Ohr Torah Stone has altered the course of modern Jewish history by entering previously uncharted territory within Orthodox Judaism and spearheading revolutionary change in women’s learning, employment and status. The Monica Dennis Goldberg School of Women Advocates, the only program of its kind in the world, fought a Supreme Court battle in order to train women advocates for Israel’s rabbinical courts, an arena previously open only to men. Pioneering programs at the Midreshet Lindenbaum Women’s College also represent groundbreaking change: the first to teach women Talmud on a postgraduate yeshiva level; the first “hesder” army program for women who want to serve in the Israel Defense Forces; the first and only year-in-Israel program for young women with developmental disabilities.

Now, OTS is initiating two innovative projects that will impact the international Jewish world in the areas of education and leadership.

“The principal of any Jewish day school in the Diaspora will tell you the same thing: their most pressing problem is a shortage of highly qualified Jewish studies teachers who have a broad Jewish and general education, are open-minded and idealistic, and can serve as role models for their students,” says Rabbi Stanley Peerless. A former day school principal, Peerless is now directing Ohr Torah Stone’s response to the situation: the Midreshet Lindenbaum Educators Fellowships, an exciting new initiative aimed at preparing exceptional Jewish studies teachers for schools around the world.

The one-year, post-college program for outstanding young women will combine advanced Jewish studies and methodology at Midreshet Lindenbaum College’s Chana and Yaacov Tilles Campus with masters’ level courses at Hebrew University’s Melton Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora. Designed to strengthen the knowledge of subject matter and pedagogical skills along with providing models for curriculum planning, the program aims to enrich the Jewish educational system with dedicated young teachers who possess a deep understanding of Jewish sources, a rich repertoire of pedagogical skills and a profound sensitivity to the needs of adolescents trying to navigate between the worlds of Jewish religious tradition and modernity.

The first 10 fellows, all highly motivated college graduates from the U.S., England and Israel, will begin their studies in September. They will receive a stipend along with approximately 15 credits toward an M.A. in Jewish education.

All of the Educators Fellows are committed to making a difference in the Jewish world by teaching in day schools for at least one year following the program. Rabbi Peerless stresses that Midreshet Lindenbaum is committed to ensuring their success. “We will help place them in schools and stay in close touch, providing them with support and direction,” he says. “Our hope is that these bright and enthusiastic young women will choose to stay in Jewish education, inspiring children everywhere with their knowledge, creativity and energy.”

Candidates are currently being selected for the Jewish Women’s Leadership Program, which will qualify exceptional women to provide the same communal guidance as men who have been ordained as rabbis.

The three-year program will give women with broad backgrounds in Talmud and Judaic studies the opportunity to master an intensive curriculum in gemara and halacha identical to that studied by men training for rabbinic ordination. However, in addition to emphasizing the areas of Shabbat, family purity and kashruth – the three traditional subjects mastered by men in rabbinical seminaries – the program will concentrate on divorce law, conversion, marriage, mourning, the synagogue, public policy and other issues relevant to the needs of the Jewish community.

The Women’s Jewish Leadership Program will begin this September with 10 participants, many of whom are already serving the community as educators, psychologists and social workers. These women will receive a stipend to support their full-time, rigorous Torah study and take written examinations identical to those given to men studying toward rabbinic ordination. Upon finishing the course of study and passing the exams, they will be equal in knowledge to their male rabbinical counterparts and certified by Midreshet Lindenbaum to assume leadership positions in communities and religious and educational institutions.

“At Ohr Torah Stone, we believe that it is time to redefine the criteria for Jewish leadership,” states OTS chancellor Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. “The curriculum we have developed for the Women’s Jewish Leadership Program will provide the knowledge and skills that are essential for guiding communities throughout the modern Jewish world.”

The Women’s Jewish Leadership Program will be directed by Rabbi Ohad Tehar-Lev, who is responsible for all Hebrew-speaking courses at Midreshet Lindenbaum. “I have no doubt that ultimately, even the men’s rabbinical programs will emulate our initiative in adding crucial practical emphasis to the classic course of Torah study for communal leadership,” he declares.

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