Yeshivat Hadar is a traditional egalitarian

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The Yeshiva offers both summer and year-long fellowships for students to learn full-time in the yeshiva setting. Prominent

rabbis A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

associated with the Yeshiva include co-founders Rabbi

Shai Held Shai Held (born July 2, 1971) is a rosh yeshiva (Rabbinic dean) and Chair in Jewish Thought at Mechon Hadar. He founded Mechon Hadar in 2006 with Rabbis Elie Kaunfer and Ethan Tucker. Education Held attended Ramaz High School and studied ...

, Rabbi

Elie Kaunfer Elie Kaunfer (b. 1973) is an American rabbi and serves as president and CEO of Yeshivat Hadar in Manhattan. Kaunfer has been named as a leading American rabbi by ''The Forward'' and ''Newsweek''. Career Elie Kaunfer received a doctorate from the ...

, and Rabbi

Ethan Tucker Ethan Tucker is rosh yeshiva (rabbinic dean) and co-founder of Yeshivat Hadar in Manhattan. Early life and education Tucker is the son of Rabbi Gordon Tucker and Hadassah Lieberman, and the stepson of former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman. ...

. Though the main goal of the Yeshiva is to teach future lay leaders, rather than to train rabbis, in February 2019 it announced it would ordain rabbis.

History

Founded in 2006 by Rabbis Shai Held, Elie Kaunfer, and Ethan Tucker as an institution for intense Torah study and as an advisory for congregations and minyanim looking to reinvigorate their prayer services, Hadar has since grown to include a unique array of offerings that reflect the true splendor—''hadar'' in Hebrew—of Judaism. Hadar offers summer and year-long fellowship programs for young Jews wanting to expand their knowledge of Torah; it teaches core Jewish values, Jewish ideas, and communal music (Rising Song Institute with Joey Weisenberg) through three centers for learning; and it offers short-term seminars for Jewish leaders of all stripes, from teachers to rabbis (rabbinic yeshiva intensive) to Hillel professionals (Jewish Professionals Institute) to lay people who want to make a difference in their own communities (Executive Seminar). In March 2017, Hadar celebrated its first 10 years with a year-long, weekly podcast on

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethics, ethical teachings and Maxim ...

, a ''

siyyum A ''siyum'' ( he, סיום) ("completion"), in Judaism, occasionally spelled siyyum, is the completion of any established unit of Torah study. The most common units are a single volume of the Talmud, or of Mishnah, but there are other units of lea ...

'' on Seder Nezikin, and a National Shabbaton, which drew more than 500 attendees.

Fellowships

Yeshivat Hadar offers year-long and summer fellowships for full time study. Mornings are devoted to Talmud and afternoon courses typically cover topics such as ''

halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

'', ''

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

'', '' mahshavah'', and ''

tefillah Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...

''. In addition to learning

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

, fellowships include communal prayer, service, and community building activities. Since its founding, more than 500 students have studied in Hadar's full-time fellowships.

Work with independent minyanim

Yeshivat Hadar's leadership assists congregations in reviving their services and invigorating independent prayer. Groups wishing to found or re-energize their own prayer communities have turned to Rabbi Kaunfer's book ''Empowered Judaism''. Joey Weisenberg, a Yeshivat Hadar faculty member also wrote a helpful book for

independent minyan An independent minyan is a laity, lay-led Judaism, Jewish worship and study community that has developed independently of established denominational and synagogue structures within the organized Jewish community. Some began in the late 1990s and ...

im, ''Building Singing Communities''. Mechon Hadar’s website contains information and resources to help independent leaders enhance services. Yeshivat Hadar has a longstanding relationship with Kehillat Hadar, an egalitarian prayer community on Upper West Side of

, though they operate as separate institutions.Jewish Week "Hadar Settles Down" January 11, 2011 http://www.thejewishweek.com:8080/news/short_takes/hadar_settles_down

References

External links

* {{authority control Jews and Judaism in Manhattan Yeshivas in the United States Educational institutions established in 2006 2006 establishments in New York City