Message From Our President
Dear Students, Faculty, Staff and Friends,
I am pleased to present to you this Guide to our plans for the upcoming fall semester and reopening of our campuses. In form and in content, this coming semester will be like no other. We will live differently, work differently and learn differently. But in its very difference rests its enormous power.
The mission of Yeshiva University is to enrich the moral, intellectual and spiritual development of each of our students, empowering them with the knowledge and abilities to become people of impact and leaders of tomorrow. Next year’s studies will be especially instrumental in shaping the course of our students’ lives. Character is formed and developed in times of deep adversity. This is the kind of teachable moment that Yeshiva University was made for. As such, we have developed an educational plan for next year that features a high-quality student experience and prioritizes personal growth during this Coronavirus era. Our students will be able to work through the difficulties, issues and opportunities posed by our COVID-19 era with our stellar rabbis and faculty, as well as their close friends and peers at Yeshiva.
To develop our plans for the fall, we have convened a Scenario Planning Task Force made up of representatives across the major areas of our campus. Their planning has been guided by the latest medical information, government directives, direct input from our rabbis, faculty and students, and best practices from industry and university leaders across the country. I am deeply thankful to our task force members and all who supported them for their tireless work in addressing the myriad details involved in bringing students back to campus and restarting our educational enterprise.
In concert with the recommendations from our task force, I am announcing today that our fall semester will reflect a hybrid model. It will allow many students to return in a careful way by incorporating online and virtual learning with on-campus classroom instruction. It also enables students who prefer to not be on campus to have a rich student experience by continuing their studies online and benefitting from a full range of online student services and extracurricular programs.
In bringing our students back to campus, safety is our first priority. Many aspects of campus life will change for this coming semester. Gatherings will be limited, larger courses will move completely online. Throughout campus everyone will need to adhere to our medical guidelines, including social distancing, wearing facemasks, and our testing and contact tracing policies. Due to our focus on minimizing risk, our undergraduate students will begin the first few weeks of the fall semester online and move onto the campus after the Jewish holidays. This schedule will limit the amount of back and forth travel for our students by concentrating the on-campus component of the fall semester to one consecutive segment.
Throughout our planning, we have used the analogy of a dimmer switch. Reopening our campuses will not be a simple binary, like an on/off light switch, but more like a dimmer in which we have the flexibility to scale backwards and forwards to properly respond as the health situation evolves. It is very possible that some plans could change, depending upon the progression of the virus and/or applicable state and local government guidance.
Before our semester begins, we will provide more updates reflecting our most current guidance. Please check our website, yu.edu/fall2020 for regular updates. We understand that even after reading through this guide, you might have many additional questions, so we will be posting an extensive FAQ section online as well. Additionally, we will also be holding community calls for faculty, students, staff and parents over the next couple of months.
Planning for the future during this moment has certainly been humbling. This Coronavirus has reminded us time and time again of the lessons from our Jewish tradition that we are not in full control of our circumstances. But our tradition also teaches us that we are in control of our response to our circumstances. Next semester will present significant challenges and changes. There will be some compromises and minor inconveniences--not every issue has a perfect solution. But faith and fortitude, mutual cooperation and resilience are essential life lessons that are accentuated during this period. And if we all commit to respond with graciousness, kindness, and love, we can transform new campus realities into profound life lessons for our future.
Deeply rooted in our Jewish values and forward focused in preparing for the careers and competencies of the future, we journey together with you, our Yeshiva University community, through these uncharted waters. Next year will be a formative year in the lives of our students, and together we will rise to the moment so that our students will emerge stronger and better prepared to be leaders of the world of tomorrow.
Best Wishes,
Ari Berman
This year’s group hails from all across the country—from New Jersey to Maryland to Ohio—and plans on studying a multitude of topics, including political science, biology and architecture. Read more about them below.
Rebecca Aduculesi is from Teaneck, New Jersey. She graduated from Frisch, where she served as a member of the student council and spent four years playing on the volleyball team, eventually becoming captain during her senior year. Rebecca loves participating in chessed [charity] opportunities; she ran in the Jerusalem Marathon to raise money for Shalva and traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, on an NCSY mission to help build houses with Habitat for Humanity. After high school, Rebecca was privileged to learn at Sha’alvim for Women, where she studied halacha [Jewish law], Tanakh [Hebrew Bible], and machshava [Jewish thought]. Rebecca spent the past two summers working as sports staff and a counselor at Camp Morasha. She plans on majoring in biology but also enjoys studying English literature. Rebecca is excited to be a part of the Straus Center and expand her intellectual horizons.
Ayelet Brown was born in Jerusalem, Israel, and moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, when she was one. There she learned the importance of community and leadership and used her energy and organizational skills to work with Friendship Circle and Chai Lifeline. In high school, she served on her shul youth board, was a Bnei Akiva madricha [youth counselor], and a member of a Jteen Philanthropy cohort, where she learned to allocate charitable dollars across the community. A graduate from Berman Hebrew Academy in 2019, Ayelet participated in her school’s contingent to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was a creative member of the engineering club, served as yearbook head photographer for two years and received an art award for her photography. Following her graduation, Ayelet spent her gap year in Midreshet Lindenbaum in Jerusalem. During her summers, Ayelet worked at Camp Simcha and Camp Kaylie. Ayelet hopes to continue advocating for children with disabilities by majoring in psychology and is interested in the intersection of Judaism and human behavior.
Natan Ehrenreich grew up in University Heights, Ohio, where he graduated from Fuchs Mizrachi School in 2019. He then spent a year learning at Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem. At Mizrachi, Natan was a member of both the debate and Model UN teams and also served as a student council representative. He also spent time as a leader for Bnei Akiva and was selected by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland as a Saltzman Youth Panelist, helping allocate over $40,000 to different organizations across Cleveland. He is passionate about American politics and has spent his summers working for several law firms. Natan has received numerous awards for academic achievement, including AP Scholar with Distinction and the Fuchs Mizrachi Young Scholar Award. He also graduated as valedictorian of his high school class. He is excited to join the Straus Scholars program at YU, where he plans to major in political science.
Judah Fortgang grew up in New Rochelle, New York. He graduated from SAR High School in 2018 and spent a year learning at Yeshivat Har Etzion (Gush). At SAR, Judah was the captain of his hockey team and the editor of the school's award-winning economics magazine, Incentives.
Having spent the past few summers with the Tikvah Fund, he has been exposed to the immense depth and importance of both Jewish and Western thought and looks forward to an immersive program studying these rich traditions.
Benjy Gottesman was born and raised in New York City. In 2018, he graduated from the high school of 
Reuben Hartman lives in Lincolnwood, Illinois. For high school, Reuben attended the Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While there, he was the senior class president and the class valedictorian. Reuben is a regular volunteer at Chai Lifeline Midwest as a mentor for kids with illness. He also spends his summers at Chai Lifeline’s Camp Simcha as a counselor. Reuben also spent a summer at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Experiment in Architecture program. In the past two years, he has attended Yeshivat Sha’alvim in Nof Ayalon. While there, he was a participant both years at the Tikvah Overseas Students Institute’s “Jews, Morality, and the West” program, where he explored multifaceted theories and beliefs about the realities between religion and politics. Reuben spent the summer between his yeshiva years as an intern for State Representative Rabbi Yehiel Mark Kalish, Illinois’s first rabbi congressman. At Yeshiva University, Reuben plans to major in political science and minor in architecture. Reuben is excited to spend his college career at the Straus Center, finding the divine connection between God's Torah and the creations in his world.
Penina Spearman, a lifetime resident of Kew Gardens Hills in Queens, New York, is a graduate of Midreshet Shalhevet High School, where she participated in debate club, model congress, Torah Bowl, College Bowl and drama and served as vice president of the senior class of 2019. She also received the Torah U’madda Book Award for commitment to her school, community and ideals and objectives of Yeshiva University. After graduating high school, Penina spent a year studying in Israel at Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim in Jerusalem. While there, she participated in the Tikvah Overseas Students Institute, where she focused on the political and moral dilemmas Jews face in the modern era.
