When I decided at the end of my college carrier to pursue the rabbinic track, I investigated most of the standard rabbinical programs in the United States. But after much searching I found the pool to be lacking. My first problem with these programs was that they are all affiliated in one way or another with a specific segment of American Judaism and make it clear by their programs what those affiliations are. Philosophical and theological stances are set as primary premises for the programs and as a result I feel that true and open education is not being given a fair chance within these institutions. I felt that there was always an agenda. My second problem is the fact that the people you are generally meeting within these programs seemed to not be varied, but rather only a cross section of a small population within American Jewry.

So, after meeting much disappointment due to these difficulties, I finally decided I needed to broaden my search. I extended my search beyond the U.S. and now I find myself in one of the best decisions I have ever made. The Joseph Straus Rabbinical Seminary, located immediately outside Efrat, Israel, although Orthodox, is still a place which is open to discussion and debate. There is no question that is off limits. People from all streams of life find themselves here, thereby enriching the atmosphere in which we all take part. There is not only variety of origins of our students (coming from Canada, the U.S., Sweden, England, South Africa, Hungary, and New Zealand to name a few) but there is also a diversity of background. There are students who have come to the smicha program who originally had no Jewish background at all and who may even have some years ago discovered that they are Jewish.

Of course, there are also those students who have been practicing Jews all of their lives, so one can imagine the interesting atmosphere in the Beit Midrash that this can create. Both my previous hesitations were quickly appeased.

Another wonderful bonus I have found in attending our rabbinical program is that the rabbis can just as easily carry a conversation with you about Shakespeare or Marx as they can about the laws of Shabbat. Our two Roshei Yeshiva are also very accessible to the program's members. Both Rav Brovender and Rav Riskin give weekly Parsha shiurim while Rav Brovender can also often be found learning in the Beit Midrash, always ready to converse with any of the smicha students. Though our yeshiva is mainly made up of Anglo-Saxons, one certainly has the opportunity to learn in Hebrew. Half the smicha programıs classes are given in Hebrew and there are Israeli students in the Yeshiva with whom one may learn.

Our campus overlooks a beautiful landscape. Set into a hillside in the Gush, we look across at the magnificent hills of Alon Shvut, which while serving to protect the students from worldly distractions, still offers a comfortable, beautiful location to learn in. However, this is not to say that we are a monastery with no contact with the rest of the world. In fact, we are only a ten-minute walk to Efrat and only a half- hour bus ride into Jerusalem. These are good enough distances to keep you from being distracted but still close enough to get out when one needs to recover their sanity from pouring over books all day.

In terms of living arrangements, rooms are very comfortable with single kollel members receiving their own rooms and families receiving their own, larger living spaces. Three meals a day are served in the cafeteria if one chooses to avail himself of them while your room is merely a minute walk to the Beit Midrash and cafeteria. One also has the opportunity, if one wishes, to be involved even with the non-smicha students learning in the adjoining yeshiva. The experience in teaching and deeper learning gained from these sessions has proved undeniably rewarding.

With all of that said, I must reiterate that coming to the Joseph Straus Rabbinical Seminary Smicha Program is one of the best things that I have done for myself educationally. I have been offered the peace and solitude of being able to study our ancient and modern traditions, had significant time for myself when not in the Beit Midrash to catch up on other literature and hobbies, hang out with friends, and, of course, been able to spend a number of years in Eretz Yisrael.

Sincerely,
Yehudah Potok
Graduate of the Joseph Straus Rabbinical Seminary

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