Stern College to Launch New Beit Midrash Program for Fall 2026
Stern College is set to launch a new Beit Midrash Program this Fall, marking a significant expansion of Jewish Studies classes on the Beren Campus. This initiative was announced via email on April 21 by Dean Rebecca Cypess, Interim Jewish Studies Chair Dr. Jill Katz, and Dean of Torah Studies and Spiritual Life Shoshana Schechter.
The program offers seven courses across Tanakh, Talmud and halacha, all structured with a chavruta and shiur model.
“The Beit Midrash Program expands on the example that has long been used in the four-credit Advanced Talmud class — for many years by Rabbi Moshe Kahn zt”l and, more recently, by Rabbi Duvie Nachbar,” Cypess told The Commentator. “Now, we are expanding the Beit Midrash-style offerings to include Tanakh and halacha, with courses at the Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, and Advanced levels.”
These three levels of difficulty allow students to find offerings that match their background in studying Jewish texts. Four-credit courses, which meet for longer than courses worth fewer credits, each satisfy two Jewish Studies requirements. Two- and three-credit courses satisfy one. It will be possible for students to learn every morning from 8:30 AM through 11:45 AM, thereby devoting their entire morning to Torah study.
Teachers may also require students to spend time preparing independently for class in the Beit Midrash. Cypess used the phrase “B’rov am hadrat melech: the King’s glory is found in multitudes” to describe “the kol Torah (voice of Torah) and the shared culture of Torah learning” that this will hopefully inculcate.
The diverse course offerings were purposeful, according to Cypess.
“We wanted to offer courses in [an] array of areas (Tanakh, Talmud and halacha) at a variety of levels,” she told The Commentator. “This decision was in recognition of the wide range of backgrounds of our students.”
“There may be some women at Stern who are very used to learning be-chavruta, while others may never have had the opportunity to try,” she said. “Some are interested in Talmud, others in Tanakh, and others in halacha.”
The Fall 2026 Beit Midrash course offerings include four four-credit options: “Minor Prophets: Haggai, Zechariah & Malachi” taught by Rachel Besser, “Shabbat” taught by Rabbi Azriel Fine, “Advanced Talmud: Masekhet Chullin” taught by Rabbi Nachbar, and “Positive Commandments of Shabbat” taught by Neti Penstein.
Three additional two- to three-credit courses will be offered: “Advanced Talmud: Masechet Avodah Zara” taught by Rabbi Kalman Laufer, “Themes in the Bible: Women,” taught by Professor Smadar Rosensweig and “Interpersonal Relationships” taught by Rabbi Daniel Feldman.
Launching this program “involved a great deal of planning and collaboration on the part of all department chairs and faculty at Stern College,” Cypess told The Commentator. At the request of the Dean’s office, other departments moved as many required courses as possible out of the first two periods of each day to free up morning slots for students to take the Beit Midrash courses.
In an email to students, Cypess, Schechter and Katz said “the configuration of classes should allow students to register for at least one four-credit class if they so desire.”
Cypess told the Commentator that scheduling conflicts have been a challenge and that the program is a work in progress.
“Change takes time and no small amount of trial and error; no one can get everything right on the first attempt. If challenges persist, we will do our best to solve them in future semesters,” she said.
Alongside the new Beit Midrash classes, Stern will welcome three of YU’s Roshei Yeshiva to teach on the Beren Campus this fall. Rabbi Mordechai Willig and Rabbi Meir Goldwicht, both of whom have taught at Stern in the past, will continue. Rabbi Willig will be teaching “Sabbath: The 39 Melachot” and Rabbi Goldwicht will teach “Living Torah: Text, Tradition, and Relevance” in Hebrew. Rabbi Feldman will join them on Stern’s campus for the first time to teach “Interpersonal Relationships.”
“The Jewish Studies faculty at Stern is incredible — brimming with expertise, passion, and enthusiasm, and fully devoted to women’s education,” Cypess told The Commentator. “The presence of three esteemed roshei yeshiva among the faculty at Stern enhances the wonderful environment of learning that we already have here, and it underscores the integral place that Stern College holds within the wider institution of Yeshiva University.”
The fall semester will also see an expansion of Hebrew-language offerings at Stern, with three Jewish Studies courses taught entirely in Hebrew. This includes “Topics in Bible, Topics in Jewish Thought,” and “Topics in Hebrew Literature,” taught by Rosensweig and Hilla Goldwicht, respectively.
Eliora Gissinger (SCW ‘28) expressed optimism about the program’s potential to ease scheduling conflicts.
“The Judaics courses that I have been interested in have often overlapped in timing with my science classes,” she told The Commentator. “I am hopeful that this new program will prevent that from happening in the future, enabling me to take both the science and Judaics classes that interest me.”
Sarah Schafer (SCW ‘28) shared her excitement about a different aspect of the program, highlighting its impact on the classroom experience. “I've taken both Rabbi Laufer’s Advanced Talmud class and Mrs. Besser’s Minor Prophets class when they were taught as normal classes, without the new format,” she said. “Now that they have been added to the Beit Midrash Program, I look forward to witnessing how this expansion and remodeling, particularly the addition of chavruta time, will shape the class.”
Photo Caption: Yeshiva University
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University
