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In the Service of God there are No Rules,
& This Itself is Not a Rule!
Yakar's Learning Community provides an intimate, inspiring and intellectually engaging environment for creative and authentic discovery within Torah. Students of all ages and backgrounds are invited to share a learning experience aimed to relate jointly to spiritual and social concerns. Our students are challenged and encouraged to continue their religious growth, both during their time at Yakar and throughout their lives.
Founded in 1995, located centrally in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Katamon, Yakar’s Learning Community offers a course of 3 separate tracks of one half days of study per week. Participants are exposed to a wealth of texts from across the ages, and concentrate on key existential issues. Philosophy, Hassidut, Midrash, Mishnah, Talmud and Halakha are studied in an atmosphere of openness and respect, as we all attempt to let the texts resonate within us.
The Learning Community is not just a program of study. We believe that learning should be relevant to our lives and the world around us. Participants have the opportunity to participate in Yakar's Hebrew-speaking Evening Beit Midrash, attend guest lectures on social action from experts in the field, volunteer with Yakar’s Center for Social Concern or Art Gallery, engage in outdoor activities designed to enhance textual learning and be hosted for Shabbat meals by members of Yakar’s kehilla.
"Leave your misconceptions behind, but bring yourselves."
Program's Philosophy
Schedule & Course Description
Additional Activities
Student Feedback
Application & Tuition
Contact Information
FAQs
  
Program's Philosophy:
The Learning Community at Yakar is animated by three fundamental values.
- The belief that Jewish literacy - a control of traditional source material enables a person to refute, teach, dialogue and develop a more authentic relationship with Judaism.
- A commitment to learning Torah that is relevant to our deepest being, enriching our inner world while upholding our intellectual integrity. Personal integration of Torah, by definition defies abstraction and compartmentalization.
- A passion for translating one's learning into significant social action. Our learning should be relevant not simply theoretical.
Yakar welcomes diversity, encourages questions, and resists imposing "right" answers.
The program welcomes adult students of all ages, and is designed to stimulate and challenge students at all levels of Jewish learning. Yakar students have included rabbis of all streams of Judaism, educators, social workers, communal leaders, professionals, business people and other international students who are interested in strengthening their commitment through open-minded, intensive study and spiritual exploration. The diversity of backgrounds, ages and levels of Jewish observance in our students creates a special community and extraordinary learning environment.
Yakar helps you take a step beyond the text.
The Yakar Learning Community respects the Judaism that each of its students practices. With that value in mind Yakar does not seek to impose a set of values or practices on its students. Instead we encourage students to study and consider many different Jewish perspectives on important issues. Through class discussions, paired learning in chevruta, and individual study, Yakar creates a space for students to ask questions that lead them to discoover a richer, more personally fulfilling Jewish life.
Yakar is you.
Yakar recognizes that many adult learners are on a spiritual quest and not merely looking for an academic experience. At the request f each student, Yakar faculty are happy to facilitate any individual's search for spiritual fulfillment within Jewish texts and Jewish tradition. When you participate in a Yakar program you help define and create the learning experience by bringing your knowledge and concerns to the Beit Midrash.
Schedule:
For the year of 2009-2010, the Learning Community provides three separate tracks of one day per week throughout the year. Classes are coed and conducted in English.
Sundays in Yakar Jerusalem:
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Sundays
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Spiritual Preparation
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8:45-9:00am
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Intro. To Mishna & Gemara
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9:00am-10:30am
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Parshat HaShauva & Midrash
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10:30am-12:00
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Jewish Thought & Hassidut
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12:00-1:30pm
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Nishmat
The Talmud speaks of passing through two gates as a condition for prayer: One symbolizes a departure from the mundane and the other an entering into a new context. By davening Nishmat (the final prayer of Psukei d'Zimrei on Shabbat), and informally discussing an idea or question, we create a space suitable for transition into the world of learning.
Halakha - How to turn inside-out and back again while standing on one foot
This course will familiarize the individual with the world of Halakha: How does Halakha work? How are halakhic decisions made? This course provides both an overview of the world of Halakha and a review of its implementation in today's world. (During the course students are encouraged to explore and express their relationship with Halakha.)
The Quest for Authenticity - The Thought of R. Simhah Bunim of Przysucha
In 19th century Poland, Przysucha, a movement of radical "intellectual pietists" separated itself from the folk hassidism of the time. Przysucha poses the questions, "Is it possible to be both passionate and analytical? And can a person learn to integrate religious/emotional experiences into one's authentic personality?" This course will focus on the teachings R. Simhah Bunim, but will also include the Torah of his teacher "the Yehudi - Yaakov Yitzhak of Przysucha" and his pupil Menachem Mendel of Kotzk.
Social Responsibility
According to Maimonides, a just society is a prerequisite for a religious society. Without it there can be no redemption; nor would Judaism be seen as the religion of truth; nor is there any messianic vision without justice. We will study texts from the Biblical to modern periods showing the Jewish aspiration to create Tikun Olam.
Topics in Jewish Thought
This course deals with the issues that any intelligent sensitive man or woman living in the 20/21st century would probably ask. The goal of the course is not necessarily to give answers but to be aware of the range of opinions. Is an idea Jewish only if it stems from a Jewish source? Or is it Jewish because it is being discussed by someone profoundly Jewish - or does it matter? Find out.
Basic Mishna & Gemara (Introductory Level)
This course gives students the opportunity to experience the challenge, excitement, and frustration of hands-on learning of Mishna & Gemara. We will study selected sugiyot (texts) from tractates Berachot, Bava-Metzia, as well as those covering the Chagim (Festivals), with the traditional commentators.
Parashat HaShavua
This course provides an in-depth study of the Parasha (the Weekly Torah Portion). We will grapple with the text in various manners: reading p'shat -the literal meaning of the text, through the eyes of Hazal, traditional commentators and finally, after a rigorous exchange, students will also be encouraged to write their own ‘Midrash' (Creative Interpretations to the Parasha).
Spiritual Reflection and Accompaniment
This course reads people and our significant life moments as rigorously and openly as we would read a sacred text. Through the exploration of Life-Cycle themes: death, birth, suffering, theodicy, divine absence and presence, love, conflict and transformation - we will bring our concerns and life situations - to "echo" alongside the Jewish tradition like a prayer. The syllabus will be based on traditional Jewish sources and individual student contributions.
 
Student's Feedback:
- "Yakar combines serious learning of both Jewish texts and secular thought and spirituality in a way I think is rare."
- Michal Scharlin, Social Worker
- "At Yakar, I felt appreciated and respected. The insights of my fellow students have inspired and challenged me."
- Jay Sherwin, Attorney/Grant Officer
- "I found Yakar to be a wonderfully warm, embracing and inspiring community, in which I experienced a profoundly deep, rich and spiritual growth in my Jewish living and identity. I attribute this to the deep, genuine faith exuded by the teachers at Yakar, the spirited debate they engaged us in, and the transformative experience of "davening". I often revisit in my mind the many memorable moments I experienced at Yakar. It is learning that stays with you. If you are seeking to explore and enrich your personal experience with G-d and Judaism, Yakar is certainly the place to find this."
- Carmen Ringelman, Global Managing Director
Additional Activities:
In addition students will be introduced to the Yakar community and the wider context of Israeli society. Yakar's Learning Community Program includes:
- Guided participation twice a week at Yakar's Hebrew-speaking Evening Beit Midrash (The "Kloyze"), open to the general public. Students will be paired with community members for guided learning through a Yakar staff member. Monday & Wednesday evenings.
- Guest Lectures on Social Action from people in the field.
- Guest Lectures on Jewish Philosophy, Chassidic Thought, Literature and Human Rights as well as lively panel discussions on prevalent issues facing Israel and Jewish world.
- Volunteering option at Yakar's Center for Social Concern. Students will interact with Israeli reports, activists and politicians and deal with Israel's pressing political issues.
- Volunteering option with Yakar members who are actively involved in social action programs.
- Volunteering option at Yakar's Art Galley, working with prominent Israeli artists and cultural concerns.
Application & Tuition Information:
Application for the Learning Community 2009-10 has already begun. Please click here to download an application form. Tuition fees are $1,000 for the entire year.* While there is no application fee, students are asked to pay in advance at the beginning of each semester.
Financial support is available. Please contact us for more details
In addition Yakar welcomes you to come check us out during the three weeks leading up to Rosh Hashana (Elul), when we will be hosting introductory sessions for all students. The full-year program begins shortly after the High Holidays (immediately following Succot) and continues through May 2010.
* Tuition based on 2008-09 academic year. Fees for 2009-10 subject to change.
Contact Information:
Please do not hesitate to contact the office during office hrs (Sun -Thurs 8am-1pm) for additional information.
Tel: (++972-2) 5612310/1
E-mail: info@yakar.org
For really hard questions please contact Chananel Rosen directly at: chananelykr@gmail.com
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