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OTS Newsletter - Spring 2008Inviting the Community to Learn A series of dynamic study programs open to the general community is adding a new dimension to the broad range of learning opportunities at Yeshivat Hamivtar-Torat Yosef, OTS’ yeshiva program for young men.
“We have always been proud of our role as a vibrant center of intelligent, intense Torah learning and discussion,” says Rabbi Gideon Sylvester, executive director of Yeshivat Hamivtar-Torat Yosef. “Now we are delighted to open our doors and become a resource center of stimulating adult education for those outside the OTS and Efrat communities.” The first program open to the public was a fascinating evening dedicated to the life and legacy of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. An overflow crowd of more than 300 people packed into the Robert M. Beren Beit Midrash building to watch the film Lonely Man of Faith, a documentary about the intellectual leader of modern Orthodox Judaism in the 20th century.
The panel discussion that followed included special guests Rabbi Moshe Lichtenstein, a grandson of Rabbi Soloveitchik and teacher at Yeshivat Har Etzion, and Rabbi Reuven Ziegler, director of research at the Torat Harav Foundation. They joined OTS chancellor Rabbi Shlomo Riskin and Hamivtar-Torat Yosef rebbeim Rabbi Menachem Schrader and Rabbi Yitzhak Blau for a spellbinding session about the life and philosophy of the Rav. As Rabbi Riskin notes, “Our great teacher Rabbi Soloveitchik’s challenge to forge a synthesis between Jewish tradition and the modern era continues today through Yeshivat Hamivtar-Torat Yosef and the OTS institutions’ mandate at large.”
Interacting and Sharing The second event in the series of programs open to the public took place in January 2008, as Yeshivat Hamivtar-Torat Yosef hosted two guests from Yeshiva University in New York. At a well-attended festive breakfast, Rabbi Yosef Blau, mashgiach ruchani of Y.U., gave a thought provoking, inspiring lecture on finding a balance between religious intensity and religious moderation. At a luncheon program several days later, Rabbi Shalom Carmy, professor of Jewish studies and Jewish philosophy at Yeshiva University, drew on his research in Jewish and secular studies as he spoke about making medieval Jewish philosophy relevant to contemporary life. Even as Yeshivat Hamivtar-Torat Yosef reaches out to the community, it remains committed to providing a vibrant learning experience for its students as it empowers them to analyze Torah texts and ’learn to learn.’ “A lively, inquisitive mind and an enthusiasm for wrestling with Jewish texts are the qualities we most treasure in our students,” says Rabbi Sylvester. “In the larger scope, interacting and sharing this vigorous learning experience with the greater public has served as an enormous benefit for all those involved.”
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