On Torah, Service, and Philanthropy – עַל הַתּוֹרָה וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים

הצג גרסה בעברית

Advisory Board

Rabbanit Miriam Amital
Rabbi Dan Beeri
Professor David Berger
Rabbi Yosef Carmel
Professor Mordechai Cohen
Rabbi Yehuda Copperman ז"ל
Professor Simcha Emanuel
Professor Avraham Grossman
Professor Yonatan Grossman
Professor Zev Harvey
Professor Carmi Horowitz
Rabbi Menachem Leibtag
Dr. Bryna Levy
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein
Professor Yeshayahu Maori
Rabbi Jay Marcus
Rabbi Yaacov Medan
Mr. Kurt Rothschild
Rabbi Meir Schlessinger
Rabbi Eliezer Shenvald
Dr. Malkah Shenvald
Professor Uriel Simon
Professor Haym Soloveitchik
Professor Richard Steiner
Rabbi Daniel Tropper
Rabbi Jeremiah Wohlberg
Rabbi Nissan Zisken

אתרי תורה – Chairpersons

Michael Hochstein
Jonathan Koschitzky

Founders

ALHATORAH.ORG 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.
The site's original design and interface is the work of Yonatan Novetsky.
To learn more about participating in this project, please contact us.

Guardians

In Memory of Miriam & Bernard Hochstein ז"ל
The Koschitzky & Gitler Families

Partners

Warren & Jane Weiss & The Applebaum Foundation

Benefactors

Daniel & Deborah Schwartz

Patrons

Dr. Abraham & Channy Greenberg
Michael & Judy Kaiser
Jacob & Edy Kupietzky
Drs. Allan & Chaikie Novetsky
Rabbi Hillel & Neima Novetsky
David & Ruth Schreiber

Supporters

David & Joyce Friedman
Jeff & Carolyn Kupietzky

Contributors

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

Contributions in Kind

Meitar Law Firm (special thanks to attorneys David Glatt, David Mirchin, and Anthony Herman)
Mosad HaRav Kook (special thanks to Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Movshovitz)

For information on how to contribute, please click here.

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

On Torah, Service, and Philanthropy – עַל הַתּוֹרָה וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים

Advisory Board

אתרי תורה – Chairpersons

Letters of Endorsement

Founders

Guardians

Partners

Benefactors

Patrons

Sponsors

Supporters

Contributors

Contributions in Kind

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

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

Rabbi Jay Goldmintz Ma`ayanot Yeshiva High School

Dr. Henry Hasson

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

Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, Principal, SAR Academy

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

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

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

Rabbi David Saltzman, Principal, Maimonides Elementary School

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

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

Rabbi Jay Goldmintz
Ma`ayanot Yeshiva High School

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

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

Rabbi David Saltzman,
Principal, Maimonides Elementary School

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