Coed Collegiate Programs

 

For information on our collegiate programs geared exclusively for women, click here.
 

The inaugural program in June 2010 was the first of many initiatives that aim to engage young leadership in encountering Jewish texts in a serious, intellectually rigorous and inclusive manner. Our collegiate programs attract students who are leaders on their campuses in Hillel communities, social justice projects, campus publications, and more. The collegiate programs are fueled by Drisha's vision of the role Torah study plays in the life of the committed Jew. 

The immersion programs are fueled by Drisha’s vision of the role Torah study plays in the life of the committed Jew. Participants engage in an immersive learning environment in which Torah is studied with passion, rigor, and commitment. Faculty incorporate a broad range of approaches to the study of biblical, rabbinic, and philosophical texts, and ask participants to consider how these texts and ideas speak to them as they progress in their life-journeys.
 

"[What comes to mind about the June Program is the notion of ] Torat Chesed….for its own sake and to share with others. On a personal individual level it's about growth, but at the same time it is growth to be shared with the community.” - June participant

 

Click to read about the 2013 program, faculty, curriculum, and expectations. 

 

June Immersion Program   -   Thursday, May 30 - Thursday, June 27, 2013

Drisha’s June Collegiate Immersion Program is an intensive experience of Jewish text study, community building, and spiritual growth. Our learning is characterized by its rigor, integrity, and pursuit of meaning. Daily morning seder focuses on intensive Talmud courses. Afternoon seder offers options in Tanakh and parshanut, halakhah, Jewish thought, and Hassidut. During our twice-weekly night seder, participants may choose from optional shiurim, or pursue independent learning projects in havruta. Faculty incorporate a broad range of approaches to the study of biblical, rabbinic, and philosophical texts, and ask participants to consider how these texts and ideas speak to them as they progress in their life-journeys.

“…while Torah learning was plentiful [in high school], I would say it was very narrow. It taught from one perspective… [learning at Drisha] was an intense inquiry into the subject matter and very much focused on the rigorous examination of text. This is different from other institutions in that teachers try hard to not apply their own biases to the text, but rather are exploring the actual words.” - June participant

 

Through community programming such as hikes, service outings, joint meals, social activities, Shabbatonim, as well as weekly sichot (informal talks) and guided prayer options, participants are invited into a holistic Drisha experience.

 

“[Drisha offers] the sense of striving to create a pluralistic Torah thought community, within which many approaches to Torah are validated and all members of a real community are present - men and women, thinkers and doers, people who respond to intellectual appeal vs. emotional appeal within religion, people who have never learned before and people who spend all day learning.” - June participant

 

Click to read about the 2013 faculty, curriculum, and expectations. 

 

Click here to download an application or email drishajune2013@gmail.com for the Word version. Applications submitted by April 30, 2013 will receive priority.
Students will receive a $1,000 stipend upon full completion of the program.

Check out Drisha's Parsha Blog for divrei Torah written by 2011 June Immersion students!

 

 

Winter Immersion Program - Sunday, December 23 - Wednesday, December 26, 2012    

Beginning Again: Re-invention and Creativity in the Face of Major Change.
How can a community respond to radical change? Throughout history, there have been times where the world has suddenly shifted and individuals and communities have struggled to reinvent them-selves and adapt to new circumstances. Whether the changes were wrought by national catastrophes or by radically new technologies, people have sought to maintain a connection to their past while re-constituting themselves in a dramatically different present.

Nineteen university students and young professionals came together to explore some of these junctures with texts that grapple with the destruction of the Temple and the end of Prophecy, the Crusades and their impact on Jewish life in Ashkenaz, the invention of the printing press and its implications for the culture of Torah study, and the nature of theology after the holocaust.

Day time classes took place together with our General Winter Week of Learning. The collegiate program was enhanced by Sunday and evening programming.

 

For information on our Collegiate programs geared exclusively for women, click here.

  

 

These programs are made possible, in part, by the funds granted by the Covenant Foundation.