Amy Newman, Buzz of the Beit Midrash, Dec. 2005
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Amy Newman is in the third year of the Drisha Scholars Circle. |
I enrolled in Drisha's full-time program soon after graduating
from college. After spending four years studying for exams and preparing assignments
in the silence and solitude of the university library, I was immediately taken
with the liveliness and camaraderie that characterize Drisha's Beit Midrash.
There is a distinctive buzz that emerges from the rows of tables filled with
women learning together; this vibrant hum was my first sign that, at Drisha,
Torah is truly alive. Our tradition has always been a dynamic one, maintained
for centuries by our grandfathers' engagement with the text. At Drisha, our
grandmothers, mothers and daughters enter that tradition. Drisha equips women
with the skills to engage in Torah independently and with each other.
When struggling through difficult texts with my havruta, I found great comfort
in the chorus of women's voices that surrounded me, each student combining
her unique talents with those of her study-partner to decipher the same challenging
sources. At the same time, the background hum of students in other full-time
and part-time classes of different subjects was a constant reminder of the
extraordinary breadth of Torah.
At Drisha, learning becomes a truly collaborative experience, shared by women
of different ages, nationalities and backgrounds. I felt very privileged to
add my voice to this chorus.
I was further impressed this summer as the Beit Midrash absorbed yet another
generation with the arrival of the participants in the Drisha Summer High
School Program. As their madricha, I was delighted to watch each of them create
a home for herself in the Beit Midrash just as I had ten months earlier. I
expect that my path will cross with theirs again. Some may become my havrutot
or, I hope, my teachers.
