Neve Yerushalayim () is the oldest and largest college for Jewish women in the world. Founded in 1970 to educate '' baalot teshuva'' (female returnees to
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Oral, as literally revelation, revealed by God in Ju ...
) in the why and how of living an
Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...
life, Neve has approximately 35,000 alumni. Its campus in the Har Nof neighborhood of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
is also home to 11 schools and seminaries for post-high school, undergraduate, and graduate students from religious backgrounds.
History
Neve was founded in 1970 by Rabbi Dovid Refson, the British-born alumnus of the Gateshead Yeshiva and Yeshivas
Knesses Chizkiyahu
Knesses Chizkiyahu was one of the first Litvak yeshivas founded after the establishment of the State of Israel and one of the first Torah institutions in the northern part of the country. Founded in Zikhron Ya'akov in 1949, it relocated to Kfar ...
. After his marriage, he entered the
kollel
A kollel (also kolel) (, , , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced Torah study, study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features Shiur (Torah), shiurim (lectures) and ...
at the Harry Fischel Institute in Jerusalem and began delivering '' shiurim'' to American students. Deciding to open his own
yeshiva
A yeshiva (; ; 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 studied in parallel. The stu ...
, he placed an advertisement in ''
The Jerusalem Post
''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...
'' and was surprised when three young women showed up. "I thought yeshivah meant for boys, but apparently, in some places, yeshivah can mean a girls' school as well", he said. The staff "adapted" to the new reality, and Neve was born. Soon after, Rabbi Moshe Chalkowski came on board as principal.
Students began arriving at the school on the recommendation of Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld, Rabbi
Shlomo Carlebach
Shlomo Carlebach (; January 14, 1925 – October 20, 1994), known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was an American rabbi and musician nicknamed "the Singing Rabbi".
Although his roots lay in traditional Orthodox yeshivot, he branched out to c ...
, and the
Chabad
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...
movement. The student body was older than Refson expected; while he was only 24 years old at the time, Neve's first students were in their late twenties and early thirties; some were as much as ten years his senior. In its early years, Neve was considered an unofficial sister school to the
Ohr Somayach Ohr Somayach may refer to:
* Ohr Somayach (book), commentary by Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk
**''Ohr Somayach'', common reference to Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk
*Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem, a network of yeshivas based in Israel
* Ohr Somayach, Monsey, ...
yeshiva for ''baal teshuva'' men in Jerusalem.
First located in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem, Neve expanded in the 1970s with a Hebrew division, a preparatory school, and the one-year Shalhevet program. In the 1980s, Neve added a French division and the Machon Devorah seminary. The latter seminary has since been joined on campus by other seminaries designed for post-high-school women from religious backgrounds (see list below). According to Refson, the idea of adding seminaries to the ''baalot teshuvah'' campus was meant to augment the girls' experience of Judaism, "creating a culture where
kashrus
(also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...
,
Shabbos
Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stories describing the cre ...
Neve offers courses for beginner through advanced levels. From the start, instructors focused on the practical applications of
Jewish law
''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...
. Subjects include
kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
and
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. ...
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
.
Student body
The English-speaking student body at Neve hails from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, and Australia. In 2014, the school maintained a student body of 900 women. As of 2019, the average age of students is post-graduate; many obtained professional qualifications before coming to study here. As of 2019, Neve has approximately 35,000 alumni. The college is also a drop-in site for North American and South American kiruv groups, and summer visits by college students, Birthright groups, and visiting professionals.
Campus
Neve acquired its campus in Har Nof with significant funding from the Committee for Aid and Development Abroad chaired by United States Senator
Daniel Inouye
Daniel Ken Inouye ( , , September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American attorney, soldier, and statesman who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. A Medal of Honor recipi ...
. The main building and two dormitories opened in 1987. As of 2016, the campus includes 12 academic buildings and eight dormitories, plus an auditorium, amphitheater, and
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
. The Family Institute at Neve Yerushalayim, a family counseling clinic staffed by over 60 religious therapists, sees more than 400 clients monthly.
Faculty
Administration
* Rabbi Dovid Refson, founder and dean
* Rabbi Yona Aryeh Refson, chief operating officer
* Rabbi Moshe Chalkowski, founding principal
* Rabbi Avraham Edelstein, director of education
* Chaya Levine, dean of students
Teachers
Teachers at Neve have become noted authors, speakers, and academics in the Orthodox world. They include:
* Rabbi Dr. David Refson
* Rabbi Yona Arieh Refson
* Rebbetzin
Tziporah Heller
Tziporah Heller Gottlieb () is an American-born Haredi educator, author, and speaker based in Jerusalem. She is a senior faculty member at the Neve Yerushalayim College for Women, principal of the Bnos Avigail seminary on the Neve campus, and a l ...
* Ahuva Gray, Jewish convert and author
* Lori Palatnik, founder of the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project
Campus overview
Colleges
* Neve School of General Jewish Studies – targets English-speaking students
* Neve Shoshana – mainly for
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
speaking students residing in Israel.
High schools
* Seminar Lapidot
Post high-school programs
* Bnos Avigail - one-year BY seminary headed by Rabbi Dovid Kass and Rebbetzin Tzipora Heller
* Bnos Sarah – one-year teacher training program with advanced academic curriculum in Limudei Kodesh for graduates of Bais Yaakov high schools
* Midreshet Tehillah (founded in 2002) – focuses on text-based learning of
halakha
''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...
, and
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until the modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconc ...
Post-seminary programs
* Maalot Yerushalayim (founded 1984) – offers programs of advanced Judaic studies and courses in various academic areas, with credits toward a B.A. degree from Thomas Edison State University
* Rinat Tzipporah
* Center for Foreign Studies
Midrasha
A ' (Hebrew: ; : ), typically, is an institute of Torah study for women of post-high-school age,
somewhat equivalent to a men's yeshiva; most are located in Israel.
The midrasha is also somewhat parallel to a "women's seminary" (Hebrew "semin ...
*
Women in Judaism
Women in Judaism have affected the course of Judaism over millennia. Their role is reflected in the Hebrew Bible, the Oral Law (the corpus of rabbinic literature), by custom, and by cultural factors. Although the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic l ...