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<article class="mainContent" id="mainContent"> <nav> <div class="well sidebar-nav"> <ul class="nav nav-list toc" id="toc"> <li class="nav-header">Who We Are <li data-level="3" class="tocItem">על התורה ועל העבודה<ol> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">Advisory Board</li> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">אתרי תורה Chairpersons</li> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">Letters of Endorsement</li> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">Founders</li> </ol> <li class="divider"> <li data-level="3" class="tocItem">ועל העבודה ועל גמילות חסדים<ol> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">Guardians</li> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">Partners</li> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">Benefactors</li> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">Patrons</li> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">Sponsors</li> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">Supporters</li> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">Contributors</li> <li data-level="4" class="tocItem">In-Kind</li> </ol> </ul> </div> </nav> <span class="toc-handle">Topic Menu</span> <div class="twocol"> <h1 style="color:#832525; font-size: 1.6em"><span id="On_Torah,_Service,_and_Philanthropy_–_עַל_הַתּוֹרָה_וְעַל_הָעֲבוֹדָה_וְעַל_גְּמִילוּת_חֲסָדִים"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="On_Torah.2C_Service.2C_and_Philanthropy_.E2.80.93_.D7.A2.D6.B7.D7.9C_.D7.94.D6.B7.D7.AA.D6.BC.D7.95.D6.B9.D7.A8.D6.B8.D7.94_.D7.95.D6.B0.D7.A2.D6.B7.D7.9C_.D7.94.D6.B8.D7.A2.D6.B2.D7.91.D7.95.D6.B9.D7.93.D6.B8.D7.94_.D7.95.D6.B0.D7.A2.D6.B7.D7.9C_.D7.92.D6.B0.D6.BC.D7.9E.D6.B4.D7.99.D7.9C.D7.95.D6.BC.D7.AA_.D7.97.D6.B2.D7.A1.D6.B8.D7.93.D6.B4.D7.99.D7.9D">On Torah, Service, and Philanthropy – עַל הַתּוֹרָה וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים</span></h1> <section id=AlHaAvodah> <h3 id="AdvisoryBoard"><span class="mw-headline" id="Advisory_Board">Advisory Board</span></h3> <ul class="twoColumn"> <li><span class="link" title="Master Educator and Founder of the Barkai Educational System">Rabbi Dan Beeri</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Dean, Bernard Revel Graduate School, Yeshiva University, Chair of Yeshiva College's Jewish Studies Department">Professor David Berger</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Founder and Rabbinical Dean, Eretz Hemdah Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, Av Beit Din, Eretz Hemdah – Gazit">Rabbi Yosef Carmel</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Associate Dean and Professor of Bible, Bernard Revel Graduate School, Yeshiva University">Professor Mordechai Cohen</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Founder and President of Michlalah Jerusalem College, author and editor of numerous works of Biblical Exegesis">Rabbi Yehuda Copperman ז"ל</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Professor of Talmud, Hebrew University">Professor Simcha Emanuel</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Israel Prize Laureate, noted author, Professor Emeritus at Hebrew University">Professor Avraham Grossman</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Professor of Tanakh, Bar Ilan University">Professor Yonatan Grossman</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Professor Emeritus of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University">Professor Zev Harvey</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="President of Academic College of Education at Givat Washington, formerly Rector of Machon Lander">Professor Carmi Horowitz</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Prominent Jewish educator, the pioneering force behind Torah education on the Web">Rabbi Menachem Leibtag</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Founder and Dean of the Joan and Shael Bellows Joint Graduate Program in Bible and Biblical Interpretation at Matan">Dr. Bryna Levy</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun and Principal of the Ramaz School">Rabbi Haskel Lookstein</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Professor Emeritus of Tanakh, Haifa University">Professor Yeshayahu Maori</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Founder and Dean of Reishit Yerushalayim / Genesis, Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Staten Island">Rabbi Jay Marcus</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Rosh Yeshivat 'Har Etzion' and noted author of several books on Tanakh">Rabbi Yaacov Medan</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Distinguished communal leader and pillar of countless Jewish organizations">Mr. Kurt Rothschild</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Distinguished Rabbi and educator, founder and longtime Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivat Sha'alvim">Rabbi Meir Schlessinger</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Rosh Yeshivah, Yeshivat Hesder Meir Harel, Modiin">Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Head of Midreshet Modiin, Tanakh Department at Mikhlelet Talpiyot and Machon Mofet">Dr. Malkah Shenvald</span></li> <li>Professor Uriel Simon</li> <li><span class="link" title="Professor of Semitics, Bernard Revel Graduate School, Yeshiva University">Professor Richard Steiner</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Founder and President of Gesher, Chairperson of Keren Kehilot">Rabbi Daniel Tropper</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Ohav Shalom">Rabbi Jeremiah Wohlberg</span></li> <li><span class="link" title="Educator, software designer, and developer of TextStudio">Rabbi Nissan Zisken</span></li> </ul>

<h3 id="Chairpersons"><span id="אתרי_תורה_–_Chairpersons"></span><span class="mw-headline" id=".D7.90.D7.AA.D7.A8.D7.99_.D7.AA.D7.95.D7.A8.D7.94_.E2.80.93_Chairpersons"><span lang="he">אתרי תורה</span> – Chairpersons</span></h3> <ul> <li>Michael Hochstein</li> <li>Jonathan Koschitzky</li> </ul>

<h3 id="LettersofEndorsement"><span class="mw-headline" id="Letters_of_Endorsement">Letters of Endorsement</span></h3> <ul class="twoColumn"> <li>Rabbi Shimon Altshul</li> <li>Professor Robert Aumann</li> <li>Rabbi Jay Goldmintz</li> <li>Dr. Henry "Ronnie" Hasson</li> <li>Rabbi Jeffrey Kobrin</li> <li>Rabbi Binyamin Krauss</li>

       <li>Ms. Miriam Krupka</li>

<li>Rabbi Abraham Lieberman</li> <li>Rabbi Leonard Matanky</li> <li>Rabbi David Saltzman</li> <li>Professor Uriel Simon</li> </ul>

<h3 id="Founders"><span class="mw-headline" id="Founders">Founders</span></h3> <ul> <li><b>ALHATORAH.ORG</b> was founded by Rabbi Hillel & Neima Novetsky and their children, Yonatan, Aviva, Ariella, and Yehuda. The content of the website is the product of an ongoing, worldwide, collaborative effort.</li> <li>The site's original design and interface is the work of Yonatan Novetsky. Subsequent development including the Wiki content management system and visual editor is the work of Eliezer Handel.</li> <li>To learn more about participating in this project, please contact us.</li> </ul> <br/>

</section> <section id=AlGemilutChasadim> <h3 id="Guardians"><span class="mw-headline" id="Guardians">Guardians</span></h3> <ul> <li>In Memory of Miriam & Bernard Hochstein ז"ל</li> <li>The Koschitzky & Gitler Families</li> </ul>

<h3 id="Partners"><span class="mw-headline" id="Partners">Partners</span></h3> <ul> <li>Warren & Jane Weiss & The Applebaum Foundation</li> </ul>

<h3 id="Benefactors"><span class="mw-headline" id="Benefactors">Benefactors</span></h3> <ul> <li>Daniel & Deborah Schwartz</li> </ul>

<h3 id="Patrons"><span class="mw-headline" id="Patrons">Patrons</span></h3> <ul> <li>Dr. Abraham & Channy Greenberg</li> <li>Michael & Judy Kaiser</li> <li>Jacob & Edy Kupietzky</li> <li>Drs. Allan & Chaikie Novetsky</li> <li>Rabbi Hillel & Neima Novetsky</li> <li>David & Ruth Schreiber</li> </ul>

<h3 id="Sponsors"><span class="mw-headline" id="Sponsors">Sponsors</span></h3> <ul> <li>Debra Applebaum</li> <li>In honor of "Oma" Els Bendheim עמו"ש and in loving memory of "Opa" Charles H. Bendheim ז"ל</li> <li>Fred & Suzan Ehrman</li> <li>Rabbi Jonah & Fran Kupietzky</li> <li>Moshe & Arlene Kupietzky</li> </ul>

<h3 id="Supporters"><span class="mw-headline" id="Supporters">Supporters</span></h3> <ul> <li>David & Joyce Friedman</li> <li>Jeff & Carolyn Kupietzky</li> </ul>

<h3 id="Contributors"><span class="mw-headline" id="Contributors">Contributors</span></h3> <ul> <li>Seth & Ruth Berkowitz</li> <li>Barry Best</li> <li>Andrew Borodach & Rachel Wolf</li> <li>David & Karen Lehmann Eisner</li> <li>Harold & Dora Engelstein Foundation</li> <li>Eugen & Jean Gluck</li> <li>Rabbi Robert & Virginia Bayer Hirt</li> <li>Martin & Irene Kofman</li> <li>Miriam Krupka</li> <li>Steve Kay Kupietzky</li> <li>Rashi & Dr. Adina Kuhr</li> <li>Drs. Ari & Shoshana Mermelstein</li> <li>Dr. Howard & Stacey Nathanson</li> <li>Terry & Gail Novetsky</li> <li>Arthur & Dorothy Ritholtz</li> <li>Kurt & Edith Rothschild</li> <li>Jack & Martine Schenker</li> <li>Gideon & Shara Schor</li> <li>Raphi & Yonit Schorr</li> <li>Shaykin Family Foundation</li> <li>Ronald & Adele Tauber</li> <li>David & Ina Tropper</li> <li>Dr. Walter & Adele Wasser</li> <li>Meir Weingarten</li> <li>Jay & Debra Zachter</li> </ul>

<h3 id="In-Kind"><span class="mw-headline" id="Contributions_in_Kind">Contributions in Kind</span></h3> <ul> <li>Meitar Law Firm (special thanks to attorneys David Glatt, David Mirchin, and Anthony Herman)</li> <li>Mosad HaRav Kook (special thanks to Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Movshovitz)</li> </ul> <p style="text-align:center">For information on how to contribute, please click here.</p> </section> </div> </article>

Rabbi Shimon Altshul, Director of the Jesselson Institute for Advanced Torah Studies at Bar Ilan University

י' מרחשוון, תשע"ב

Dear Rav Hillel,

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing you again and being introduced to AlHaTorah.org. While a bit daunting at first, the site impressed me as being a product of unusual erudition, pedagogical skill, and painstaking effort. You have clearly invested your formidable learning and teaching experience in this creative venture, which has the potential to serve as a significant resource for teachers and students alike, and, in time, could revolutionize the teaching – and learning – of Limudei Kodesh.

While I am no longer on the “front lines” of day school education, I would be happy to advise you if you feel I can be of help. Incidentally, while we did not discuss it, a Hebrew version for Israelis is certainly a desideratum.

B'hatzlacha

Shimon

Rav Shimon Altshul

Director

The Ludwig and Erica Jesselson Institute

for Advanced Torah Studies (RA)

Bar Ilan University

Ramat Gan 52900

Professor Robert Aumann, Nobel Prize Laureate (2005),
Center for the Study of Rationality at Hebrew University

Rabbi Jay Goldmintz
Ma`ayanot Yeshiva High School

December 27, 2017 / 9 Tevet 5778

Dear AlHaTorah.org,

Some of us have been waiting years for technology to catch up to teaching. By this I mean that databases are certainly a valuable tool, but Tanakh teaching is all about interacting with the text itself, exploring it, analyzing it and doing the same with its commentaries. AlHaTorah is one of the few online resources I have encountered to aspire to do that in a meaningful and educational way.

The ever-growing list of resources on the AlHaTorah websites, from the concordance and dictionary to the analytical tools to the expanding work on commentaries, are all invaluable aids for teachers to use for their own preparation as well as enabling students to become more independent learners. Some of the information, such as the description of the commentaries and their methodologies are simply not available elsewhere in a form that is easily accessible to high school students. The concordance is a book that students have heard about but seldom been able to use on their own, and certainly few of us have ever had a class set that all students could look at simultaneously. The parshah topics that are explored and carefully summarized are masterful collections that students can learn on their own if necessary, making just the right combination of a helpful crutch combined with an impetus to learn the texts in their original. The Mikraot Gedolot text preserves some of the authentic and aesthetic feel of the printed page together with the flexibility of contemporary hypertext, allowing students to feel at home in both worlds. Using art as a form of parshanut has always been an interest of mine, and I think it is not only a valuable teaching tool in its own right but can also speak to the particular learning style of a specific group of students whose needs have not always been addressed coherently.

I can tell you that today alone in my classes at Ma`ayanot, I experienced the following: a student asked me the meaning of a difficult word in a pasuk we were learning, and rather than give her the answer I directed her to the dictionary where on her own she discovered the root, the possible meanings and was able to decipher the nuances of the verse herself. Another student loved her first real encounter with art as parshanut that we did in class, and I was able to direct her to the treasure trove on the site for her to explore on her own. In another case, I was able to find and present a particular commentary that is not easily found elsewhere in books or in other databases. I cannot say that these are all daily occurrences, but neither can I say that I would have had as rich a day without access to the website.

In short, this venture has wonderful potential for helping give a contemporary feel to learning Torah for a generation of teachers and students who are as fluent and fluid with technology as they are with texts. The educational community and the community of learners look forward to your continuing contribution to Tanakh study – להגדיל תורה ולהאדירה.

With best wishes,

Rabbi Jay Goldmintz Ed.D

Rabbi Dr. Henry Hasson

July 12, 2019 / 9 Tammuz 5779

Dear Rav Hillel Novetsky,

I am sending you a note with Hakarat Hatov to thank you and your family and everyone that works on AlHaTorah. When I first saw it, I wondered if it was just yet another website with a digital version of Torah. However, once I started taking advantage of the amazing tools and resources, it became clear that this is a unique and much needed site. I have been using your site for several years now and it is an incredible learning and teaching tool. I am especially grateful for the incredible new tools you keep adding in the Mikraot Gedolot and the advanced concordance and search functions.

I have given many classes based on your source sheets and commentary sheets with an amazing list of references / sources. Showing students your commentator timeline and even using the Shas Gadol to easily explain a section of Gemara is invaluable.

Checking the study topics every week before Shabbat has really enhanced my thinking about the Parashah far beyond what any weekly Devar Torah or Parashah sheet can do. My kids now all now that before asking me for help with their school assignments they should first ask AlHaTorah!

Thank you for providing this incredible and unique resource,

Ronnie

Rabbi Jeffrey Kobrin, Principal,
North Shore Hebrew Academy Middle School

November 29, 2011 / 3 Kislev 5772

To Whom It May Concern:

I was extremely excited recently to have the chance to preview a new web resource, AlHaTorah.org. In a world which is, Baruch Hashem, rapidly becoming inundated with Torah internet resources of varying degrees of accessibility, it was a true pleasure to find a site that brings together so many aspects of limud Torah and technology in an utterly unique way.

As a school principal, I am constantly on the lookout for resources to share with teachers seeking to prepare lessons; for parents looking to understand what their children are learning; and for students preparing Divrei Torah.   AlHaTorah.org provides a go-to source for all three.

Even those who are able to utilize the classic sources in the original will benefit from this site, as it brings together a range of perspectives and sources that would take a stack of books and sources to otherwise collect. I am particularly intrigued by the social media potential in the site, which would foster dialogue on topics of Torah between students of all ages and backgrounds.

I see AlHaTorah.org as a resource with remarkable potential for myself as a student of Tanakh, for the teachers under my supervision, and for the parents and students in our school community. I am excited to watch the site and its influence grow in the months and years to come.

Rabbi Jeffrey Kobrin

Principal

North Shore Hebrew Academy Middle School

Great Neck, New York

Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, Principal, SAR Academy

כ"ז תשרי, תשע"ב

Dear Rabbi Novetsky,

Thank you for taking the time to show me the prototype for the Torah Website project you are working on. As a growing learner, a teacher, and an administrator at a Jewish day school, I must tell you that I was enthralled by the potential of this project, and my only disappointment was learning that I can’t start using it, and recommending it to others, tomorrow. By the nature of the relatively small market for Jewish studies, finding substantive, broad, and sophisticated resources for Torah learning and teaching is a big challenge. While our secular teachers have been able to bring the collective knowledge of great experts into their classrooms and lesson preparation, Limudei Kodesh teachers are much more limited. I have no doubt that if the breadth that you brought to Shemot Perek 18 would be available for the entire Torah, it would have an immediate impact on the kind of learning that could take place in our classrooms.

The structure that you developed in your prototype is comprehensive, but organized in a way that is not overwhelming. The availability of accessing primary sources allows for serious learning and inquiry for independent learners, as well as teachers for use in classrooms at all levels. The modern scholarship and references to the arts will allow students with multiple talents, interests, and passions, to find their path to relating to our text. The web 2.0 tools embedded into the site will allow for conversations to take place that could potentially create an interactive global beit midrash that, as far as I am aware, does not yet exist.

If such a resource were to exist, we would certainly be prepared to pay an annual subscription fee to make it available to our staff.

If there is anything I can do to help you bring this project to fruition, please let me know. This is something that is worthy of real investment (and something that, in my opinion, should eventually be able to sustain itself). Of course, if you visit the US, I would be happy to have you present to our staff, so that their input can help you further develop this.

Rabbi Binyamin Krauss

Principal

SAR Academy

655 West 254th Street

Riverdale, NY 10471

Ms. Miriam Krupka, Tanakh Department Chair, Ramaz Upper School

ט"ו אדר ב' תשע"ד

March 17, 2014

Dear Rabbi Novetsky,

As a department chair at the Ramaz Upper School, I am consistently on the lookout for materials that can contribute to curriculum organization and expansion. The clarity, structure and comprehensiveness of alhatorah.org is a teacher's dream. I have directed many new, as well as veteran, teachers to the site for its helpfulness in its step-by-step unpacking and analysis of a topic. With the overwhelming amount of content that is available for the teaching of any given piece of text, as well as the lack of a standardized "textbook" such that is available for secular studies, we have benefited enormously from the site's honing in on the few central axes upon which a course can be built and guiding its readers/teachers/students down the often complex road of commentators and analysis. I have used the site to prepare new courses as well as define, clarify and develop previous courses.

In addition, over the past few years, interdisciplinary learning has become an integral component of the Jewish Studies' curriculum at the Ramaz Upper School. Involved coordination with the Art, History and English departments has become a central part of the method in which we encounter various texts in Torah and Navi. AlHaTorah.org, with its references to interfaith and interdisciplinary thought in many of its topic presentations, has been an invaluable source. In particular, my students enjoyed a spirited discussion and analysis of the sale of Yosef in art and the contrasting images that depict the sale.

What a valuable investment of time and effort by your contributors! יישר כחכם and keep up the good work! Looking forward to seeing the site's continued growth!

All the best,

Miriam Krupka

Tanakh Department Chair

Ramaz Upper School

60 East 78th St.

New York, NY 10075

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Rabbi Abraham Lieberman, Head of School, YULA Girls High School

כ"א אדר ב' תשע"ו

March 31, 2016

Dear Rabbi Novetsky,

It is with great honor and thanks that I write this short note to you. Ever since AlHaTorah was launched, I have from a distance watched its growth and its influence. A revolution in Torah studies and a ripple effect of intellectual depth are clearly due to this amazing website. Both lay people who love learning and Torah teachers across the world have benefited and gained from the materials and sources posted. I have watched, firsthand, our teachers prepare materials for different classes from the available original source materials. From the clear fonts to the intricate opinions, all is beautifully designed to enhance the learning experience. As your work progresses and slowly this edifice of Torah solidifies, if there is anything I can do to help in this process, please let me know.

In honor of Torah learning and in friendship,

Rabbi Abraham Lieberman

Head of School

YULA Girls High School

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Rabbi Leonard Matanky, Ph.D.,
Dean, Ida Crown Jewish Academy, Chicago IL
Rabbi, Congregation K.I.N.S of West Rogers Park

“It is my pleasure to add these few words of admiration for the AlHaTorah project. Having reviewed the material presented on this website, I can imagine many different and powerful uses for this wonderful resource. Once additional chapters and materials are added I can see it being used both by teachers and students to enhance their study and understanding of Torah. Kol HaKavod!”

Rabbi David Saltzman,
Principal, Maimonides Elementary School

November 14, 2016 / 13 Marcheshvan 5777

Dear AlHaTorah,

I would like to thank you for all the work and effort you have put into your website. There is a wealth of information and I use it all the time. It is my first place to go when preparing a Parasha shiur. I begin by checking the topics already discussed on the Parasha. They are thorough and explain what each Parshan says to answer the posed questions and the anomalies in the text. The notes are also always illuminating and provide material for deeper discussions.

When preparing the shiur, before using an actual sefer, I use the online Mikraot Gedolot. It is easy to navigate and includes a number of not so common Meforshim. The options to choose which meforshim and how to display them also allows the search to focus on the material that I am looking for.

The most recent addition of the Concordance is a powerful tool in order to find similar words throughout the Tanach. I just used it this past week to make a connection between the פרידה of Lot from Avram and the פרידה of the 70 nations from each other!

I also enjoy the historical write ups on the Parshanim and the recent work on the Rashi manuscripts. I used that material recently to give a class on Rav Yosef Kara and how his explanations may have seeped into the Rashi text we currently have in our Chumashim.

Needless to say I am enjoying and always using the site. Thanks again and Tizku L'Mitzvot!!

David

Principal, Maimonides Elementary School

617.232.4452 ext. 311

Professor Uriel Simon, Tanakh scholar and author,
Chairperson Emeritus of Bar Ilan University Bible Department

“Just as the invention of the printing press facilitated the creation of the Mikraot Gedolot which expanded the horizons of Torah study, the invention of the computer has enabled unbounded exposure to the richness of Biblical interpretation. AlHaTorah.org has the potential to make an unprecedented contribution toward the realization of this goal.”

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