On Thursday, September 3rd, Yeshiva University's Center for the Jewish Future (CJF) announced that it would launch a new semester of its Community Beit Midrash Program on October 14 at its Israel Henry Beren campus, 215 Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

Open to men and women of all ages, the six-week program will feature Dr. David Pelcovitz, the Gwendolyn Joseph Straus Chair in Psychology and Education at the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education, and Dr. Smadar Rosensweig, clinical assistant professor of Bible at Stern College for Women.

"This new program was developed as a direct response to feedback received from lay leaders and members of the Jewish community in an effort to create unique educational opportunities for Jewish men and women across the Tri-State area," said Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, the David Mitzner Dean of the CJF.

“Yeshiva University strives to both provide our students with a rich and meaningful education as well as make that knowledge available to the broader community and the world at large. The Community Beit Midrash Program will accomplish this goal by providing participants with the opportunity to learn from two of the University's foremost scholars and experience YU's unique brand of Torah learning firsthand."

Titled Positive Psychology and Jewish Thought, Dr. Pelcovitz's weekly class will explore this new field of psychology through the prism of Jewish thought, focusing on what individuals can do to enhance happiness, gratitude, forgiveness, empathy, mindfulness and meaning.

Dr. Rosensweig's class, Journey Through Tanach: Exploring Haftarot, will examine the origins and development of the Haftarah using early rabbinic, medieval and modern commentaries to chart its inclusion in formal public readings in the synagogue. The sessions will focus specifically on the Haftarot of Noach, Lech Lecha, Vayera, Chayei Sarah, Toledot, and Vayetzei.

For more information or to register, please visit yu.edu/beitmidrash

Founded in 1886, Yeshiva University (www.yu.edu) brings together the ancient traditions of Jewish law and life and the heritage of Western civilization. More than 6,400 undergraduate and graduate students study at YU's four New York City campuses: the Wilf Campus, Israel Henry Beren Campus, Brookdale Center, and Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus. YU’s three undergraduate schools – Yeshiva College, Stern College for Women, and Sy Syms School of Business – offer a unique dual program comprised of Jewish studies and liberal arts courses. Its graduate and affiliate schools include Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, and Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. YU is ranked among the nation’s leading academic research institutions.

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