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Mazer Yeshiva Program

Education Built upon Relationships for Life

Led by distinguished roshei yeshiva, the Mazer Yeshiva Program (MYP) offers an intensive, advanced, and sophisticated classical yeshiva experience. This is the most rigorous of the four paths by offering the deepest exposure to traditional learning. Students engage in exegesis of original Aramaic and Hebrew texts in shiur/chavrusa format.

Our program offers a four-year undergraduate course of study in which Talmudic texts and commentaries are intensively probed in the original Aramaic and Hebrew in a classical yeshiva setting.

The Mazer Yeshiva Program (MYP) was named through a major gift in 1979 by the Joseph and Ceil Mazer Foundation. The program has been in existence as a separate entity since 1970, but is a continuation of Yeshiva University's oldest component, the core from which the university developed.

Although the program does not lead to a degree, specified credit is transferable to all Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs at Yeshiva College and Syms School of Business, regardless of the student's major.

Mashgichim and shoalim u'maishivim are available in the various batei medrash for regular morning and night sedarim. They help students in their learning and assist newcomers in their transition to MYP and college life from either high school or Israel yeshivas.

Shiur assistants, senior MYP students, or RIETS students, serve as peer advisers for the shiur members.

Shiur assistants may serve as shoalim u'maishivim for their classmates, offer review sessions on a regular basis or before bechinos, and are responsible for such administrative duties as distributing mareh mekomos, and taking attendance on behalf of the roshei yeshiva.

Information regarding application to all undergraduate schools may be found on the Office of Admissions Web site.

To qualify for admission to Mazer Yeshiva Program, a student must:

  • Be enrolled in Yeshiva College or Syms School of Business, unless the student already holds a bachelor's degree
  • Have knowledge of Hebrew (modern, medieval, and biblical)
  • Pass an entrance examination in the reading and comprehension of selected Gemara passages and commentaries as well as general background in Gemara

Applicants are placed in shiurim based on previous training and ability. Advanced standing is given to those who have learned Gemara in college-level programs at yeshivas in the United States or Israel.

If you have questions regarding the Mazer Yeshiva Program in particular, please contact us

Talmudic Scholarship

Students in MYP have varied professional and academic interests but are united in their desire to develop in Talmudic scholarship and knowledge of  practical Halacha.

The curriculum's main focus is the intensive study of Gemara and its commentaries. MYP is designed to give students a firm foundation in traditional learning skills and in the mastery of original texts, offer direction in both learning and character and foster an appreciation of the Judaic heritage.

Jewish Tradition

In addition to the core classes in Gemara, elective classes, and lectures on related texts, Mussar and contemporary topics emphasize the continuity of Jewish tradition from Sinai to the present.

Night Seder

An integral part of MYP is the highly successful voluntary night seder in the beis medrash. Students also have the opportunity to attend shiurim in BekiyusIyun, and Machshava.

Batei Medrash

The batei medrash remain the intellectual focus of MYP, as the beis medrash has been the academic heart of great centers of Jewish learning through the ages.

The new Jacob and Dreizel Glueck Center for Jewish Study has a two-story, 470-seat beis medrash and state-of-the-art study resources.

The Harry Fischel Synagogue Beis Medrash, renovated in 1979 and refurbished in 1998 through a major gift by the late Joseph S. and Caroline Gruss, is MYP's main beis medrash. The Annex (Zysman Hall 102-103), immediately opposite the Harry Fischel Synagogue Study Hall, provides additional study space.

The Rabbi Hyman Muss Torah Learning Center and Beis Medrash complex was built in 1997 to accommodate a growing number of students.

Required Texts

Talmidim are required to purchase the Gemara Masechta that their shiur is learning. This can be purchased at any local Seforim store or online.

Registration Forms

Click here to download the Fall 2016 MYP Registration Form.

Attendance

Our Yeshiva aims to provide a positive learning environment where each student can reach his full potential in Torah study. We provide varied learning programs, reflecting the diverse interests and skills of our students, along with an outstanding array of Roshei Yeshiva, Rebbeim, faculty, mashgichim and administrators who are concerned about the Torah growth and personal welfare of each student. Our faculty and administration alike are accessible to students to discuss their individual needs and concerns.

Progress in Torah learning is achieved through consistent effort, patience, a modicum of struggle, and keeping to a set schedule. In fact, the word “Yeshiva” means to sit—in a beit midrash or a classroom; without disciplined regularity there cannot be growth. To that end, we have formulated an attendance policy to further these aims and to be of assistance to students who are having difficulty meeting these expectations.

  1. Talmidim are expected to attend all shiurim and seder and to be present on time.
  2. Three weeks into the semester the UTS office reviews attendance lists. Talmidim missing more than one day of seder/shiur per week or missing cumulatively four days will be contacted by the office.
  3. Attendance is then reviewed two to three weeks later.
  4. If a talmid’s attendance has not improved since the initial correspondence he must meet with a UTS administrator.
  5. If the problem persists and talmid accrues 20 total absences, withstanding specific mitigating factors, he will be placed on pre-probation or probation the following semester. Extenuating circumstances are taken into consideration when the number of absences is reviewed.
  6. Pre-probation, as stated in the catalog, requires talmidim to take shiur for credit the following semester.
  7. Probation, as stated in the catalog, requires the talmid to take shiur for credit and limited to 13.5 total college credits.
  8. If a student is absent more than 50% of the time, an automatic grade of “G” is recorded.
  9. Two semesters in a row of probation are grounds for possible dismissal from the university.

Shiur Assignments

Shiur assignments are made by the dean or administrator of MYP, in consultation with the bochen. These are based on level and progress of learning as well as on student requests. Changes may be made only with the permission of the dean or administrator.

Students not attending classes officially assigned to them may be dismissed from MYP. Students receiving notices that they have not been assigned must arrange to see the dean or administrator immediately.

Academic Standards

Students are required to maintain satisfactory standards of scholastic performance. Students who miss examinations, fail courses, have generally poor academic records or have excessive absences will be put on probation.

If a student's record does not improve sufficiently during the following semester, he may be dismissed from MYP.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the MYP. We look forward to hearing from you.

Rabb Yosef Kalinsky
Dean
Glueck Center for Jewish Study
515 West 185 Street, Suite 632
New York, NY 10033

Telephone: 212.568.7300
Fax: 212.568.7400

E-mail: kalinsky@yu.edu

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