In an effort to offer women the chance to study Chassidus at a high level, the Batsheva Learning Center will be starting a learning program in the Rebbe Rashab’s ‘Hemshech Ranat’.
While there are many platforms available for women in the Chabad community to study Chassidus, opportunities for consistent, text-based learning tend to stop at the seminary level.
A new women’s Beis Midrash, run by Batsheva Learning Center, is out to change that status quo. This new daily learning program will give women the opportunity to invest in their Torah study on a level they never had access to before.
The Beis Midrash, which will include both a Halacha and Chassidus track, will be opening in-person in Crown Heights next fall. In the meantime, just the Chassidus track will be offered online starting this January. Students participating in the online program will spend 1.5 hours a day, 4 days a week, studying Hemshech Ranat – a series of maamarim of the Rebbe Rashab. Three days a week, students will engage in guided chavrusa learning facilitated by the course developer, Mrs. Yitty Gniwisch, and once a week they’ll participate in an in-depth shiur with Rabbi Reuven Leigh, a shliach to Oxford University who has recently completed his dissertation on Ranat.
The student-centered program utilizes chavrusa learning and student-led discussions to build the students’ skills from the bottom up and to foster their growth as confident, independent learners. Both Rabbi Leigh and Mrs. Gniwisch, have spent many years studying this hemshech extensively and are so excited to bring the unique experience of studying a hemshech in-depth to their students.
“Hemshech Ranat was the first hemshech I ever learned,” says Mrs. Gniwisch. “It opened my eyes to Chassidus like never before. Nothing compares to the richness of learning a full hemshech. I’m looking forward to sharing that exhilarating experience with the women who join the program!”
“I’m excited to help others delve deeply into Hemshech Ranat and discover it’s revolutionary ideas,” says Rabbi Leigh. “I’m also looking forward to the teaching enhancing my own understanding of the ideas, as promised by the hemshech.”
Check out the full course details and schedule on the Batsheva Learning Center’s website:
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