HUC-JIR's Summer Beit Midrash 2024

What does a well-spent summer look like? For the past nine years, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion’s (HUC-JIR) Summer Beit Midrash program has enabled rabbinical students to dive further into study during the summer months. Bringing participants together in Los Angeles, the program offers students a unique opportunity to engage in in-depth study of classical Jewish texts, both with fellow participants and with instructors. It has become a cornerstone of HUC-JIR’s expansive commitment to creative and intellectually open Jewish text study.

Over the course of eight weeks, from Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., students participated in two shiurim and three hours of hevruta. Mornings were dedicated to the Joseph Cycle, exploring the rich narratives and complex themes within these biblical texts. Afternoons focused on Talmud study, providing students with a deep dive into Jewish law and ethics. This structure gave students a strong foundation from which they could test new ideas and relevancies, as well as explore the depth of possible meanings.

Rabbinical School Director, Rabbi Dvora Weisberg, Ph.D. remarks, “The Summer Beit Midrash represents the most compelling features of an HUC education: deep engagement with Jewish tradition and an openness to questioning and reinterpreting that tradition. When I pass by the Beit Midrash and hear students arguing about the meaning of a text, I feel energized and excited about the future of the Jewish people.”

The program and the attitude of the students in HUC-JIR’s Summer Beit Midrash program exemplify lishmah, learning for learning’s sake.

“The Summer Beit Midrash program was one of the most positive and valuable summer experiences I have had during my time as an HUC student. For me, the Beit Midrash was an opportunity to be close. For eight weeks I was able to be close to the text, close to my classmates and teachers, close to ancient languages and ways of thought, close to the source of our tradition. I was engaged with the words and matters of Torah. It was a great privilege and an immensely joyful experience for which I have much gratitude.”
— Jeffrey Silverstein (5th year student)

Faculty members also enjoy the unique flavor of teaching during the Summer Beit Midrash. The dynamic exchange with highly motivated students enriches their own teaching experiences at a different pace than the rest of the academic year.

Beit Midrash instructor Rabbi Neal Scheindlin notes that, “Teaching in the Beit Midrash offers the pleasure of seeing students engage in text study purely for its own sake. This summer’s group engaged the Talmud in depth: they worked hard to untangle the language and logic, while asking fertile questions about the underlying ideas. It’s always a thrill to get a chance to participate in this program.”

The program’s impact extends beyond the summer. Alumni are often able to apply their learning directly in their rabbinates, using the insights and methods gained to inspire and educate their communities. They are also able to model the value of serious discussion and debate.

Also critical to professional development, the program encourages the cultivation of a professional support network. This community-building aspect can be invaluable, as it provides students with an anchor of peers with whom they will continue to share learning experiences as they face new challenges in their careers.

The success of the Summer Beit Midrash is made possible by the generous support of the Hellman Foundation and Dr. Patricia Gibbs. Looking ahead, HUC-JIR hopes to secure an endowment for the Summer Beit Midrash, ensuring its longevity and enabling further expansion, including increasing student participation and offering travel stipends for out-of-town students.

The Summer Beit Midrash embodies HUC-JIR’s mission to educate innovative and visionary Jewish leaders. It is an example of how dynamic leadership, dedicated faculty, driven students, and thoughtful donors can create something both traditional and familiar as well as new and suited for the 21st-century Jewish community. Ultimately, it means we can meet students where they are while creatively helping them get where they want and need to go.

“Of all the projects that I have been involved in at HUC-JIR, the Summer Beit Midrash is the one of which I am most proud. The success of this program is a testament to our students’ love of Torah in its broadest sense and the commitment of our administration, faculty, and supporters to a learned rabbinate.”
— Rabbi Dvora Weisberg, Ph.D.