Prepare yourself for the Spiritual Renewal of the High Holidays with Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin’s 5-week Elul Session:

“Rise To Your Higher Self”  

• Gain insights into the special Torah readings during Tishrei as Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Siegelbaum reveals the significance of the Torah reading of Rosh Hashana and inner dimensions of Sefer Yonah!
• Bond with like-minded women integrating Torah, Nature & Creativity!
• Learn how Chana prayed and why prayer is based on a feminine personality as you delve deeply into Sefer Shmuel!
• Develop a deeper connection to the tefilah of the High Holidays when you explore Spiritual Insights on the Machzor!

Elul is the time to really immerse yourself in Torah, so we have intensified our program with additional classes in two levels. Our Elul program offers the best of Bat Ayin Rabbis, scholars and female role models and features a well-rounded exposure to Torah texts from Tanach, classical Jewish thought and various kinds of Chassidut including the teachings of Chabad, Rebbe Nachman, and Rav Kook. 

The Elul learning seder includes multiple special mini-programs in the spirit of the High holidays such as visiting Kever Shmuel, and the Me’arat HaMachpelah in Chevron, where you can daven in the place where our matriarchs and patriarchs are buried.  We’ll pick figs on our herbal walk to the wellsprings of Bat Ayin and celebrate our Annual Grape Festival where you’ll traverse the hills of Bat Ayin gathering grapes and learning about the significance of grapes & wine. 

* Online zoom classes – ONLY $160 for 5 weeks 

* Our program is 5 weeks long but you are welcome to join us for any length of time.

* Save with our Early Bird registration! Use code FBBA20 for 20% off – only until August 14th!

* All classes are recorded for your convenience.

* $50 discount when you refer a friend. Good anytime. Contact info@berotbatayin.org for details.

* For information/registration for the full-time campus resident program: info@berotbatayin.org

Where: Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin’s growing campus or live on Zoom classes from around the world with our brilliant teachers, plus recordings of every class to keep, review, and listen to again and again.

When: Sunday through Thursday

Supplies needed: A passion to learn, connect, and grow!

 Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Siegelbaum, Director 

Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Siegelbaum, a native of Denmark, is founder and director of Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin: Holistic Torah for Women on the Land. She holds a Bachelor of Education in Bible and Jewish Philosophy from Michlala Jerusalem College for Women, and a Master’s of Art in Jewish History from Touro College. Rebbetzin Chana Bracha creates curricula emphasizing women’s spiritual empowerment through traditional Torah values. She has published the following books: Women at the Crossroads: A Woman’s Perspective on the Weekly Torah Portion; Ruth: Gleaning the Fallen Sparks; The Seven Fruits of the Land of Israel with their Mystical & Medicinal Properties; Parasha Meditations for Spiritual Renewal and Strengthening Communication with the Creator and My Memoir: The Story of a Danish Jew who Fled the Nazis. Rebbetzin practices EmunaHealing as a gifted spiritual healer through Emunah, tefilah and energy work. Chana Bracha has a married son and several granddaughters, and lives with her husband and younger son on the land of the Judean hills, Israel. 

The Rosh Hashana Torah Reading
Why was the story of Sarah’s infertility and subsequent pregnancy and birth selected as the Torah reading for the first day of Rosh Hashana? How do we learn from Sarah to juggle the roles of wife and spiritual seeker? How does Rashi learn out from the text that Avraham was inferior to Sarah in prophecy? How come the theme of ‘laughter’ is the red thread in the Torah reading of such serious day? Through in-depth textual analysis (Iyun) of Rashi, Midrash, chassidic and kabbalistic commentaries, students will receive tools for gaining a clearer and deeper understanding of Chumash (The five books of Moses). We will also discuss moral and religious issues involving the characters, the relationship between them and the dilemmas they face in the light of the High Holidays themes.

Yonah – The Fleeing Prophet
How can any sane person imagine that it is possible to escape G-d? Moreover, how can a person who rebels against G-d receive prophecy? The enigmatic book of Yonah expresses the tension between the prophet and Hashem. Teshuvah is the red thread of the Book of Yonah. Like Yonah we too sometimes run from the truth of our power and purpose. Only through the darkness, deep prayer and self-reflection – of his soul journey – does Yonah return to embrace his path, inspiring us to return to ourselves with our deepest prayers, to fulfill our purpose on earth.
Through textual study, creative writing, art and drama, we may be able to relate our own spiritual struggles to Yonah’s story and find ourselves reflected in his personality. A comprehensive source sheet in Hebrew/English accompanies the textual study of each of the classes integrating, Bible texts, Midrash, and Kabbalah.

Herbal Workshop, Torah & Healing
The Herbal Workshop integrates vast information of the ancient wisdom of our Torah about plants, herbology, nutrition and health with traditional folk medicine and medical research. The course delves into textual Torah sources on herbs and healing, as well as general knowledge of the use of herbs. For the Elul program, we will focus on the seven holy fruits of the Land of Israel with their mystical and medicinal properties, as this is the time of their ripening. A comprehensive source sheet in Hebrew/English accompanies the textual study of each of the classes integrating, Bible texts, Midrash, chassidism kabbalah, folk medicine and medical research.

Netivot Shalom on the Parasha
Rav Shalom Noach Berezovsky, the Slonimer Rebbe, expresses a rare combination of gifts in his master piece the Netivot Shalom. Blending the warmth of the Chassidic approach with the sharp clarity of the Lithuanian yeshiva, the Slonimer Rebbe responds to relevant issues that pertain directly dilemmas we struggle with today. His inspiring teachings foster ethical and spiritual growth to those who aspire to get closer to Hashem, as Rav Berezovsky addresses issues such as  spiritual estrangement, wrestling with base desires and temptations, and serial failure. For each challenge of modern life, the Rebbe offers both prescriptions and encouragement.  In this class students will practice reading and translating the relatively easy Chassidic text, as well as discussing its concepts and how to apply them in life.

Basic Jewish Concepts
This class is for beginners and those who have focused on inner dimensions of the Torah and want to fill the gaps in their basic Torah knowledge. In Basic Jewish Concepts we will systematically cover the foundation of the Torah, including Torah Hebrew terminology, reviewing the Tanach, The Written Torah (Bible); the development and structure of Torah She’Ba’al Peh – (Oral Law); Emunah (Jewish Faith); major Torah personalities who contributed to biblical, medieval and modern History; summarizing the Jewish holidays and more. Whereas Basic Jewish Concepts is not exclusively for conversion students, the topics have been gleaned from the Rabbis’ questions at the final Beit Din for conversion. The class is interactive, each week students are given an assignment to present to the class.

Rabbi Mechael Siegelbaum, MD, Rabbi of B’erot
Rabbi Dr. Siegelbaum holds a BA in Philosophy and Psychology from Yale University, and an MD from Rutgers Medical School, New Jersey. Rabbi Mechael received his rabbinical ordination from Toras Zekeinim, Jerusalem in 1987.  In addition to teaching halacha in B’erot Bat Ayin, Rabbi Siegelbaum learns Torah part time, is active in the Bat Ayin central synagogue, where he serves as the Gabbi and practices medicine in Bat Ayin and various other clinics.

 Halacha
Rav Siegelbaum will discuss the halacha pertinent to the High Holidays. In addition, to learning the “how” of the mitzvot, the student will come to appreciate the process of the development and transmission of halacha from the written and oral Torah. 

Morah Tsipi Egert  
Tsipi Egert grew up in Israel where she attended high school. She received her B.A. in Jewish History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Tsipi has been teaching Nevi’im (The Prophets) at Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin since 1998 and has a Master’s in Education in Tanach from H*erzog College. She is currently obtaining a MA at Hebrew University towards a PhD in Tanach. Tsipi lives with her family in Efrat, Gush Etzion.

  The Haftorah (The Weekly Prophet Reading)
Our Shabbat and holiday readings from the Tora are accompanied by parallel readings taken from the books of the Prophets. Each reading acts as a commentary or an expansion of an idea from the Torah reading, or one connected to the holiday at hand. In this course we will take an intimate look at selected readings from the prophets chosen by our sages to illuminate the weekly Torah reading (Parashat Hashavua). We will study the special Haftarot of this time period in order to delve into the significance of the time flow of Elul and the Tishrei holidays and gain a deeper understanding of their significance to our lives.

Rabbi Avraham Iskowitz   
Rabbi Izkowitz spent the first 16 years of his life on American army bases in Europe and the United States while attending litvish yeshivot, after which he made aliyah with his family to Jerusalem. After high school, he pursued his hobbies as a rock keyboardist and songwriter, creative writer, and BMX biker, while tutoring at Yeshivat Ohr Sameach and working in the optometry industry. His hobbies led him to Manhattan where he almost signed a record contract with Atlantic Records, but Hashem had other plans for him. Avraham returned to Jerusalem, worked as a landscape artist whilst studying psychology and anthropology at the Hebrew University. At the age of 27, he ‘retired’ to study full time at the Bat Ayin Yeshiva for seven years. Avraham, his wife and 5 children live in Bat Ayin, where he teaches, practices safrut and therapy.

Chumash: The Akeidah – The Near Sacrifice of Yitzchak
Our forefather, Avraham, withstood many challenges. By doing so, he passed down the secrets of integrity through his DNA for all future generations.
Let’s tap into the rich legacy that he left for us as we prepare to enter the new year with meaningful sacrifices and determination to become whom we were created to be.

Morah Devorah Konikov

Devorah is a mother and grandmother, raising growing family in Bat Ayin for 21 years. She is striving and thriving with life skills ingrained from learning chassidut. Devorah is a long-time student of Rav Yitzchak Ginsburgh shlita.

The Secret of Love and Positive Transformation
The Secret of Love and Positive Transformation
The month of Elul offers the promise of new beginnings and fresh hope for putting positive transformation into motion. This is the time to overcome feeling stuck in our ways and despair of making real changes. Rabbi Ginsburgh teaches very enlightening insights for replacing these pessimistic attitudes which hold us back from actualizing our true potential and living our lives to the fullest, with the depth of a spiritual reality that awaits our acknowledgment. We will learn and explore these teachings together in the month of Elul – the month of positive transformation.

Morah Yedida Miriam Levy 

Yedida Miriam grew up in UK and made aliyah early on. With a passion for education, and a background in theatre, she spent ten years teaching in Jerusalem, before returning to Bat Ayin in 2018. Her passion is ‘tutoring’, teaching the Holy texts, and Hebrew ~ making it accessible to students.

Creative Expression
This class will focus on bringing Torah texts to life through various forms of artistic expression. In a warm classroom setting, we’ll use Torah texts to connect deeply from inside-out, expressing our insights through the lens of our personal journey. We will explore techniques such as, brainstorming, meditation, memory scanning and opening the heart to develop our creative, spiritual and perceptual abilities.  We will also place a special focus on celebrating and bringing out each student’s own style and unique way of seeing the world!
Each class combines a segment of theory, practice and analysis of our works in a warm, encouraging and noncompetitive atmosphere.

Understanding the High Holiday Prayers
Join Morah Yedida Miriam in discovering the basic meaning of the Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur services. Through this course you’ll gain a greater understanding of the structure of the High Holiday prayers how the spiritual dimensions and technical requirements apply to each section of the high holy day prayer services, preparing yourself to be able to find your way in the siddur and follow the Synagogue Shabbat services! The class will spend a significant amount of time on the Amidah (Silent Prayer) which makes up the bulk of the High Holiday Services – and learn some unique things about prayer customs during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

Morah Avital Gastwirth

Avital Gastwirth teaches at Ulpanat Orly and is a certified kallah teacher. She studied in Nishmat’s Yoetzet Halacha course and Machon Puah’s Yoetzet Refua V’halacha (halachic medical counselor) course. In addition to her degree in Tanach, Israel studies, and education from Michlelet Herzog, Morah Avital brings a wealth of fascinating experiences to our midrasha as a previous editor of Mizrachi Magazine, coordinator of various educational programs, and as a talented artist. She lives in Alon Shvut with her husband and children.

Parashat HaShavua
Delve into the depth of the weekly Torah portion integrating textual and inner dimensions of the Torah with practical takeaways for bettering ourselves. In this class you will receive a broad perspective on how the parsha pertains to our lives today.

Morah Kochava Rozenbaum

Kochava is the current Dorm Mother of Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin and lives on campus with her husband and three children. She especially enjoys teaching and one-on-one tutoring at the midrasha, going on special tiyulim and creating a lively and warm atmosphere on campus. Aside from her role as Dorm Mother she is a creative content writer and ceramics arts teacher.

Guard Your Tongue (Shmirat Halashon)
We review the laws concerning speech and other aspects of communication stipulated from sources including, but not limited to, text from The Chofetz Chaim’s sefer titled ‘Shmirat Halashon’ and have open dialog concerning specific aspects that pertain to our daily lives. We must study the laws in depth and come to an understanding on how to practice them in contemporary times. In doing so, we hope to come to perfect our speech and our action in order to live in unity and harmony with others and ourselves.

Morah Miriam Raphael

Miriam grew up in Israel and has been involved in Jewish education for 20 years. She lives in Bat Ayin Bet with her husband and four children.

Interpersonal Relationships in the Torah
In this study group we will focus on sources from the Torah, midrash and chazal about interpersonal relationships. Each class will present texts on a different type of relationship within the family, between man and a woman, children and parents, between siblings and within the greater society. We will discuss how to build our personality from what we learn and how the Torah stories inspires a higher level of ethics and morality in our interpersonal relationships.