In today’s difficult economy, most college and graduate students feel a ton of pressure to stay career-focused throughout the year, and spend their summers in professional settings so as to add experience to their resumes. Still, many Jewish students also desire some spiritual, intellectual, and practical depth through Torah study and Jewish connection in Israel, and wish they could spend time on programs like MEOR that cater to those goals. These two priorities have always seemed somewhat mutually exclusive, and unfortunately, the pressure to get a summer job is often too great to allow for a several-week trip to Israel. Until now.
MEOR is offering an innovative and unique approach to Jewish learning and career preparation: Why not do both at once?
Six Weeks of Study & Career Focus
Students in the MEOR JInternship program spend 6 weeks in Jerusalem together learning Torah in the mornings and working in personalized internships at top Israeli companies and organizations in the afternoons. In the evenings, they relax and enjoy some social activities and programming.
In the summer of 2012, 12 students from 9 different universities across the country participated. Rabbis Shlomo Gershenfeld and Aharon Grossman, two favorite MEOR staff members, ran the 2012 program.
“We are trying to give these guys a focus on deep ideas and values and hopefully inspire them to continue their learning on campus and back in Israel. Most of them just don’t have the time to do that unless they can work at the same time. So we give them both,” said Rabbi Shlomo Gershenfeld.
High-Level Torah Study Curriculum
The Torah study in the mornings is facilitated by MEOR Rabbis and premier educators at the Machon Yaakov Yeshiva in Har Nof, Jerusalem, which is also where the students dorm for the summer. Guest speakers are brought in occasionally to teach about various stimulating and thought-provoking topics such as personal inclinations, the depth of the Hebrew alphabet, and reasons behind the mitzvot. Students are also encouraged to delve into topics of their own choosing in a one-on-one setting, and many of them have taken advantage of this opportunity, researching areas such as Jewish history and in-depth text studies.
Competitive Internships at Top Companies and Organizations
In the afternoons, students head off to their various workplaces – the fields vary tremendously, from medicine, to politics, to journalism, finance, social activism, and beyond. Please see our list of internships from 2012.
