Yeshiva for Prison Inmates

The evening of Wednesday, May 18th featured a special evening program at the Aleph Institute in Pittsburgh, as ten rabbinical students and a handful of volunteers gathered for dinner and words of inspiration.

The occasion marked the conclusion of the innovative “Yeshiva in Prison” program, a week-long program taking place at the Federal Correctional Institution of Morgantown, WV. This program, which has also been run at numerous other prisons across the United States, featured the ten students spending full days in the prison with the inmates – learning, praying, talking and providing the inmates with the necessary inspiration and power to change their lives for the better.

At the concluding dinner at Pittsburgh’s Aleph Institute, the students were treated to a surprise visit from world-renowned recovery expert Rabbi Dr. A.J. Twerski. Rabbi Twerski spoke to the young men about the importance of self-esteem, and how often times the lack there-of leads to a downward spiral of drugs, alcohol and sometimes imprisonment. He used the analogy of the long process required to polish a diamond – how it starts out simply as a filthy rock picked from the ground, and only after much polishing and refining a beautiful million-dollar diamond is produced. Key to helping inmates rehabilitate, Twerski claimed, is realizing (and helping the inmates realize) that each one of them has a diamond within them, and it’s simply a matter of removing the dirt on top to reveal this hidden treasure.

Rabbi Twerski also praised the “Yeshiva in Prison” program, noting the debt of gratitude the penal system and community as a whole owes Aleph for its tireless work with this population, so often shunned by society. Programs like these, he claimed, can save the government money, as well as preventing numerous terrors and hardships families usually experience when Aleph is not involved.

The “Yeshiva in Prison” program has also received glowing reviews from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which is gradually acknowledging the failure of the traditional penal system, and the need for investment in rehabilitative programs. Faith-based programming, like the Aleph Institute provides, has often been proven to be most affective in reducing the rate of recidivism of recently released inmates.

The Aleph Institute currently has over 70 active volunteers visiting the region’s Federal, State and County jails and prisons, in addition to numerous programs for families of inmates and those in need of social support groups. If you know of anybody in need of these programs, please contact the Aleph Institute at 412-421-0111.