WELCOME TO RABBI ISAAC ELCHANAN
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) at Yeshiva University is the Western Hemisphere’s leading center for Torah learning and training for the rabbinate. Learn more »

RIETS Annual Dinner of Tribute

Join us for RIETS Annual Dinner of Tribute on Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. Guests of Honor Joel and Judy Schreiber will be honored, along with Dr. Joel B. Wolowelsky who will receive the Lifetime Achievement in Jewish Education award. Click here for more information.

RIETS Honors Next Generation of Rabbis at Chag HaSemikhah Convocation

At the conclusion of the Chag HaSemikhah ceremony on March 7, new musmakhim [ordained rabbis] and esteemed roshei yeshiva, teachers, mentors, family and friends poured out onto Amsterdam Avenue to dance in celebration of the continuity between rabbinic leaders past, present and future. That continuity was a palpable theme, as the largest ever group of new musmakhim received their ordination at a ceremony that also honored rabbis who celebrated their Chag HaSemikhah 50 years ago. Click here for more...

RIETS Introduces Huberfeld Family Semikha Leadership Initiative

From left, Rabbi Yaacov Feit,
Yechiel Shaffer and Dovid Bashevkin
are the inaugural Huberfeld Fellows.

Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) has introduced The Huberfeld Family Semikha Leadership Initiative, a three year fellowship at RIETS designed to mold future leaders of the American rabbinate. Click here for more...

JACOB AND DREIZEL GLUECK CENTER FOR JEWISH STUDY OPENS FOR SECOND YEAR OF TORAH LEARNING

 
Yeshiva University is privileged to be the home of the magnificent new Glueck Center for Jewish Study. The Center was facilitated through a gift from the Glueck family, honoring Jacob Glueck and the legacy of Dreizel Glueck. The beautiful facility houses a 500+ seat Beit Midrash and 12 classrooms for shiurim and lectures.

Click here to learn more about the Glueck Center. 

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PUBLICATION OF KOL TZVI

Each year, the Kollel Elyon publishes a volume of Torah articles authored by the roshei kollel and kollel members. The newest volume was published recently. It is a double volume (10 and 11), on topics from Masechtot Bechoros and Niddah, which the kollel learned during the past two years. The entire volume is over 750 pages, and includes acticles by Rav Schachter, Rav Willig, Rav Rosensweig, Rav Charlop, and Rav Reiss, and the approximate 18 members of the kollel.

Kol Tzvi is dedicated in honor of Herschel (Tzvi) Cabakoff, father of Mrs. Bella Wexner, and grandfather of Ms. Susan Wexner, who establshed the Wexner Kollel Elyon.

To view the articles on YU Torah, click here.

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SIYUM ON BAVA BASRA

On June 14, 2010 Roshe Yeshiva and their talmidim celebrated the end of a successful zman with a barbeque siyum on Masechet Bava Basra. 

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RIETS RABBINIC COUNSELING TRAINING FEATURED IN NEW YORK TIMES

 
As part of the RIETS Rabbinic Professional Education Program, RIETS students receive lessons in dealing with real-life traumas. An innovative part of this program involves bringing in professional actors for mock-counseling sessions. This gives musmakhim practical experience for when they serve as communal leaders and rabbis in synagogues. The program was featured in the New York Times. Click here for the article.

Earlier in the year, the Program was also featured in the local news. Click here for a video.

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Renowned Psychiatrist and Rav Delivers Three-Part Series to RIETS Students on Addiction 

Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, former director of the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and world-renowned author and speaker met with RIETS students to discuss the extraordinary challenges related to addiction. Although Dr. Twerski’s background is with Substance Addiction, he explained that addictions of all types have common denominators that must be understood. Many people suffering from addictions simply cannot stop their destructive behavior though they think that they can. Only once they hit “rock bottom" – a place which can differ greatly for different people – do they stand a chance to reach out to others for the help they need.
 
Dr. Twerski’s series was part of the extensive curriculum of pastoral psychology at RIETS. Semikha students are exposed to a huge range of challenging issues that are, unfortunately, prevalent in many of the communities in which they will serve. Dr. David Pelcovitz and Rabbi Menachem Penner, who attended the series coordinate a thirty-part course for senior pulpit track students which combines instruction in pastoral psychology, personal accounts of individuals in crisis and role-playing with professional actors. This ground-breaking course was featured last year in the New York Times.
In addition to giving the talmidim skills to use in their future communal roles, Dr. Twerski explained that many of the principles of organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous are very much in line with Torah ideals and can be used as a template for any Teshuva process. Students were both educated and inspired.

Dr. Twerski, an ordained rabbi and a graduate of Marquette University Medical School, completed his psychiatric residency at the University of Pittsburgh Western Psychiatric Institute. For 20 years, he served as clinical director of the Department of Psychiatry at St. Francis Hospital, Pittsburgh, and was an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine. He has been awarded honorary degrees from St. Vincent's College, Duquesne University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania based on his scientific contributions and community efforts.

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