News Highlights Hebrew College Student Is A Founder of Non-Denominational Yeshiva in Scotland
By Joshua Polanski
Jessica Spencer, a fifth-year rabbinical student at Hebrew College, is a founder of Europe’s first co-educational yeshiva: Azara, which, for the coming summer, is based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
According to the Times of Israel, “The opening of Azara signifies that a growing network of institutions committed to non-denominational Jewish study now has a foothold in a new continent. Yeshivas such as the egalitarian Hadar in New York City, or Pardes in Jerusalem, have sought to offer a traditional curriculum of all-day intellectual Jewish text study while maintaining a commitment to strict Jewish observance, mixed-gender learning and inclusion of LGBTQ Jews.”
Jessica Spencer, Hebrew College Rabbinical Student
We just thought there’s so much need in the UK for a bit more education, something that goes a little bit deeper, something that’s accessible, something that’s open to people.”
