Midreshet HaRova

Academic Structure:

The Midrasha offers serious, motivated students the opportunity to engage in an intensive learning program with a goal of instilling skills that allow for independent study in the future. We pride ourselves on providing a large selection of classes, where class size is often small to guarantee individual attention. In any given timeslot, there are at least five options from which to choose and at times as many as seven.

The Learning Day

Students participate in a full day of learning, broken into three sessions – morning, afternoon and evening. Courses provide constant challenges, with a system of graduated levels of learning so that each and every student can gain both knowledge and skills according to her level. Our focus on chavruta study and development of textual skills creates the necessary basis for continued learning and growth after leaving the Midrasha.

Morning Schedule

Mornings are spent primarily in the Beit Midrash. The first session each morning is designed to familiarize students with the breadth of the sea of the Torah with two mornings spent learning Chumash Bekiut and a choice of Halacha, Gemara or Nach on two other mornings. The second session focusses on in-depth learning in the areas of Chumash, Gemara and Machshava. 

Generally speaking, students will spend half of the morning working with the guidance of staff preparing for the class to take place at the end of the morning seder.

Afternoon Schedule

Afternoon is time for electives with topics including: Halacha, Machshava, Nach, Chassidut, Tefilla, Midot and Jewish History. In addition, we offer our “Siyurim” course taking students to visit the new and old sections of Yerushalayim, meeting the people and stories that make our city so unique.

Evening Schedule

Evenings are generally spent in the Beit Midrash where students are free to pursue areas of study of particular interest to them. Staff advisors are available to guide and point students in the right direction. Those wishing to engage in greater independent Beit Midrash study time than possible in night seder are given the option to select Beit Midrash learning in lieu of several afternoon classes. 

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https://en.harova.org/timetable/

We span the globe!

Students join us from a wide-variety of locations – North America, England, France, Switzerland, Belgium, South America, South Africa and Australia among others. They come from a variety of communities and backgrounds, blending together, learning with and from each other, as a lively and vibrant group.  Most students come to the Midrasha directly after high school for a year of study – some remain for a second year as well. South African, Australian and some of the English students are part of a year-long Bnei Akiva program for which the Midrasha component represents the vast majority of their time spent in Israel. The remainder of their program, during vacation and holiday periods, includes participation in special activities run by Bnei Akiva Olami.

Our student body for the 5784 academic year is comprised of 19 first year students from the Southern Hemisphere, who began their studies in February, joining the Northern Hemisphere group comprising 104 North American and European students, and our group of 10 Shana Bet students who learned with us last year and returned for an extra semester! 

All Midrasha facilities are in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, spread over a short radius, centrally located near the Cardo.

The main building of the Midrasha, at 50 Chabad Street, is a quaint domed and arched spacious facility in the style of 19th century Jerusalem. The building contains the airy and light Beit Midrash, a well-appointed inviting space in which Midrasha students each have a dedicated place and where the majority of learning takes place. The Beit Midrash houses an extensive reference library.

The main building also houses all of the classroom and administrative offices of the Midrasha.

Students are housed in our dormitory, a historic structure built by Baron Rothschild, centrally located in the heart of the Old City and in a series of apartments in the Jewish Quarter.  The number of students in a room ranges from 2-6 depending on the location and set up of the room. In most apartments there is a moadon – common room – where the students can relax together.

Students are provided three nourishing meals daily in our recently expanded and modernized dining facility. Extra effort is made to accommodate students with special dietary needs.

The Midrasha maintains a fully equipped gym space and pleasantly appointed public areas in our recently renovated student moadon, ensuring that students can maintain a healthy body while developing their healthy minds.

A video from a year ago - but relevant still!

Student Guidance

It is not always easy to adjust to a new country and different learning environment, with unfamiliar demands and expectations. It is with this in mind that we designed our Student Guidance (Mashgicha) program.

We strive to ensure that each student is cared for properly. As part of our commitment to giving our students personal attention, each student is assigned a Mashgicha at the beginning of the year. A Mashgicha is a mentor who will meet with her students individually on a regular basis to help support them and ensure that each student is maximizing her time and experiences here at the Midrasha.

The Guidance program is staffed by five senior female faculty members who act as Mashgichot (Guidance Counselors), two in-house Imahot Bayit, and a team of madrichot, all of whom are dedicated to ensuring that a student’s year will not be just academically successful, but most importantly also one of personal and spiritual achievement and growth.

Our team of Mashgichot sit with students individually on a regular basis. Mashgichot help students with timetable changes and personal issues that may arise during the year.  They also meet once a week with their group of students so as to create warm smaller spaces for sharing and learning.

Throughout the year, students are invited to Mashgichot homes both for special evenings, and for Shabbatot or Chagim.

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