Across Ages and Stages, 50 Students Get Tested For Smicha

Machon Smicha is an online smicha program offering students customizable schedules, an English study guide with introductions, translations, and in-depth summaries; as well as review material and mock tests. The topics covered are made relevant and practical, and smicha is completed in just under a year.

Last week, united in pursuing their dream to receive smicha, fifty Machon Smicha students sat down to be tested on Hilchos Basar B’chalav. They were tested by Rabbi Shneur Zalman Yersulavski of Elad, Israel, and by Rabbi Chaim Finkelstein, Rosh Yeshiva L’Rabbonus Pretoria, South Africa.

The students in Machon Smicha are diverse, from young professionals and students to veteran businessmen and professors. But their determination and willingness to learn draws them all in.

“I was excited to join Machon Smicha,” says Yossi Berrebi, 46, “and now that I successfully completed Basar B’chalav, I’m excited to keep going.” And Hadar Meir Hasis, 24, one of Machon Smcha’s most recent graduates, says, “learning in Machon Smicha empowered me to stay the course and finish smicha. It was an incredible journey.”

“We know that smicha is a dream for so many,” explains Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Kesselman, Machon Smicha Director. “But people often encounter two obstacles. The first is that it’s difficult to find the time to join a structured program that requires you to be somewhere, learning something, at a specific time each day. And the second is the difficulty many have in navigating the Shulchan Aruch and its commentaries. Our team has worked hard to create a program that solves both.”

Machon Smicha’s next semester begins on August 2, 2020, 12 Av, 5780. To learn more, or to apply, visit onlinemachon.com.