Yeshivat Hadar Advanced Kollel

The Yeshivat Hadar Advanced Kollel is a four-year rabbinic training program that engages students in central areas of Talmud, Halakhah, and Jewish Thought, with significant additional investment in the areas of Tanakh, Midrash, and Parshanut.

The Advanced Kollel trains future Jewish leaders who are:

  • Learned in Jewish texts and tradition
  • Committed to teaching Torah with intellectual rigor and emotional depth
  • Dedicated to a covenantal vision of Judaism
  • Egalitarian in outlook and committed to the full citizenship of all adult Jews
  • Unafraid to engage in conversations about God, theology, and belief
  • Fluent in Hebrew and deeply invested in Israeli society and culture

Curriculum

The curriculum of the Yeshivat Hadar Advanced Kollel is comprised of three key areas: Talmud and Halakhah, Jewish Thought, Tanakh, Midrash, and Parshanut, and Leadership Training.

Talmud and Halakhah
The Talmud and Halakhah curriculum focuses on in-depth coverage of key areas of Jewish law and practice, reflecting aspects of a traditional rabbinic semikhah curriculum and of religious practice in the contemporary world. In addition to mastering content, students build the skills to access the full canon of halakhic literature. The curriculum emphasizes historical thinking—the identification of strata in the Talmudic text and the progression of ideas over subsequent centuries of halakhic literature—as well as attention to the underlying values driving halakhah as we think about its application to our contemporary lives. Students take written exams that match the standard and format of those administered by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

Jewish Thought
The Jewish Thought curriculum focuses on key aspects of rabbinic thought that are essential for contemporary religious leadership. Students study a curated set of core texts spanning the Jewish canon, beginning with the Bible, proceeding through ancient, medieval and modern rabbinic sources, supplemented by key contemporary thinkers.

Tanakh, Midrash, and Parshanut
The Tanakh, Midrash, and Parshanut curriculum focuses on developing fluency in and appreciation of these fields. Students take on guided, independent learning projects in this area, such as completing all of VaYikrah Rabbah or the Ramban’s commentary on the Torah. Throughout the year, afternoon time and full weeks of intensive study are set aside for topics in Tanakh, such as exploring the different approaches of medieval and modern biblical commentators, reading biblical poetry for accuracy and insight, and understanding megillot and other essential pieces of the liturgical year.

Leadership Training
Students in the Yeshivat Hadar Advanced Kollel will be the outstanding future leaders of the Jewish community. As such, leadership skills are fully integrated into their learning, with the following applications:

  • Weekly rabbinic seminar on critical leadership topics. These sessions engage both Hadar faculty and guest speakers on topics such as effective communal leadership and organizing, pastoral challenges and strategies, contemporary challenges in the Jewish community, and effective pedagogy.
  • Mentorship with Hadar faculty. Each student has regular one-on-one meetings with Hadar faculty members, with whom they cultivate close personal relationships. These meetings are devoted to developing a personal leadership vision, working on challenges, and sharing wisdom from years of experience in the field.
  • Apprentice Teaching at Hadar programs. Advanced Kollel students teach electives in a wide range of Hadar public programming, serving as role models and social and religious guides for the visiting participants.