Jewish Portal of Teacher Education

Source: Mechon Hadar's Summer HS Track

Mechon Hadar is opening its doors to high school students! In this new 6-week (June 24-August 4, 2012) program, a select group of high school students will join the larger Yeshivat Hadar beit midrash in creating passionate and meaningful Jewish community during the summer session. Over the course of six weeks, students will learn, sing, daven, and spend Shabbat together, experiencing a powerful example of a community living it.

The program includes:

1. Talmud Torah
   Yeshivat Hadar creates a community of learning which includes seminars, hevruta (paired learning), and individualized learning. Students are given the opportunity to use both traditional and modern academic methods to translate their learning into contemporary religious meaning and obligation.

   High School students will join the rest of the Yeshiva in studying a perek of gemara in depth, with a focus on building gemara skills, while not losing sight of the values that undergird the text and how these values can inform our religious sensibilities. In addition to gemara, students will be encouraged to improve their skills in Tanakh, mahshavah, halakhah, and other texts through a combination of shiurim and supported independent learning.

2. Hesed
   In order to plant the seeds for a culture of communal service, students will make regular visits to the Jewish Home Lifecare on the Upper West Side. They will appreciate that an integral aspect of community is to look beyond oneself and one’s immediate surroundings to care for and offer of themselves to those most in need of compassion and dignity.
3. Tefilah
   Yeshivat Hadar’s schedule features davening three times a day in our Beit Midrash. Tefilot are egalitarian and employ the traditional liturgy. Students will have the opportunity to join this vibrant prayer community.
4. Sihot
   Students will participate in group religious conversations (Sihot), where faculty members will lead discussions of relevant questions of the day. Students will also have the opportunity to process their experience through small reflection groups, led by the program coordinators.
5. Informal Programming
   During the program, students will be able to experience what makes New York City great in the summer. Each week, the group will have a chance to participate in outdoor activities, musical and theatre performances, tour some of the city’s famous neighborhoods, and more!

For more information about the program see Mechon Hadar's website.

Yeshivat Hadar is the first full-time egalitarian Yeshiva in North America.