Midreshet Lindenbaum


Midreshet Lindenbaum, originally named Michlelet Bruria, is a pioneering Jewish educational institution for women.
It is currently located in Talpiot, Jerusalem.
The midrasha continues to be a leader in Jewish women's education. Many of the teachers at Matan, Nishmat, Pardes and other women's and co-ed yeshivas in Israel and abroad studied at Midreshet Lindenbaum.

History

Michlelet Bruria was founded in 1976 by Rabbi Chaim Brovender, as the woman's component of Yeshivat Hamivtar. At Bruria, as in a traditional men's yeshiva, women studied in hevrutot and learned Talmud as well as advanced Tanach.
In 1986, Bruria merged with Ohr Torah Stone Institutions and was renamed "Midreshet Lindenbaum" after Belda and Marcel Lindenbaum.

Programs

Midreshet Lindenbaum offers a certificate in "Halachik leadership" - a five-year course in advanced studies in Jewish law, with examinations equivalent to the rabbinate’s ordination requirement for men.
In 2014 the first ever book of halakhic decisions written by women who were ordained to serve as poskim was published.
The women were certified by the Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, municipal chief rabbi of Efrat, after completing the course.
It has also been a leader in developing women's role in rabbinical courts in Israel and in founding the first school dedicated to training women to serve as advocates in religious courts -
known as Toanot Rabniyot or simply to'anot in Hebrew.
Lindenbaum, relatedly, operates a legal aid center and hotline which has taken an active role in advocating for a resolution to the Agunah problem
Midreshet Lindenbaum also runs a Torah study program for developmentally disabled young men and women known as Midreshet/Yeshivat Darkaynu.

Footnotes