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 ...

and tzniyus are taken for granted".

Curriculum

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 ...

, the laws of family purity, and the laws of

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. ...

s. The curriculum also includes

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

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 ...

* Rabbi Avraham Edelstein * Mrs. Chaya Levine * Rabbi Eliezer Liff * Rabbi Yaakov (Jerrold) Marcus * Mrs. Chaya Levitan * Mrs. Malka Glick * Mrs. Raquel Kirszenbaum * Mrs. Rutie Abraham * Rabbi Haim Gottesman * Rabbi Menachem Salasnik * Dayan Shlomo Cohen * Rabbi Avi Klotz * Mrs. Rina Silber * Mrs. Leah Levy * Mrs. Ayelet Elnekave * Mrs. Sarah Slater * Mrs. Jenny Serle * Mrs. Tobi Stern * Miss Galia Kalfa * Rabbi Avraham Kilstein

Notable alumni

* 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

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

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

Post-graduate programs

* The Family Institute

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * *

External links

* {{Authority control Jewish seminaries Colleges in Israel Baalei teshuva institutions Orthodox Jewish schools for women Educational institutions established in 1970 Words and phrases in Modern Hebrew