Miami Torah Experience Debuts

On December 29, 2009, twenty one university students with little formal Jewish education from around the country arrived in North Miami Beach to participate in the Miami Torah Experience, a ten day torah study program in Floriday.

The Miami Torah Experience is directed by Rabbi Immanuel Storfer, who also runs the Ivy League Torah Study program in the Catskills during the summer.

The curriculum includes a combination of text-based subjects such as chumash taught by Rabbi Mendy Felig, gemorah taught by Rabbi Yosef Marlow, and chassidus taught by Rabbi Immanuel Storfer in which students study the original text inside in small study groups before going to their lectures.

At night, there are philosophical discussions from top lecturers such as Rabbis Manis Friedman, Sholom Ber Lipskar, and Leib Schapiro. In addition, participants had the opportunity to go on fun outings such as a snorkeling trip in Key Largo and a banana boating trip in Miami Beach.

“This program has given me a hands-on experience of learning Torah in its original texts,” related Charlie Carnow, a senior at the University of Southern California. “I’ve been so inspired while learning during the day, I have often lost track of time and have stayed up to the early hours of the morning.”

“It’s also been awesome meeting other Jewish college students from different universities who also have the thirst to learn more about our Jewish heritage,” he said.

MTE was made possible through the generous support of Merkos Lubavitch of Florida and Chabad on Campus.