TOURO COLLEGE TO ARRANGE YESHIVA/SEMINARY VISITS FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS AS HIGHLIGHT OF OU’S FAMILY MISSION TO ISRAEL, JANUARY 20-28
In a partnership between the Orthodox Union and Touro College, the OU’s upcoming family mission to Israel — Sunday January 20-Sunday, January 27, 2008 – will include a component in which parents and their high school seniors can visit yeshivot and seminaries in Israel through convenient arrangements made by Touro.
The mission will take place during “yeshiva week,” in which many North American yeshivot are on their winter break. Bar and Bat Mitvah-age youngsters were specifically invited to go on the mission; now, there is an opportunity for 12th graders and their parents to take advantage of Touro’s offer to visit schools to help them make the decision where to go for their year in Israel following high school graduation.
The program is being coordinated by Touro’s two academically elite colleges that offer intensive Jewish Studies programs, Lander College for Men and the Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School — Lander College for Women, where graduates of many of these seminaries and yeshivot continue their Jewish education upon their return to the United States.
“Touro College is delighted to be working with the Orthodox Union in helping young men and women make the decision of where they want to study in Israel,” declared Rabbi Moshe Krupka, Senior Vice President for College Affairs at Touro, who previously spent a quarter century at the OU, most recently as National Executive Director.
According to Rabbi Krupka, Touro will make appointments for students and parents to visit the yeshivot and seminaries, accompany them, and provide whatever assistance possible, all without charge. “Deciding which school to attend in Israel is a major decision, and is not easily made, given the fact that there are so many excellent institutions for our post-high school students,” Rabbi Krupka explained. “Although guidance counselors can and do provide much useful information, a visit to the school or schools is always the best way to determine if the program, faculty, educational philosophy, facilities, and location are what the student and his or her parents want and how they want to spend the year in Israel.”
OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, who will be traveling on the mission and leading some of its sessions, declared: “Given the reputation for academic excellence of the Lander College for Men and the Lander College for Women, there is no question that the guidance the schools can provide to graduating seniors and their families will be extremely helpful. School visits in Israel arranged by Touro will be a highlight of the OU mission, and I am extremely pleased that our two institutions are working so closely to implement this idea.”
To make a reservation for the mission contact Allyson Gur-Aryeh at allysong@ou.org, 212-613-8124. For further information on the school tours contact: at the Lander College for Men, Rabbi Barry Nathan, bnathan@touro.edu, 718-820-4884; at the Lander College for Women, Sheena Levi, sheena.levi@touro.edu, 212-287-3505.