The Meorot Fellowship, in existence for approximately twenty years, is committed to developing future Modern Orthodox spiritual and lay leaders – both men and women – through engaging college and graduate students in an environment of serious learning and honest discourse.
The fellowship devotes one evening per week for a period of three to six weeks to exploring the challenges and opportunities that modernity presents to Judaism and the Jewish people. Sessions consist of presentations given by leading academics, communal leaders, and rabbis followed by an open discussion, placing great emphasis on respect and tolerance as the cornerstones for healthy debate.
We are proud of our Meorot alumni, many of whom have gone on to serve in the rabbinate and in other important leadership positions in the Jewish community.
The Meorot Fellowship is open to current undergraduate students as well as recent college graduates. Fellows receive program materials, dinner and access to leading Modern Orthodox thinkers from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Maharat, and beyond.
Candidates can join the fellowship in one of six locations across the US and Canada during the 2019 fall semester. Please see below for a full list of locations and speakers. RSVP links can be found in each listing.
Meorot Brandeis Final
Brandeis University Beit Midrash, Waltham, MA – Dates and times vary:
11/6 – Wednesday Lunch: Rabbi Yonah Berman “Of Angels & Men: Lessons from the Mysterious Figures in the life of Yaakov Avinu”
11/21 – Thursday Dinner: Rabbi David Fried “Tzedaka and the Welfare State: Why Lomdus Matters when Talking about Values”
12/5 – Thursday Dinner: Rabba Dina Brawer “The Varieties of Religious Experience: Bringing William James and Sefat Emet into Dialogue on the Nature of Religion, Ritual and the Quest for Spirituality”
Meorot Maryland
University of Maryland Hillel, College Park, MD – Two Wednesdays in November with more dates in the spring semester:
11/6 – Rabbi Ysoscher Katz “Writing Modern Orthodox Teshuvot: A View from the Trenches”
11/20 – Rabbi Nissan Antine “Got Turkey? Thanksgiving in Contemporary Halachic Literature”
Click here to RSVP for dinner with Rabbi Ysoscher Katz and here to RSVP for dinner with Rabbi Nissan Antine
Meorot Montreal Final
Montreal, QC Canada – Meeting at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Westmount on Wednesdays
11/13 – Rabbi Jeffrey Fox “Conversion in the 21st Century: “What does it mean to become a Jew Today?”
11/20 – Rabbi David Chaim Wallach – Bagels and Borscht or Brachot and Breishit: What is Judaism really about?
11/27 – Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold “The Limits of Inclusion: Challenges from the Case-files of a Modern Orthodox Rabba”
Meorot NYC Final
New York City – Meeting at the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life at Columbia University on Thursdays
11/7 – Rabbi Jeffrey Fox “Conversion in the 21st Century: What does it mean to become a Jew Today?”
11/14 – Rabba Dina Brawer “The Varieties of Religious Experience: Bringing William James and Sefat Emet into Dialogue on the Nature of Religion, Ritual and the Quest for Spirituality”
11/21 – Rabbi Ben Greenfield “Praying To/For/With God: Three Talmudic Invitations to a Different Kind of Tefilah”
Meorot Toronto Final
Toronto, ON – Meeting at the University of Toronto Hillel on two dates:
11/14 (Thursday), 6:30pm – Rabba Rachel Kohl Finegold “The Limits of Inclusion: Challenges from the Case-files of a Modern Orthodox Rabba”
12/2 (Monday), 6:30pm – Rabbi Yonah Berman – “The Most Radical Time of the Year: How the Rabbis Used a Holiday that Celebrated the Past to Change the Future”
University of Chicago Hillel – Note new calendar: Three dates in January, to be announced December 1!
Rabbi Ari Hart “The Ethics of Kashrut”
Rabbi Dov Linzer “Divine Sparks: Electricity on Shabbat Today and Tomorrow”
Rabbanit Sara Wolkenfeld “In the Divine Image: Rabbinic Approaches to Sexuality”
RSVP for Chicago January, 2020 series opens December 1, 2019
UMD students – click here to RSVP for dinner with Rabbi Ysoscher Katz and here to RSVP for dinner with Rabbi Nissan Antine
Chicago students – Check on December 1 to RSVP for the January, 2020 series