YCT (Yeshivat Chovevei Torah)

We seek to create a spiritually vibrant and intellectually open halakhic community whose Torah radiates outwards to inspire the broader Jewish world.

Our Mission is to train rabbis, educators and leaders who embody this vision in their teaching of Torah, spiritual support of individuals, and building of diverse and welcoming communities; and to deepen and disseminate a Torah and halakha that gives life to this vision and enables it to thrive.

In doing this work, we are committed to the following core values:                              

• Inspiring a passionate commitment to the study of Torah in all its rich forms and the scrupulous observance of halakha.
• Cultivating spirituality – God-consciousness, piety, and ethical sensitivity – and integrating it into all learning, religious practice and worldly pursuits.
• Encouraging intellectual openness, questioning, and critical thinking as essential components of one’s full service to God (avodat Hashem).
• Affirming the shared covenantal bond between all Jews, promoting love of all Jews (ahavat Yisrael) and actively pursuing the positive and respectful interaction of all Jewish movements.
• Recognizing the need to enhance and expand the role of women in talmud Torah, the halakhic process, religious life and communal leadership within the bounds of halakha.
• Recognizing Eretz Yisrael as our homeland and affirming the religious and historical significance of the State of Israel for all Jews in Israel and the Diaspora.
• Affirming the shared divine image (tzelem Elokim) of all people, our responsibility to improve the world and our capacity to be enriched by it.
• Living our personal, family, and public lives guided by the highest ethical standards, reflective of moral rectitude and sanctification of God’s name (kiddush shem Shamayim).