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The times they are a changin’ — and so is the tune in our Portland synagogue
By Rabbi Akiva Herzfeld (YCT ’07)
On Sunday night, September 21, the Jewish people celebrate Yom Kippur. As the Hebrew new year begins, we realize that “the times, they are a-changin’.”
Yom Kippur Message: Take a Load Off!
So many of us have felt weighed down this year. Growing anti-Semitism, Israel, elections past and upcoming, data centers, housing costs, the list goes on. So much weighs on us that it’s hard to look toward the future with hope. And during this time of reflection and introspection, many of...
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Starting Anew
by Michelle Friedman, MD, Sharon and Steven Lieberman Chair Emerita in Pastoral Counseling at YCT
A relationship falls apart, a spouse passes away, a business fails, infirmity makes a favored activity undoable, circumstances necessitate a move, a dream evaporates…
Seeing the Place Again
by Rabbi Benjamin Berger (YCT ‘09), incoming President and CEO of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah As we approached the Canadian Rockies, wildfires hundreds of miles to the west had filled the air with smoke. Driving toward what we knew to be some of the most majestic mountains in North America was...
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YCT Alumni Rabbi Hody Nemes & Rabbi Ari Hart: Hersh’s Fridge dedicated in Skokie in memory of Hersh Goldberg-Polin
A kosher community fridge honoring Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old with Chicago ties who was taken hostage and later killed by Hamas, was dedicated Wednesday in Skokie. Hersh’s Fridge, which organizers describe as the country’s first kosher community fridge, is open 24 hours a day and offers prepared meals, produce, groceries...
Read more >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...
Read more >At Pivotal Moment for American Jews, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Groundbreaking Rabbinical School, Announces Appointment of Dynamic New President and CEO
Rabbi Benjamin Berger, Senior Vice President of Jewish Education at Hillel International Assumes Leadership of Pioneering Orthodox Institution. Berger succeeds Rabbi Dov Linzer, whose transformative seven-year presidency led YCT through a period of unprecedented growth and deepening impact.
Who Needs American Jewry? We All Do.
By Rabbi Dov Linzer As we are on the eve of celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, it is worth considering statements which have been heard with increasing frequency in the American Orthodox community: “With the growing antisemitism in America and the existential threats that our brothers and sisters face in Israel,...
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Berkeley’s Beth Israel celebrates two decades of rabbi’s leadership
When Rabbi Yonatan Cohen and Frayda Gonshor Cohen moved to the Bay Area in their early 20s, the couple found instant community at his first rabbinical job leading Congregation Beth Israel, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Berkeley. Twenty years later, the much-larger community they have built at CBI is celebrating...
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YCT Chag HaSemikha Highlights 5786
This year’s Chag HaSemikha was intimate, meaningful and inspiring. We hope these photos capture the joy and beauty of the evening.
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