EMET Outreach’s Sunday Seminary Is Back For Its Second Year

On Sunday October 14^th, EMET Outreach’s seminary for girls, Ateret Emet, began its second year. One amazing aspect of the program is the warm and positive atmosphere students experience as soon as they enter, a trademark of all of EMET’s programs. Each Sunday morning of the semester, as they enter the EMET Learning Center in Jamaica Estates, they’re greeted with a fresh catered breakfast, hot coffee, and music playing.

Led by EMET’s longtime Women’s Director Shira Fendel, this popular seminary offers upper-level students an insightful and deeper understanding of Halacha, Tefila, Hashkafa, Navi, and other fundamental topics. The curriculum focuses on subject matter which many people, including those who have an extensive yeshiva background, tend to find mystifying and difficult to comprehend.

After breakfast, students attend two advanced classes delivered by the renowned Rebbetzin Tehila Jaeger and EMET staff member Rabbi Binyamin Yuhanan.

Rabbi Yuhanan points out that it’s not easy for young married women and college students to invest time on a Sunday morning, let alone each week for an entire semester. “It takes a lot of commitment to spend time every Sunday morning learning and engaging in spiritual growth for an entire semester,” he says.

One student explains that the seminary is just like all of EMET’s programs—it has an extremely positive atmosphere that makes students excited to learn. “EMET’s staff is so welcoming and talented, they never need to pressure you to learn. People learn because they want to.”

To maximize student engagement and retention, classes are presented in a highly interactive way. “Students are not just attending a lecture and forgetting it,” explains Rabbi Yuhanan. “We have interaction during the class, and at the end of the semester students receive a printout for review. We also record each class and post the audio on our Whatsapp group.” In addition to weekly classes, Ateret Emet students participate in Shabbatons designed to enhance student relationship with staff members and peers.

Rabbi Yuhanan makes an effort to discuss common relevant issues in Halacha, clearly and concisely. “Very often when you study written Halacha, you need to work hard to understand the language and logic, and may lose sight of the actual halacha itself,” he explains, adding, “I try to deliver the Halacha in the clearest and shortest possible way, so that students walk away with a clear understanding of the most relevant information.”

Building Relationships

One valuable aspect of the seminary is that it offers an opening for students to deepen their connection with staff members. They engage in one-on-one discussions with Rebbetzin Jaeger and ask her advice about personal matters. They send text messages to Rabbi Yuhanan all week long with questions about all areas of halacha.

Many students view Rebbetzin Jaeger as their role model. One married student was inspired to begin covering her hair. A longtime EMET student, Michelle, who attended the seminary this past summer, says she feels a major improvement in her morning prayers. “For the longest time, I’ve been saying morning blessings without really understanding them. When Shira told me Rebbetzin Jaeger was going to address that topic, I was really excited. The Rebbetzin taught us what the blessings truly mean, and now I understand what I’m saying to Hashem every morning, which has brought new meaning in my life.”

Ateret Emet is an outgrowth of one of EMET’s oldest and most popular programs, Step-It-Up for higher-level girls, which has been coordinated by Shira since its inception. Michelle says that her relationship with Shira has uplifted her in many ways. “I can honestly say that Shira is the kindest person I know. She is such a giving person, truly selfless, always wanting to impact others, never thinking about herself. Shira is always bombarding me with positive text messages. Anything that involves me coming closer to Judaism, Shira is always there.”

Shira says that students were the driving force behind the seminary. “Many of our higher-level students spend time in seminary in Eretz Yisrael, and when they come back they want to continue advanced seminary-style learning, with classes that are text-based and address halachah and other practical topics.” They initially launched for a single semester to “test the waters”, and were excited when it gained instant popularity.

About EMET Outreach

EMET is a campus and community-based organization under the direction of Rabbi Mordechai Kraft and Rabbi Akiva Rutenberg working with college students, young professionals, couples, and families to bring the beauty of Judaism and Torah to many local Jewish communities through specially-designed lectures, trips, campus programs, special events, classes, fellowships, counseling sessions, and many other events and programs.

To learn more, visit www.emetoutreach.org. 

You can still enroll in Ateret Emet for this semester by calling Shira Fendel at 917 628 3170.