Celebrate the Schechter Institute 25th anniversary celebration and campus dedications

The Schechter Institute had a dream: to share pluralistic Jewish learning with Israelis of all ages and backgrounds. 25 years ago the Schechter Institute opened its doors with four students. Today, the Schechter Institute draws 650 students to Jerusalem each week to its MA, TALI, Rabbinical and Midreshet Yerushalayim programs. It was clear that additional classroom space was essential to meet the needs of Schechter’s growing student population. On May 4, 2010, Schechter will dedicate the Schechter Institute Legacy Heritage Classroom Building of its new Jerusalem Campus.		Join us in Jerusalem for the Schechter Dedication Celebration - May 3-6, 2010 Click Here for Detailed 4-Day and 7-Day Itineraries Let a Schechter Haggadah Grace your Seder Table this Passover. Purchase Online.
BUILDING UPDATE
The building is nearly completed and will open its doors to students in October 2010. The final stage for the building’s exterior - laying the Jerusalem stone facade - is currently underway as seen in the picture.	The Miller Family Bet Midrash will be a house of study for MA and rabbinical students alike. Natural light will fill the room from a “wall” of picture windows that faces a green inner courtyard garden. Soon the room will be lined with books, and filled with the sound of learning. In addition to the Bet Midrash, the building features 14 lecture halls, classrooms and seminar rooms.
On May 5, 2010, Schechter will dedicate the Schechter Center for Jewish Culture - Legacy Heritage building in the heart of Tel Aviv’s Neve Zedek neighborhood. BUILDING UPDATE
Restoration of the 125 - year old facade of the Schechter Center is progressing on schedule. Facing Neve Zedek’s Eilat Street, the original 19th c. Templer Lorenz House will soon accommodate the Kehillat Sinai Masorti synagogue/sanctuary, Art Gallery and Coffeehouse on the first floor. The Simha and Sara Lainer Bet Midrash, classrooms and rabbi’s study will occupy the second floor.	Enter the Schechter Center for Jewish Culture courtyard and you will feel the ambience of 19th c. Neve Zedek. The raised stage (in the background) will serve as a venue for local artists and seating for the coffee house. Under the stage, an art classroom is being built. Note the white pillars (left side) that are currently being restored to their former glory and will support the courtyard’s portico.
Join us in May (just a few months away!) as we celebrate Schechter’s 25th anniversary and the dedication of these two exciting Schechter campuses. Together with Jewish leadership from around the world, we will celebrate the growth of pluralistic Jewish education in Israel.
In other Schechter News…
Schechter conferred 81 M.A. degrees in Jewish Studies at its Commencement Exercises held in Jerusalem in December. The Annual Rifkind-Meresman, Alice Shalvi and Grinspoon Scholarships were also awarded to worthy graduates.

This year’s Schechter valedictorian, Michal Davidovich-Rozolio, spoke passionately about her three years learning at Schechter. Read her speech in English.

Three new Schechter rabbis joined the ranks of Masorti leadership in Israel at the 21st Schechter Ordination Ceremony held in Jerusalem. They are (from left): Rabbis Dubi Haiyun (rabbi of Haifa’s Kehilat Moriah), Rafi Kassimov (veteran Midreshet Yerushalayim lecturer for Russian-speakers in Tel Aviv) and Michal Schwartz (TALI rabbi and hospital chaplain).

Two Israeli media personalities, comedian and commentator Jacky Levy (right) and musician Shlomo Gronich (center), receive the Rabbi Marc and Dr. Henia Liebhaber Prize for Religious Tolerance from Prof. David Golinkin (left), which took place as part of the Schechter graduation ceremony. The two performed a song that they composed especially for the event. The Prize, which is conferred annually, was established in 1996 in the wake of the Rabin assassination.

In TALI NEWS, the TALI Tsafrarim school in Hadera celebrated a real simcha during Chanukah when they welcomed a Sefer Torah donated to the school by Schechter board members Buddy and Frances Brandt, Lido, NY, and Congregation Beth Sholom, Long Beach, NY. The entire TALI community, numbering more than 1,000 parents, children and teachers, braved wintry weather to join in a festive school parade and ceremony. The Sefer Torah will play a major part in the school’s Jewish studies curriculum. In the picture, Buddy Brandt carries the Sefer Torah through a sea of school children. View the celebration

In MIDRESHET YERUSHALAYIM NEWS, the HaKerem Bet Midrash opened in the western Galilee town of Karmiel, with the support of Peter and Debbie Wexler of Palo Alto, CA. Ron Nissel, a Schechter graduate, directs the program which is run in conjunction with Masorti Kehilat Hakerem and spiritual leader, Rabbi Reuven Resnick, also a Schechter graduate. Other new Batei Midrash operate in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Kibbutz Bet Hashita, Petach Tikva and Hadera. In the picture, Rabbi Resnick teaching a class in Karmiel.


The Schechter Institutes, Inc. is dedicated to the advancement of pluralistic Jewish education in Israel and Europe. A non-profit organization,it supports four educational institutions based in Jerusalem, Israel: Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies: A Graduate School for Israeli Educators, where 600 students learn Jewish studies within a pluralistic environment Schechter Rabbinical Seminary which trains Conservative/Masorti rabbis in Israel TALI Education Fund which provides Jewish studies programs for 38,000 Israeli children in 184 state schools and kindergartens Midreshet Yerushalayim which provides Jewish education to Russian immigrants in Israel and Jewish communities in the Ukraine and Hungary. The Schechter Institutes, Inc. Box 3566, PO Box 8500, Philadelphia, PA 19178-3566, phone: 866-830-3321 (toll-free), email: schechter@ehlconsulting.com Israeli Campus 4 Avraham Granot St. POB 16080, Jerusalem, Israel 91160, phone: 972-747-800-600,email: pr@schechter.ac.il www.schechter.edu