Mayanot Online Summer Courses Conclude
The
Jerusalem-based Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies has recently completed its
unique online summer learning program, which allowed hundreds of students from around
the world to expand their Torah-learning skill set from the comfort of their
homes during the Corona-virus pandemic.
Close to 400
students, both men and women, participated daily in three separate tracks
including beginner, intermediate, and advanced Torah classes, with a special
Sunday program offered to accommodate those unavailable to learn during the
week.
25-year-old Sapir
Fellus from Ottawa, Canada didn’t need much convincing to take several online
courses at Mayanot. Two summers ago, Fellus had the opportunity to study at
Mayanot’s Jerusalem campus.
“What was
great about the courses at Mayanot was that the teachers really care about the
students and really push them to think critically. It was really nice to sit
down every day with teachers who were willing to challenge me. Taking the
online courses from home was such a unique opportunity.”
Lazaros Tzioras
is a 27-year-old from Athens, Greece, who spent time serving in the IDF
Paratroopers from 2015-2017. Now back in Athens, he said that he decided to try
out the “beginner” level track of the program.
Tzioras shared that he has become more observant in
recent years, and he explained that thanks to the courses, “this is the second
time in my life that I felt that I belonged to a group with the same purpose
and same goals. The first time I had that feeling was serving in the IDF. It
doesn’t matter where you come from in this world, I feel Mayanot really helps
you reconnect to your roots and helps with the teshuva process, which I
am now on.”
Shani Smith,
a married mother of five from Johannesburg, South Africa, participated in the
“advanced” track online and said, “When I saw the opportunity to study at
Mayanot, I jumped at it. I’m a busy mother of five, but one of the positives of
Corona was being able to learn during the summer, from home.”
She added, “whether it was courses in Chumash,
Shabbat insights, or Parshat Hashavua, these teachers made learning Torah so
alive. I was bouncing! It was simply incredible.”
Jeremy Coleman, 57,
from London said that “I really have had a life changing experience with the
Mayanot summer program. I am on a spiritual high.”
Coleman hopes that when Corona subsides, he will
have the opportunity to come and study at Mayanot in Jerusalem. “I know I will
feel at home there. It was lovely to do the courses online, and get a feel for
it all, before jumping in and being able to do it in person. I just wanted to
jump through the screen and hug my rabbis!”
Commenting on the success of the program, Rabbi Kasriel
Shemtov, Executive Director of Mayanot said “The greatest gift we were
given from corona was the opportunity to inspire hundreds of people from all
over the world in Torah learning, directly from Jerusalem.”
Rabbi
Tzemach Chazan, Mayanot’s Director of Online Programming shared “It wasn’t
just students listening to a class on Youtube, the Zoom platform we used
allowed students to solidify relationships with their teachers and with other
students. They were able to interact and that impacted their learning
tremendously.”
Rabbi Yitzchok Kaufmann a Mayanot Rabbi who
taught Gemara, Chasidut, and Tanya online during the summer, is looking forward
to the day when he can teach his students in person, at Mayanot’s Jerusalem
campus.
In the meantime, he said
“In a few short weeks we were able to see tremendous improvement in the
students' learning skills, especially in Gemara, from when they started the
program. Which is an amazing accomplishment, especially online.”
Rabbi Shlomo Gestetner, Dean of Mayanot, shared “There
is a Midrash which teaches that the real purpose Hashem created gold in the
world is that it should be used for the Beit Hamikdash. I now believe that the
inner purpose of “Zoom” was to teach Torah to the Jewish People and bring the
word of G-d to all.”
Mayanot is grateful to all the teachers and students who participated in this groundbreaking program, to teach Torah to a variety
of students from different backgrounds, levels, and locations. Mayanot is
excited to continue the momentum with the special online courses planned for
Elul Zman and the Fall Semester.
Mayanot’s special high-holiday Elul courses are slated to
begin on August 25 and run till September 24. The Mayanot fall
semester is scheduled to start after the holidays. For updated information on
the courses and to register, please check Mayanot’s website for details: https://mayanot.edu/online/
