IN FOCUS
May 2008
Mechon Hadar In Focus
Mission of organization:
Mechon Hadar’s mission is to empower young Jews in America to deepen their connection to prayer, study and social action within vibrant grassroots communities.
What motivated the formation of the organization?
Over the past 10 years, we have witnessed a burgeoning of vibrant, intensive, egalitarian prayer communities across the United States. Many of these minyanim were inspired by the model of Kehilat Hadar (www.kehilathadar.org), a former Bikkurim resident (02-05), founded by Mara Benjamin, Elie Kaunfer and Ethan Tucker in 2001, and where Shai Held is the scholar in residence. As this minyan phenomenon spread, we decided to devote ourselves to building an institution which would help support these communities in two ways:
• Educating and networking the leaders of the minyanim by sharing lessons and experiences with each other.
• Fostering an educated laity that feels empowered to take hold of their Judaism through an engagement with traditional sources, and can take leadership roles in their Jewish community from a position of knowledge and excitement.
Yeshivat Hadar Fellows Shira Wallach and Eric Brief study Talmud
Central activities of your organization:
1) Yeshivat Hadar: the first full-time independent egalitarian yeshiva in America. Unlike any program in the United States, Yeshivat Hadar combines the following:
• Text study in Bible, Midrash, Talmud, Halakha, liturgy, and theology.
• A commitment to the religious growth of the individual participants.
• The creation of a passionate and active Jewish learning community.
• Social justice initiatives that embody the values embedded in the texts.
• Intensive, all-day programming for students in an egalitarian setting.
• Individualized projects students will take home to local communities.
Fellows commit to 8 weeks of full-time participation, 6 days/60 hours per week.

2) The Minyan Project: Education, consulting and resources for independent minyanim (prayer communities). Over the past 10 years, close to 50 new minyanim have started across America. This initiative assists these grassroots communities in the following ways:
• Prayer leader empowerment training series.
• Halakhic consulting for pressing communal issues.
• Practical guides for running complicated prayer services.
• New melody workshops and resources.
• Internet resources and email lists for cross-minyan communication.

In addition, together with Prof. Steven M. Cohen and Synagogue 3000, Mechon Hadar published the first-ever demographic study of these new minyanim, which received press coverage in The New York Times, US News and World Report, JTA, Ha’aretz, The Forward, The Jerusalem Post, The Jewish Week and The New Jersey Jewish News. The study is available here.

How many people do you serve?
• Yeshivat Hadar launched in summer 2007 with 18 fellows selected from 50 applicants. In 2008, we are aiming to double the number of students to 36. Each of these fellows commits to bringing a project back to their local community, greatly expanding the reach of the summer program. In 2007, these alumni projects reached hundreds of young Jews in Manhattan, Boston, Brooklyn, Nashville, Los Angeles, Connecticut and Jerusalem.
• The Minyan Project has consulted to more than 50 minyanim and spiritual communities in the past year, with a total population numbering more than 10,000 people.
Who participates in your activities?
In 2007, the 18 Yeshivat Hadar fellows had the following demographics:
• Gender: 11 women, 7 men.
• Age: 21-28.
• Current Denomination: 15 “non-denominational”; 2 Conservative; 1 Orthodox.
• Denomination of Their Parents: 8 Conservative, 3 Orthodox, 3 Reform, 3 Unaffiliated, 1 Reconstructionist.
• Primary education: About half (10) attended elementary Jewish day school, while 6 went to Hebrew school; 2 had no formal elementary education.
• College education: Most (15) took a Jewish studies course in college.
• Israel: 5 attended birthright israel. None belong to AIPAC or Israel organizations.
• Prayer community: 13 affiliate with an independent minyan, while only 7 affiliate with a synagogue.
• Camp: 13 went to Jewish sleepover camp.
• Profession: Most (15) are primarily students, but some work full time: musician, curator, educator.
• Alternatives to the summer: 14 students reported they would have worked at jobs with no Jewish study opportunities, if they had not attended Yeshivat Hadar.

The participants in the independent minyanim, served by The Minyan Project, number in the thousands. As a group, they are notable for being overwhelmingly under age 40, and not connected to the traditional Jewish institutional world. Their detailed demographics can be found in our survey.

Yeshivat Hadar Fellows examine the first Sefer Torah written by a woman
What events are you planning in the future?
What events are you planning in the future? The application for Yeshivat Hadar 2008 is due on February 1, 2008. To download an application, go to www.yeshivathadar.org

For a video highlight of last summer, click here.

Other future events include: Leaving Egypt, Then and Now: An Evening of Study with Yeshivat Hadar. Join Yeshivat Hadar faculty members, Rabbis Shai Held, Amy Kalmanofsky, and Ethan Tucker, who will teach about the weekly parsha.

Classes will include: \"Flesh and Bread: A Wilderness Menu\" taught by Rabbi Amy Kalmanofsky, \"Battling Amalek: Encountering Ourselves\" taught by Rabbi Ethan Tucker, and \"Yetziat Mitrayim (The Exodus) as a Spiritual Practice: Learning from the Sefas Emes\" taught by Rabbi Shai Held.

Wednesday, January 16, 7:00-9:00 pm West End Synagogue, 190 Amsterdam Ave. at 69th Street A light, pizza dinner will be served! RSVP to info@mechonhadar.org.

In addition, we are launching 2 Spring courses: Egalitarian Prayer in Jewish Law and A Women’s Prayer-leader Skills course.

Describe an inspiring moment in your work.
Launching a full-time yeshiva in America for men and women has been a long-time dream of the Mechon Hadar co-founders. We spent more than a year preparing for the first cohort of Yeshivat Hadar fellows. But the most inspiring moment of that process was the very first day of yeshiva. Through the door walked 18 excited and energetic students, most of whom I only knew by reading their in-depth application. They are the reason we are devoting countless hours to this project, and they are the kernel of people who will move forward the Jewish community in America. Having the opportunity to teach, guide and learn from these students is something I think about every day I go to work.
What has your organization gotten out of Bikkurim?
Bikkurim was the first foundation to take a gamble on our organization. There is a huge risk in starting up a non-profit from scratch, and beginning the process with the perks of Bikkurim (office space, seed money, organizational development advice) made that process much more manageable. Bikkurim has afforded us immediate legitimacy and recognition when applying for grants, speaking with potential funders, and marketing to media outlets.
MORE about Mechon Hadar > > >