Midreshet Otot
Advanced Torah Learning for Haredi Women at Herzog College
Midreshet Otot offers advanced studies in Torah and Talmud to Haredi women in Jerusalem. This is the first learning program of its kind for Haredi women in Israel, enabling them to broaden their Torah education by studying traditional Jewish sources and developing tools for independent learning.
Advanced Torah Learning
Midreshet Otot was established in 2018 in response to the growing demand among religious women for serious learning programs that address their unique needs, and it has become the destination of choice for advanced Torah learning for Haredi women in Jerusalem, with a focus on Talmud study, Jewish philosophy and Jewish law.
It is run by Mrs. Vardit Rosenblum, a highly-respected Haredi Rabbinical Court Advocate, and Rabbi Raphael Kroizer, previously Rosh Kollel of Yechaveh Daat. It is run under the auspices of the Hechal Shlomo Women’s Beit Midrash of Herzog College, which is led by Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky.
Beit Midrash Program
The central Beit Midrash program requires a weekly commitment of 4 hours of learning for beginners and advanced students. It includes preparatory ‘chavruta’ study, text-based learning, and group discussion sessions relevant messages in the texts that relate to the religious world and the professional identity of women
Community Outreach
Midrasha students also work on publishing original Source Booklets for independent and family learning about the Jewish festivals, containing a diverse range of texts from the Talmud and other Jewish sources, plus extracts from poetry and literature. These booklets are designed to encouraging discussion and comparison of the texts, and they are distributed to Haredi women to learn with their families.
Reaching out to the wider community of religious women in Israel, Midreshet Otot runs Open Seminars and Learning Days relating to topics from the Talmud, philosophy, Jewish history and the Chagim. Their Summer Course for Haredi women includes lectures by Otot students and guest speakers on topical contemporary issues and life challenges. The Midrasha also runs a Haredi Women’s Daf Yomi support group and arranges celebrations to mark the completion of each Talmud tractate.
Encouraging Jewish Literacy
In Midreshet Otot, Herzog College has created a supportive community of women and a secure environment in which they can discuss deep personal, communal and topical issues. Through their advanced learning in the Beit Midrash, its students acquire more than just the tools for independent learning. They also develop self-confidence through being encouraged to write Torah articles, share their opinions at the family Shabbat table, and make independent decisions about their lives.
Click here to read an article in The Forward about Midreshet Otot.