to a job. Q. What do you consider to be the highights of GPATS program for you? A. I soidified my methodoogy of earning gemara. I aso formed a reationship with Rabbi Berger and have been privieged to benefit from his haachic, pastora and communa eadership expertise for the past 12 years. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PAST YEAR Community Yom Iyun in Teaneck, New Jersey Q. Since you graduated from the GPATS program, what have you been up to? A. I taught gemara, haacha and Jewish phiosophy at Ma ayanot for seven years, as we as serving as the chair of the gemara department and co-director of professiona deveopment. During that time I discovered that I was not ony in ove with gemara, but with the pedagogy invoved in teaching gemara. I aso trained with the Jewish New Teacher Project to become a mentor and I mentored for a few years at Ma ayanot. Midway through my time at Ma ayanot, we moved to Einstein, where my husband served as the rabbi. I taught a ot of kaot during that time. Then we moved to Pennsyvania where I continued teaching gemara, serving as the chair of the gemara department and mentoring at Koheet Yeshiva High Schoo. This is my third year serving as the Yoetzet Haacha for the Greater Phiadephia area, and I truy ove the work. I chose to switch gears this year and accepted a position with the New Teacher Center to serve as the Jewish New Teacher Project s Greater Phiadephia Community mentor. I mentor nine teachers in three different schoos. Many of the interpersona skis that are utiized in mentoring are the same as those utiized in answer she eot as a Yoetzet Haacha, which is an added bonus. June Zman at Stern Coege a month of intensive Tamud Study for Women in various universities Artices in Yeshiva University s Torah-to-Go Schoar-in-Residence Shabbat in Jamaica Estates, NY Schoar-in-Residence for Shavout in Coumbus, Ohio Shiur presentations at Grand Getaways Pesach 2016 at the Wadorf Astoria, Orando

3 As Hospita Chapains, GPATS Students Provide Spiritua Comfort to Patients and Famiies In a patient room at Mount Sinai Medica Center, a man sits by the bedside of his dying wife during her ast moments. He is soon joined by Micha Schechter, an aspiring doctor. But the purpose of Schechter s visit is not to address a physica hurt. Instead, as a Jewish chapain at Mount Sinai, the 23-year-od seeks to provide reief, comfort and cosure for the emotiona and spiritua suffering of patients and their famiies. As a chapain in a hospita setting, my primary responsibiity is to support and see the hospita experience from the non-medica provider side namey, the patient s point of view, said Schechter, a recent graduate of Stern Coege for Women s pre-med program and current student in its Graduate Program for Advanced Tamudic Study (GPATS). I fee that my chapaincy work wi make me a more ( r) Micha Schechter and Sara Rozner caring and empathetic physician to my future patients. The cose invovement with patients, as we as their famiies and friends, has heped me deveop a better understanding of the menta and emotiona chaenges peope face in a hospita setting. The idea to become a hospita chapain grew from Schechter s desire to marry her passion for medicine with the ove of Judaism that ed her to enro in GPATS. The program is designed to provide women with an opportunity to further deveop high-eve Tamudic skis, but it aso urges students to share their knowedge more broady. A GPATS students share a ove and passion for earning and spreading Torah, some as professiona educators and others by using their Torah knowedge to enhance the word around them in different venues, said Nechama Price, director of GPATS. I am fortunate to faciitate internships between each of the taented women and many incredibe organizations. These opportunities aow the women to gain additiona experience and exposure to areas of Jewish ife which fit their professiona goas. Through GPATS, I connected with Rabbi Danie Coeman, the Jewish chapain at North Shore University Hospita and was privieged to participate in a Cinica Pastora Education course there this past summer, said Schechter. The program provided supervised pastora training to participants who incuded theoogica graduate students and ordained cergy from different reigions and backgrounds. I was excited when Rabbi Coeman offered me the chance to continue chapaincy work with him this year at Mount Sinai. As a chapain, Schechter consuts with patients of a faiths, as we as those who specificay request to meet with a Jewish chapain. That might seem ike a heavy undertaking for a graduate student but for Schechter, it has taught her an important and increasingy rare ski: the art of istening. I beieve that the training I received and the daiy interactions with patients, many of whom were criticay or even terminay i, hep me deveop a greater sensitivity and a deeper sense of empathy with others travais, said Schechter. Whie I heped the patients, I am aso changed for the better. Taking an active interest in other peope s we-being and hearing what they are feeing in their hearts is one of the greatest and most powerfu gifts that we can provide, not ony to the peope around us, but aso to ourseves. As she begins her second year in the chapaincy, Schechter has been joined by feow GPATS student Sara Rozner, who hopes to pursue a doctorate in cinica psychoogy. Like Schechter, Rozner was introduced to the opportunity through GPATS. As a vounteer chapain at Mount Sinai, I visit with patients and their famiies and support them with their spiritua and emotiona needs, said Rozner. Contending with iness and hospitaization can be very stressfu, upsetting, and spirituay chaenging. It can hep to have someone to tak to. Rozner is aso hoping the experience wi iuminate her chosen career path. The kind of emotiona skis needed for chapaincy are very simiar to the skis needed for psychoogy empathy, istening skis, acceptance, emotiona and menta presence. She added, I fee privieged to be abe to engage with peope on this deep eve, and I hope that through this experience I wi be abe to strengthen my emotiona skis and one day become a better therapist than I might have been without it. For both Rozner and Schechter, GPATS has payed a crucia roe in their deveopment as future cinicians, in addition to Torah schoars. I beieve that GPATS provides me with an in-depth knowedge and understanding of Judaism which contributes to the reigious aspect of my chapaincy work, and the program s support of my work has been instrumenta in the success of my hospita internship, said Schechter. It is a testament to GPATS that their students are offered pacement at word-cass faciities and are given the opportunity to expore careers at the intersection of science and spirituaity. We are so proud of Micha and Sara for the critica contribution to the ives of their patients in their chapaincy internships, said Price. INTERNSHIPS Anshe Shoom B nai Israe Congregation, Chicago, IL Congregation Beth Shaom, Lawrence, NY Congregation Shaarei Tefiah, Newton, MA Kesher Israe, Washington, DC Lincon Square Synagogue, New York, NY Princeton University, Princeton, NJ The Ramaz Schoo Friday Koe, New York, NY Young Israe of West Hartford, CT Chapaincy in Mount Sinai Hospita, New York, NY Chapaincy in North Shore Hospita, Manhasset, NY GPATS Provides Summer Tamud Learning at Stern A five-week Tamud program caed June Zman was hed at Stern Coege for Women under the auspices of Yeshiva University s Graduate Program in Advanced Tamud Study (GPATS) this year. June Zman, which ran from May 31 through June 30, was open to a coege-age and post coege-age women and was free for Stern Coege students, aso offering the possibiity to dorm. Casses met Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m to 1 p.m., with each day divided between chavruta (paired) earning and shiur (ecture). Over thirty students incuding Stern Coege students and aumni, non-yu students, and post-high schoo students who wi attend Stern foowing seminary registered. This marks the first time the Israe Henry Beren Campus has hosted a summer earning program for women. Program overseer Nechama Price, director of GPATS, expained that June Zman served many students who were not abe to incorporate Tamud courses into their timetabes during the academic year. We thought it woud be a beautifu idea to have someone who teaches at GPATS give Stern Coege a month of earning, either for coege credit or ishma [for its own sake], said Price, adding that a broader goa of GPATS is to reach out to the greater YU and genera community. The fact that women at Stern Coege requested an extra month of Tamud earning, simpy for the sake of Torah study, is a ceebration of what makes YU unique, said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, YU vice president for university and community ife. We encouraged their wish and created a June Zman, simiar to what the men have on our uptown campus, and are very proud of the women who have decided

4 to immerse themseves in study for an additiona five weeks. GPATS Instructor Rabbi David Nachbar served as June Zman s instructor, teaching Tractate Berachot. Rabbi Nachbar noted that the text of Berachot, which expores discussion on topics such as bibica and rabbinic prayer structures, standardized and circumstantia prayers, as we as weekday and specia occasion prayers, offers students the opportunity to deepen their understanding and appreciation of one of our primary modes of serving God in its various forms. He observed that having a reativey arge summer cohort creates a coective earning environment that is infused with great energy and dynamism. The program s earning was designed to take pace at an intermediate eve, though Nachbar noted that, ike most shiurim, the program contained students with a range of skisets. Price said that the program aimed to engage a earners, whether they were beginners deveoping new skis, or advanced students who hadn t had the opportunity to utiize them for a whie. Yeshiva University, through Stern Coege and its Graduate Program in Advanced Tamud Studies for women, is the argest institution in the Jewish word teaching Torah and Tamud to women. RABBI KENNETH BRANDER Program participant Chani Grossman 18S said that this was her first experience earning Tamud. I wanted to try it out in a non-pressured environment, said Grossman, who studies bioogy and Jewish history. So far, it s reay good, and I m earning a ot. Bioogy major Avita Habshush 17S noted the chaenge of devoting serious engths of time to reigious earning during the academic year. I decided to enro in this program to keep earning the Torah that I ove and keep growing, Habshush said. I think it s wonderfu how the university is giving us this opportunity. Sharona Kern of Barnard Coege said she appreciated the chance to experience some of the best that Stern Coege has to offer. There is a ack of opportunities for post-coege earning when you don t want to commit to a fu year or two, so I was reay excited to participate in this program, she said. Everyone s taking the program very seriousy, and I don t take it for granted. Rabbi Brander noted that in 1977 Rabbi Joseph B. Sooveitchik gave one of the most important Tamud ectures of the 20th Century, the first forma ecture on Tamud to women at Stern Coege, with the intention that the Tamud woud become part of the heritage known as Torat Imecha (the Torah from your mothers). Yeshiva University, through Stern Coege and its Graduate Program in Advanced Tamud Studies for women (GPATS), is the argest institution in the Jewish word teaching Torah and Tamud to women, said Rabbi Brander. We encourage women to encounter and inteectuay engage with the rabbis of the Tamud and the subsequent commentaries. New Partnership Between Yeshiva University s Graduate Program in Advanced Tamudic Studies and Loca High Schoos Creates High-Leve Learning Opportunities for Students A new partnership between Yeshiva University s Graduate Program in Advanced Tamudic Studies (GPATS) and severa oca high schoos wi provide new opportunities for girs to engage in high-eve Judaic studies with the support and mentorship of GPATS students and facuty. Caed Sunday Night Learning: Empowered by GPATS (SNL), featuring a series of events for young women in Jewish high schoos in the vicinity of Teaneck, New Jersey. Each event wi begin with a dinner and chavruta [partnered] earning with current students in GPATS, a program designed to provide young women with opportunities to immerse themseves in post-graduate study of Judaic topics. The earning wi be foowed by advanced shiurim [ectures] from GPATS and YU facuty on topics that wi range from Tanach to gemara and Jewish phiosophy. The goa is to feature an array of topics and styes to show students the vastness of Torah, said Nechama Price, director of GPATS. We hope that this wi provide inspiration for participants and spread our passion for Torah study. The idea for the program actuay originated with Dr. Jessica Kornwasser, a mother who was intrigued by Price s discussion of GPATS and women s earning at YU s annua ChampionsGate Leadership Conference. After hearing Nechama Price and severa other Stern Coege Judaic Studies professors speak at Championsgate, I found mysef wishing that my daughter, a sophomore in high schoo, coud get a gimpse of the Torah earning that awaits her in coege, said Kornwasser. The idea was met with enthusiasm by Nechama and severa other mothers of high schoo girs, and Sunday Night Learning (SNL) began to take shape. I was reay excited by the idea of spreading the message of women s earning to a younger generation, added Price. The first event of the series wi take pace from 7 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, December 18 at the Bais Medrash of Bergenfied, 371 South Prospect Avenue, Bergenfied, New Jersey, Price wi deiver a shiur tited, These Are A Few of Their Favorite Things : Favoritism in Tanach. I fee privieged to be abe to run such an incredibe program and to faciitate earning between post-coege and high schoo students, she said. YES, THIS IS AN HONOR OR MEMORIAL GIFT DONATION CARD Yes, I woud ike to support Yeshiva University s Graduate Program in Advance Tamud Studies for Women GIFT AMOUNT $30,000 sponsor a GPATS feow for a year $18,000 dedicate a GPATS shiur for a year $10,000 support the Beit Midrash earning for a month $5,000 support a GPATS shiur for a week $2,500 support the earning in the Beit Midrash for a week $1,800 support a GPATS feow for a week $360 sponsor a day of earning in the GPATS Beit Midrash $ Every gift heps Mai check to: Yeshiva University Graduate Program in Advance Tamud Studies for Women 500 West 185th Street, FH419 / New York, NY / In Honor of In Memory of BILLING INFORMATION Name Address City State Zip Emai Pease Bi Me Check is Encosed Charge by Credit Card Visa MasterCard Amex Card No. Exp. Date Signature

5 215 LEXINGTON AVENUE NEW YORK, NY Stay tuned for our next GPATS Yom Iyun in Teaneck, New Jersey, featuring GPATS facuty and aumni.