Located in the heart of Los Angeles, Maayon Yisrael was a spacious, sunny and welcoming environment for the two-week learning adventure on which twelve women embarked last August.
Each morning at 9 am, the shul filled with passionate voices, each student dissecting the maamar of the week with her chavrusa. Following breakfast, Gemara class threw these ambitious students headfirst into the intricate halachic labyrinth of ‘eidim zomemin’. Rabbi Moshe Kesselman led the group on a thrilling journey through the logic of the Gemara by encouraging them to tackle the text and analyze it from a fresh perspective.
Healthy, gourmet lunches were prepared daily by one of the retreat coordinators, Chava Hinsey. After lunch, the afternoons were spent tackling the Rambam’s introduction to the mishna, challenging the students’ perspectives on the development of the Oral Law and understanding the complexity of the halachic process.
After an afternoon break, they returned in the evenings for engaging Chassidus classes with Mrs. Fay Yemini and Rabbi Reuven Wolf that discussed some of the profound ideas they studied that morning.
These 12 women spent those two weeks bonding together as a group, forming deep connections over the new ideas they learned and their shared love for learning.
“I came to the retreat with the hope to learn a bit of Torah. I got so much more than that’, Bracha Nili Shore, a Stern graduate from Los Angeles, said.
“The expansive curriculum was thought provoking and enticing. Throughout the two weeks we delved into Chassidus, Gemara and Halacha. The classes promoted extensive critical thinking. I made amazing friends and wonderful memories. I learned so many great skills that I’ll definitely utilize in the present and future.”
Yitty Wolf, a local student who helped plan the program, said, “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to re-engage in learning! It’s been fun tackling the text with a dedicated group of teachers and friends.”
This learning program was a project of Batsheva Learning Center, an organization that aims to provide women with opportunities for authentic Torah study. After two successful summer retreats in the Catskills, they moved to the West Coast, offering students a refreshing break from their hectic work lives.
For many of them, the program opened up a new world of learning that these women never felt was available to them before. It empowered them with the skill, knowledge and confidence to return to those texts on their own and make Torah learning an integral part of their lives.
Yael Haskowitz, a student who traveled to Los Angeles from Colorado to join the program, said, “Batsheva Learning Center provided me with an intellectual, engaging and stimulating environment. This experience has a been a valuable asset that has motivated me to continue my Jewish learning.”
Following the retreat, a few of the students wrote essays about their experiences at the program, as well as creative applications of the ideas they studied. Yitty Wolf wrote a personal reflection on the maamar she studied that summer, titled “On Being a Jew”. In her essay titled “Why I Learn Gemara”, Chava Hinsey wrote about her struggle with the conflicts she saw between feminism and Judaism and how discovering the Rebbe’s perspective on women’s learning guided her life journey. In “The Scheming Witness”, Chana Rosa Bogart, an art student and mother of two, described the surprising parallel between the themes that she encountered in her study of gemara and her own life experiences.
After last year’s success, Batsheva Learning Center is getting ready for their fourth annual summer retreat, coming up June 25 – July 2. They’re headed back to the east coast to the Vallevue Estate in Morristown, NJ for a weeklong learning experience that promises to challenge its students’ minds and refresh their spirits with a taste of authentic, yeshiva-style learning.
Participants will get a chance to delve into the original texts of halacha, gemara and chassidus and discover a world of learning that is both refreshing and empowering. This year’s talented teaching staff includes Mrs. Chana Silberstein, Mrs. Mushky /Gershonv and Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe. The program will also take advantage of Vallevue’s beautiful and extensive grounds and will offer a variety of recreational activities including art, swimming and hiking.
Registration closes June 1st. For more information or to register visit www.batshevalearningcenter.com/summerretreat or email [email protected]
