New Center for Halakhic Studies to Open Under the Direction of Rabbi Ysoscher Katz
Announcement made in YCT’s Newsletter
As announced in a newsletter of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School earlier this month, “Rabbi Ysoscher Katz has been named Director of the newly formed Lindenbaum Center for Halakhic Studies.” The announcement continues, “Under Rabbi Katz’s stewardship, the Center, generously funded by Belda and Marcel Lindenbaum, will enrich Modern Orthodoxy’s religious and spiritual discourse, promoting advanced Torah scholarship by providing concrete halakhic resources to Orthodox Jews throughout the world.”
“The Lindenbaum Center for Halakhic Studies is a flagship institution of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School to provide serious and advanced Torah scholarship to enrich Modern Orthodoxy’s religious and spiritual discourse and to provide a concrete halachic resource to the Orthodox Jews throughout the world,” according to a separate document. “YCT’s mission is to train Rabbis who are committed to serve כלל ישראלl and share a Torah and Halakha that is devoutly Orthodox and passionately modern. The Lindenbaum Center will enhance that mission by disseminating Halakha that is a תורת חיים ואהבת חסד, a Torah that brings meaning to our lives and of loving kindness to the world.
“The major goal of the center will be to support the halakhic research and writings of Rabbi Dov Linzer, Rosh HaYeshiva of YCT Rabbinical School, and Rav Ysoscher Katz, Director of the Center and Chair of the Talmud Department.” It seems that Rabbi Linzer will have been freed up to devote time and energy to this new endeavor, as he will be handing off his position of Dean of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah to Rabbi Dov Lerea, as announced in another newsletter of YCT (a position he has held since 2007).
What the Center for will do:
Rav Linzer and Rav Katz will work on five to six major תשובות each year, which will be the focus of the conferences and the work of the Center. These תשובות, along with the works of other פוסקים, scholars and students will be published yearly in a book that will showcase the work of the Center.
Additional activities of the Center will be to convene one to two conferences, one reserved for פוסקים and scholars and the other open to the public, on the chosen halakhic theme of the year, and to thereby support the work of Rabbi Linzer and Rabbi Katz.
Finally, amongst other things, the document concludes:
We are living today in a period of what the prophet called ‘צימאון לדבר ה, a thirst for Dvar Hashem, people are searching, looking for a Torah that is uplifting, stimulating and, at the same time, inspiring. They are looking for a Torah that challenges their minds and, at the same time, also inspires their hearts; they want a Torah that brings passion and inspiration to their communities, schools and homes. The Lindenbaum Center for Halakhic Studies will be the premier resource for such a Torah. Our goal is to disseminate a Torah that inspires אהבת השם, אהבת תורה, אהת ישראל, and אהבת עולם.
This is an exciting new development that should be excellent for Torah study and halakhic study, in particular 🙂
