It was the happy ending to a long story for the first class of hareidi-religious social workers to graduate from Hareidi College, Haaretz reported.
Five years ago, Adina Bar-Shalom - the daughter of former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ovadia Yosef - founded a college that would cater to hareidi-religious students, who would then serve their community in their new professions.
When it first started, the Hareidi College required its students to meet the rigorous admission and academic performance standards demanded by other higher educational programs, and refused to adjust its program to hareidi cultural mores. That standard remains to this day.
Three leading rabbis with Lithuanian and Sephardic backgrounds were brought together to guide the women with halakhic [Jewish legal] and ethical questions they might encounter during their internships or later at work.
Even with the approval of her father and the entire Shas Council of Torah Sages, the new college was very controversial – and when Bar-Shalom linked the new Hareidi College with other academic institutions, including Bar-Ilan University, the move earned her more criticism from the hareidi community.
One example of the school’s ideology is in the case of Rabbi Daniel Nasi, Ed.D., who teaches the Jewish approach to the different issues raised during studies of topics such as Freud and psychotherapy. A request to have Rabbi Nasi present during classes was rejected in deference to the requirement that course work remain academic only.
Despite its initial struggles, the fledgling College has since begun to thrive. In the past several years, the number of women students has doubled to almost 300. Another 40 men now study at the College as well.
Courses at the College include computer programs, sociology, psychology and criminology, in addition to its social work program. Pre-academic programs are also available, with almost half of the women completing the one-year preparatory course before being accepted to the College. Some are not accepted at all, depending on how severe the lack of preparation for study.
Bar-Shalom says she is looking toward a future in which her College will become an hareidi-religious University that will offer a wide range of degree programs, including medicine, clinical psychology and graduate degrees.
The College may be reached in Israel at 972-2-651-9579.
Five years ago, Adina Bar-Shalom - the daughter of former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ovadia Yosef - founded a college that would cater to hareidi-religious students, who would then serve their community in their new professions.
When it first started, the Hareidi College required its students to meet the rigorous admission and academic performance standards demanded by other higher educational programs, and refused to adjust its program to hareidi cultural mores. That standard remains to this day.
Three leading rabbis with Lithuanian and Sephardic backgrounds were brought together to guide the women with halakhic [Jewish legal] and ethical questions they might encounter during their internships or later at work.
Even with the approval of her father and the entire Shas Council of Torah Sages, the new college was very controversial – and when Bar-Shalom linked the new Hareidi College with other academic institutions, including Bar-Ilan University, the move earned her more criticism from the hareidi community.
One example of the school’s ideology is in the case of Rabbi Daniel Nasi, Ed.D., who teaches the Jewish approach to the different issues raised during studies of topics such as Freud and psychotherapy. A request to have Rabbi Nasi present during classes was rejected in deference to the requirement that course work remain academic only.
Despite its initial struggles, the fledgling College has since begun to thrive. In the past several years, the number of women students has doubled to almost 300. Another 40 men now study at the College as well.
Courses at the College include computer programs, sociology, psychology and criminology, in addition to its social work program. Pre-academic programs are also available, with almost half of the women completing the one-year preparatory course before being accepted to the College. Some are not accepted at all, depending on how severe the lack of preparation for study.
Bar-Shalom says she is looking toward a future in which her College will become an hareidi-religious University that will offer a wide range of degree programs, including medicine, clinical psychology and graduate degrees.
The College may be reached in Israel at 972-2-651-9579.