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
For the past two hundred years, adventurers, scholars and other curious travelers have made their way to the land of Israel to see and experience the places written about in the Bible. Many have tried to locate landmarks mentioned in the Bible but were not always successful. Yet the encounter with the biblical texts in the places where the events actually took place has always inspired the hearts of those who read and study Tanakh and offers exciting new possibilities for appreciating and understanding the biblical text.
In a new unique work, recently released by YU Press and Maggid/Koren Books, Places in the Parasha, Prof. Yoel Elitzur analyzes archaeological and linguistic findings, peruses historical sources and explores the derivation and meaning of names in an attempt to offer geographic identifications and linguistic solutions to the riddles of the Tanakh.
Prof. Elitzur is a researcher of the Hebrew language and biblical and historical geography, a member of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, and its representative on the National Naming Committee of the Israeli government. He headed the Land of Israel Studies Department at Herzog College and the Land of Israel Studies cluster at the Jerusalem College and taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Accompanied by a foreword by Rabbi Hayyim Angel, instructor of Bible at Yeshiva University, and abundant maps and pictures, this eye-opening work of sleuthing and discovery brings the Bible richly to life.
“We are proud, once again, to partner with Koren Publishers in bringing the work of a top Israeli scholar to the English-speaking public” said Dr. Stu Halpern, senior adviser to the Provost. “Following the success of the publication last year of Dr. Jonathan Grossman’s Creation: The Story of Beginnings, and looking ahead to future collaborative volumes, we are excited to be strengthening our relationship with Koren. Bringing the Torah of the land of Israel and the teachings of its top scholars to our students and community members is a valuable part of our mission.”
Places in the Parasha is part of the Maggid Tanakh Companion series. This series uses an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates traditional rabbinic interpretations with scholarly literary techniques to explore specific characters, themes or sections of Tanakh.
To view YU Press volumes, and books written by YU faculty, visit 
