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Beit midrash House of learning<br />
W hile sitting in the synagogue learning<br />
about Tfilah w ith my study partner, I’m<br />
distracted for a moment by the<br />
undercurrent of constant murmuring.<br />
Occassionaly I hear a bang on the table<br />
signalling excitement, a laugh or a sigh<br />
expressing a revelation. This buzzing of<br />
excited students discussing Judaic material<br />
electrifies the room and inspires me to<br />
learn. This same experience occurs every<br />
Monday night from seven to nine PM<br />
during Beit-Midrash, a program sponsored<br />
by Hecht Synagogue.<br />
In the program, students have the<br />
opportunity to learn about any aspect of<br />
Judaism th at intrigues them on the level at<br />
which they feel most comfortable. Private<br />
meetings are arranged between students<br />
and Rabbis to discuss and decide what<br />
m aterial is m ost suitable for the student to<br />
cover. W hile one yeshiva graduate learns<br />
Gemorah in Hebrew, another person sitting<br />
next to him m ight be debating and<br />
grasping the concept of the existence of G-d.<br />
The learning m aterial varies according<br />
to interests and learning levels, as well as<br />
the capacity in which students learn.<br />
Group discussions and one-on-one learning<br />
are both available.<br />
The chevrutah style of learning is most<br />
enjoyable for me because I like to espress<br />
my thoughts, as well as consider someone<br />
else’s opinion. By exchanging our ideas<br />
together, we understand the m aterial from<br />
a perspective we might not otherwise have<br />
considered.<br />
Often the relationships between<br />
studying partners extend beyond Beit-<br />
M idrash hours. Students are often invited<br />
to share chaggim and shabbatot w ith a<br />
fam ily or at a yeshiva. The Beit-M idrash<br />
program has been a major part of my one<br />
year experience. Special evenings dedicated<br />
to learning about the approaching holidays<br />
helped me to appreciate my celebration of<br />
them throughout the year. Beit-Midrash<br />
provided the religious education that the<br />
university does not offer. Socially,<br />
intellectually and religiously the program<br />
has begun to fill in the gaps in my Jewish<br />
education, it has brought me closer to how<br />
I w ant to live my life as a Jew and finally<br />
it has enhanced my full year in Eretz<br />
Yisrael.<br />
by Lori Lowen
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