Yeshivat Chovevei Torah

Thank you to our attendees of Chag HaSemikha 5786! We hope the evening left you inspired, as it did us.

Please enjoy this year’s FULL chag ha semikha video here: https://youtu.be/NdphfrP-hYA

We are honored to be able to provide a fully funded education and living stipend to our semikha students.

We are only able to do this because of supporters like you.

Please honor your YCT graduate with a donation today: https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=yctorah&id=58&eid=sIWfgRKNoEhw2kXV1k2gGH7LWLDEKAocPHMwznjHX1mud34lHS9RdcUGZ%2BxV4aESSXZrOMuUDN0a43wTOJZ4Iou9tuoeuh5HH%2BFAq3cjTcQ5sNiK&utm_source=chatgpt.com

🔦YCT Alumni Publication Spotlight 📚
YCT trains Jewish leaders who build communities and change lives. In addition, through scholarship, publications, and contributions to public thought, our musmakhim steer Jewish and broader ethical discourse.
We are proud to share the publication of our musmach, Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner (YCT ’06), and his new book, Bedside Halacha: A Practical Guide for Healthcare Professionals.
Rabbi Dr. Weiner serves as the senior rabbi and executive director of the Spiritual Care Department at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, where he leads and directs the entire chaplaincy team. He also serves as rabbi of Knesset Israel Synagogue of Beverlywood and as a senior consultant to Ematai.
Rabbi Dr. Weiner earned a doctorate in clinical bioethics and a master's degree in bioethics and health policy from Loyola University Chicago, as well as a master's degree in Jewish history from Yeshiva University, in addition to his training at YCT.
His new book reflects the unique contribution YCT alumni are making at the intersection of Torah, medicine, and ethics, bringing halakhic wisdom to some of the most complex questions facing the field of medical ethics today.
View YCT alumni publications here: https://yctorah.org/alumni-and-their-impact/alumni-publications/
Order Rabbi Dr. Weiner’s book here: https://kodeshpress.com/products/bedside-halacha-a-practical-guide-for-healthcare-professionals?variant=48012502335726

A rabbi’s time at YCT doesn’t end at semikha.
A week after this year’s Chag HaSemikha, we are reflecting on the lifelong bond our musmakhim share with YCT.
The day after "Celebrating 25 Years of YCT," half of our alumni body remained in the Beit Midrash for a day of learning. Topics ranging from addressing contemporary antisemitism with your congregation to political activism to the sensitivity around learning the laws of niddah were covered.
To learn more about YCT’s semikha program, and the lifelong support it offers, visit: https://yctorah.org/rabbinic-and-educator-programs/semikha/

Rosh Chodesh Reflections from Rabbanit Yaffa Aranoff, Director of Israel Programs and Community Engagement. And, from all of us at YCT: Chodesh tov!

Tammuz Reflections:

"Tammuz feels like a divided month.

It begins as summer is getting underway. School is ending, camp is beginning, vacation plans are taking shape. The routines that have structured much of the year loosen. There is a sense of anticipation and possibility.

But then, on the seventeenth of Tammuz, we fast and enter the period known as Bein HaMetzarim, the Three Weeks that lead to Tisha B'Av. Summer is still summer, but it becomes more complicated, more conflicted.

The Mishnah (Ta'anit 4:6) lists a number of tragic national events that all occurred on this date, including Moshe's breaking of the Tablets upon seeing the people worshipping the Golden Calf.

But, why is the day of Moshe's encounter with Bnei Yisrael's idolatry remembered that way? If I were naming the event, the focus would be on the sin. The Golden Calf seems to be primary. The broken Tablets are the aftermath.

Yet Chazal frame it differently. They direct our attention not to what the people did, but to what was lost.

By highlighting the shattering of the Luchot HaBrit, Chazal shift the focus from blame to loss. In so doing, the Sages are asking us to think less about the mistakes of the past and more about the consequences of those mistakes, about the things that were damaged. They invite us to dwell for a moment not on the failure, but on what the failure cost.

To be honest, it is hard to understand the mindset of those who worshipped the Golden Calf; afterall, it is such a grievous sin. But, unfortunately, it is not hard to imagine what it is like to see something valuable, whose fragility had been underappreciated, now broken: a friendship, trust within a community, confidence in institutions, a sense of national security once taken for granted.

Perhaps that is why Chazal chose to remember the broken Tablets. Not because they wanted us to relive the sin, but because they wanted us to think carefully about what we lost and, going forward, what we need to protect or rebuild.

That is the power of the image of the shattered Luchot HaBrit.

As Tammuz begins, I find myself holding both parts of the month together: the openness and possibility of summer, and the image of the shattered Tablets.

The second need not diminish the first. If anything, it lends the season a measure of perspective."

🔦 Alumni Anniversary Spotlight: Rabbi Yonatan Cohen (YCT ’06)

YCT is filled with nachas as we send a mazel tov to another musmakh celebrating his 20th anniversary leading a congregation.

Rabbi Yonatan Cohen (YCT ’06) was honored by Congregation Beth Israel, Berkeley, this past weekend with a 20th-anniversary gala. Rabbi Linzer flew in for the occasion, just as Rabbi Cohen honored YCT with his presence at our 25th-anniversary celebration this past May 5.

We cannot say enough good things about the kind, thoughtful, compassionate, and unique leader Rabbi Cohen is. During his tenure, CBI Berkeley doubled in membership and is now the largest Orthodox shul in the Bay Area.

May he continue to lead his kehilla from strength to strength over the next 20 years. Mazel tov!

It’s been a good weekend.

We celebrated new musmakhim, enjoyed a sweet Chag HaSemikha, watched YCT’s hometown of New York erupt in joy over a small local sporting event 😉🏀💙🧡, and welcomed many new faces into our digital community.

In the spirit of coming together, here are some snaps from Chag HaSemikha. Welcome to YCT: we’re glad you’re here.

How many Orthodox institutions are partnering with Reform ones to deepen our Jewish learning?

YCT is.

Last week, YCT joined Central Synagogue’s "Doing Jewish" Intro-to-Judaism class, where members learned in chavrutah with YCT semikha students.

Journalist Abigail Pogrebin and Rabbi Dov Linzer, co-authors of “It Takes Two to Torah,” spoke to these students about Jewish pluralism and their experiences as a Reform lay Jew and an Orthodox rabbi co-creating.

In an increasingly divided world, the night was a reminder of the importance of pluralism and of how easy it is for Jews of different backgrounds to connect over a shared love of Torah.

🎓 Let’s get to know another one of our soon-to-be newest musmachim, Daniel Machlis!
Daniel is both a high achiever and truth-seeker, who has followed a diverse career path.
Prior to YCT, Daniel received a B.S. in Business and Political Economy from New York University and worked as a technology management consultant and product manager in the financial services industry. He then pivoted to a career in service to the Jewish people through the rabbinate. During his time at YCT, he held internships in education at SAR High School and Heschel High School, and in chaplaincy at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, and Weill Cornell Medical Center.
After receiving semikha, Daniel will continue his training in hospital chaplaincy through the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) residency program at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System.
Last chance to donate in our graduate’s honor: https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=yctorah&id=58

🎓 Let’s get to know one of our soon-to-be newest musmachim, Ilan Kogan!

Born in Roanoke, VA, and raised in Queens, NY, Ilan is an exceptional student, strong leader, and enterprising rabbi in the making.

He graduated summa cm laude with a BA in Psychology from Queens College, CUNY. In addition to YCT, he is pursuing an MS in Applied Psychology at Northeastern University. During his time in rabbinical school, Ilan interned at Beth David Synagogue in West Hartford, CT; Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah in Potomac, MD; the Heschel School; and Congregation Orach Chaim in New York.

This coming fall, Ilan will become an Atlantan, serving as the rabbi of The Dunwoody Minyan and as a Limudei Kodesh teacher at Atlanta Jewish Academy’s High School.