My Faith In YCT’s Next Chapter

I write to you with profound gratitude, humility, and excitement as we begin writing Yeshivat Chovevei Torah’s next chapter together.

For more than twenty-five years, YCT has advanced a vision of Torah and leadership that is both deeply rooted and boldly engaged with the complex world around us. It is a vision of Torah studied with rigor and lived with joy; of halakhic commitment joined with intellectual openness; of creative responses to age-old challenges; and of communities in which every person is treated with dignity, compassion, and a genuine sense of belonging.

This vision is deeply personal to me. As a 2009 musmakh of YCT, I have carried its teachings throughout my rabbinate and professional life. YCT taught me that leadership begins with listening, that conviction and humility must accompany one another, and that our responsibility to Torah calls us into deeper relationship with Am Yisrael and the wider world.

I am enormously grateful to those who brought YCT to this moment: our founder, Rav Avi, and our Rosh HaYeshiva, Rabbi Dov Linzer, whose vision and Torah have shaped this institution; and to our faculty, staff, board, students, alumni, and communal partners who give life to our mission every day.

Today, YCT-trained leaders serve communities across North America, Israel, and around the world. They teach Torah, accompany people through moments of joy and loss, build welcoming institutions, and bring wisdom and moral clarity to some of the most urgent questions facing Jewish life. Their work demonstrates what vibrant Torah leadership can make possible.

Our next chapter will build on that extraordinary foundation. Together, we will strengthen YCT as a spiritual home for our rabbis, students, alumni, and communities. We will cultivate the next generation of courageous and compassionate Jewish leaders. And we will bring the Torah of our beit midrash into meaningful conversation with the lived realities of the people we serve, deepening the relationships that allow YCT’s ideas and leaders to radiate outward with ever greater reach and impact.

This work belongs to all of us. In the months ahead, I look forward to listening and learning from every part of the YCT community—our students and alumni, faculty and staff, supporters and partners, and the many people whose lives have been touched by YCT. I want to hear what you treasure about this institution, where you believe we must grow, and what you imagine we can accomplish together. Importantly, I want to hear your reflections on this challenging moment in which we find ourselves.

This collaborative approach is embedded in the very DNA of YCT. As we discern our path forward together, I find myself returning to the words of the prophet Micah:

הִגִּיד לְךָ אָדָם מַה־טּוֹב וּמָה־ה׳ דּוֹרֵשׁ מִמְּךָ כִּי אִם־עֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁפָּט
וְאַהֲבַת חֶסֶד וְהַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם־אֱלֹקיךָ

“Humanity, you have been told what is good and what God asks of you: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

These words offer us more than inspiration; they offer a model of leadership. Our moment calls for the courage to pursue justice, the generosity to lead with lovingkindness, and the humility to listen, learn, and walk forward together.

Between now and the chagim, I will be concluding my service at Hillel International after nearly eight remarkable years. My time at Hillel has given me a deep understanding of where our young people find themselves at a moment of profound and converging change—amid rising antisemitism and deepening polarization, alongside urgent questions about Israel, identity, and belonging. It has also shown me what college students are seeking as they work to find their place within Am Yisrael and build meaningful Jewish lives in an increasingly complex world.

But this is a moment for rebuilding, not despair. Now is the moment for a renewed paradigm of rabbinic leadership—courageous, compassionate, learned, unifying, and visionary. Now is the moment for bridge-building wherever possible. Now is the moment to study our past so that we can chart a clear path toward the future. The Jewish people need more leaders who can bring the timeless teachings of Torah into honest conversation with a challenging and changing world. They need communities defined by learning, joy, courage, and care. YCT has an essential role to play in meeting that need—and I believe our greatest impact still lies ahead. Everything I have witnessed and lived over these past years points me back home—to YCT, the place where my rabbinic identity was forged.

As Elul has arrived, and I prepare for this transition, I do so with the deepest gratitude for the past and the greatest anticipation for what lies ahead. I look forward to meeting many more of you in the months to come and beginning this work together.

Thank you for the trust, generosity, and love you have invested in YCT. I am honored to join with you in shaping its future.

Wishing you, your loved ones, and klal Yisrael a Shanah Tovah U’Metukah. May 5787 bring health, joy, inspired Torah, deepened connection, and shalom.

RABBI BEN BERGER
Incoming President & CEO