in memory of belda kaufman lindenbaum

BEIT MIDRASH HAR'EL

Committed to Halacha
and Jewish Tradition

Beit Midrash Har'el is the only orthodox program in Israel that awards
Smicha - Rabbinic ordination - to both men and women, studying together.

Founded in 2013 by Rabbi Herzl Hefter and based in Jerusalem, Beit Midrash Har’el has 19 rabbinic alumni and 16 students currently studying in our Rabbinical Fellowships program.

Our approach is based on providing qualified and motivated students equal access to the Torah and our tradition, while also providing equal recognition for accomplishment in learning and intellectual achievement. 

Beit Midrash Har’el demonstrates how we can be faithful to our rich tradition and Halacha while also enabling evolution. We see real value in the quality of learning that results from having men, women, and multiple perspectives represented, and engaging with our sources and texts.  

At the same time, Beit Midrash Har’el is creating a fellowship of sensitive thinkers who are grappling with real-world issues head-on. We are proud of the diversity of perspectives that come to and that emerge from our programs. Our students and alumni are making a real difference in how Judaism engages with the world.  

GET TO KNOW US

Discover our unique programs, and meet our students and alumni.

updates from the beit midrash

You are invited to explore our library of lectures, videos and articles
by the teachers, students and alumni of Beit Midrash Har’el.

The Dalai Lama wrote in his autobiography that the traditional education which he received as a child
in the monasteries of Tibet left him singularly unprepared to lead his people in the 20th Century.
We ensure that the same will not be said of rabbinic training today
.

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