Revel Reaches Out, Brings Academic Jewish Studies to OZ
Yaelle Frohlich
Issue date: 12/21/09 Section: News
Yeshiva University's Bernard Revel Graduate School of Judaic Studies joined forces with Manhattan's Congregation Ohab Zedek on December 6 to hold a Yom Iyun (day of study) about academic Jewish scholarship. The program, held at the Upper West Side synagogue, is part of a growing effort to reach out to the general Jewish community, said Revel Associate Dean Dr. Mordechai Cohen, an alumnus of Yeshiva College, RIETS and Revel. "Various Jewish communities are expressing a thirst for Jewish scholarship on the highest levels," said Cohen, "and the current Revel administration is eager to meet this demand. There are many exciting new developments in Jewish scholarship and they are quite relevant within the modern Orthodox world. Our goal is to make YU a critical resource for Jewish scholarship within the broader
community."
Stu Halpern, who just completed a Revel MA in Bible, works for Revel in addition to being the Student Life Coordinator for YU's Wilf Campus. His purpose at Revel is to "create a sense of community within the Revel student body, as well as increase Revel's visibility to the outside-of-YU community," Halpern stated. Initiatives to create a Revel community have include a "Get to Know the Faculty at Revel" event last year, as well as a lunch event for Revel PhD students on December 8, 2009.
"My goal is to help bolster a sense of togetherness among the Revel student body, as well as show others what Revel has to offer, both educationally, socially, and even religiously," reiterated Halpern.
Revel offers MA and PhD programs in Bible, Jewish history, Jewish philosophy and Talmudic studies.
Cohen said that a way to foster the Revel-community relationship is through ties to Revel alumni who serve as rabbinic and lay leaders in their communities.
An inherent goal of the Yom Iyun was to bolster the Jewish community's appreciation for Revel as an indispensable asset to Jewish studies. In 1991 the school faced closure. "Very few people know what Revel is," explained Cohen, who was a graduate student there at the time and was shaken by the threat of shutdown.
community."
Stu Halpern, who just completed a Revel MA in Bible, works for Revel in addition to being the Student Life Coordinator for YU's Wilf Campus. His purpose at Revel is to "create a sense of community within the Revel student body, as well as increase Revel's visibility to the outside-of-YU community," Halpern stated. Initiatives to create a Revel community have include a "Get to Know the Faculty at Revel" event last year, as well as a lunch event for Revel PhD students on December 8, 2009.
"My goal is to help bolster a sense of togetherness among the Revel student body, as well as show others what Revel has to offer, both educationally, socially, and even religiously," reiterated Halpern.
Revel offers MA and PhD programs in Bible, Jewish history, Jewish philosophy and Talmudic studies.
Cohen said that a way to foster the Revel-community relationship is through ties to Revel alumni who serve as rabbinic and lay leaders in their communities.
An inherent goal of the Yom Iyun was to bolster the Jewish community's appreciation for Revel as an indispensable asset to Jewish studies. In 1991 the school faced closure. "Very few people know what Revel is," explained Cohen, who was a graduate student there at the time and was shaken by the threat of shutdown.
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