Ohr Somayach, Monsey

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For other uses of "Ohr Somayach", see Ohr Somayach (disambiguation).

Yeshiva Building in the background

Ohr Somayach, Monsey, also known as The Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum Educational Center, is an Orthodox baal teshuva yeshiva designed to provide Jewish male college-age students with the opportunity to study the textual sources of classical Judaism, such as the Torah, Tanakh, Talmud, and Shulkhan Arukh. It is located in the United States, based in Monsey, New York, about thirty five miles north-west of New York City. It is a "spin-off" of the original Ohr Somayach founded in Jerusalem in the early 1970s.

Since 1979, Ohr Somayach, Monsey has provided a variety of Jewish learning opportunities to young adults from across the globe. For many students, Ohr Somayach is their first exposure to full-time Jewish and Torah study. They acquire the foundations of Torah study within the framework of Orthodox Judaism, with close contact with the surrounding Haredi and Hasidic communities that live in the Monsey area. For more advanced students who are already well-acquainted with the rudiments of Talmud learning Ohr Somayach affords the opportunity to acquire the tools and skills for independent self-study.

Ohr Somayach is built on a 14 acre (57,000 m²) campus with a residence facility.

[edit] Faculty

Rabbi Yisroel Rokowsky is co-Rosh Yeshiva of Ohr Somayach Monsey. A native New Yorker, Rabbi Rokowsky developed his analytical approach to Talmudic scholarship under the tutelage of Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik of Jerusalem. He served as Educational Director of Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem. He returned to the United States in 1980 to head Ohr Somayach, Monsey.
Rabbi Yisroel Simcha Schorr is co-Rosh Yeshiva of Ohr Somayach Monsey. Rabbi Schorr is an alumnus of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas and Bais Medrash Elyon. Currently the senior editor of the English Artscroll Talmud, Rabbi Schorr joined the Ohr Somayach staff in his present capacity in 1980. Rabbi Schorr’s teaches the high level courses in the Bais Medrash Program. His weekly presentation on the Parsha Hashavua is a significant feature of the Yeshiva, and is well attended.
Rabbi Avraham Braun, Menahel ("Prinicipal") of Ohr Somayach, received his ordination at the Yeshiva Torah Vodaas. Having previously served as the Director of the Beer HaGolah Institute of New York, he became the Director of Admissions and the Educational Director of Ohr Somayach in 1982. Since his arrival at Ohr Somayach, Rabbi Braun has guided thousands of students through their educational decisions and offered advice on careers and marriage.
Rabbi Naftali Reich is the Executive Director of the Yeshiva. He graduated from Gateshead Talmudic College in 1983, and completed his rabbinic studies at Beth Medrash Gevoha in Lakewood, NJ. He joined Ohr Somayach’s staff in 1991 to further develop the Yeshiva’s introductory programs and became Director of Development in 1996. Rabbi Reich runs the Yeshiva's outreach division, “Legacy,” and gives lectures in hashkafa and Hasidic thought.