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Besht Yeshiva Dresden

Coordinates: 51°04′01″N 13°44′16″E / 51.06692°N 13.73764°E / 51.06692; 13.73764
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Besht Yeshiva Dresden
ישיבת בעש״ט דרזדן
Location
Map

Information
TypeYeshiva
Religious affiliation(s)liberal hasidic
Established2020
FounderRabbi Akiva Weingarten

The Besht Yeshiva Dresden is a Jewish educational institution in Dresden,[1] Germany and the first founded Yeshiva in East Germany after the Shoah, as well as the first liberal-Hasidic yeshiva in the world.[2] It was named after the founder of the Hasidic movement, Baal Shem Tov.[3]

In April 2020 Rabbi Akiva Weingarten founded the Besht Yeshiva in Dresden[4] with the aim of giving Jewish Off the derech's the opportunity to live their Jewishness in a liberal way and to pass on their deep traditional knowledge in the non-Orthodox Jewish communities.[5][6] The Yeshiva is open to everyone and offers Talmud lessons and Hebrew courses.[7] Another goal of the Yeshiva is to make Jewish life visible and natural again in Dresden.[8] "Besht" is an acronym for the name of the founder of the Hasidic movement, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1700–1760).[3]

Founding and goals

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The yeshiva is led by Rabbi Akiva Weingarten and Rabbi Shlomo Tikochinski.[9] Besht Dresden created networks within the city in the fields of education, health, technology, industry, culture and society to exchange knowledge and to network with citizens and institutions of Dresden.[8] Within less than a year the Yeshiva's existence it has gained great interest by many news outlets in Europe and support from various political, educational[10] and philanthropic institutions.[11]

Background

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Rabbi Akiva Weingarten, an ex-Satmar Hasid from New York, uses his experience as a so-called "OTD" to help other OTD's to find their own way in Judaism for themselves.[12] Besht Yeshiva Dresden is mainly active in Dresden, but should in the future expand worldwide. Besht Yeshiva Dresden cooperates with the Jewish community in Dresden, the liberal Jewish community "Migwan" in Basel and the TU Dresden.[13]

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References

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  1. ^ "In Germany, ultra-Orthodox Jews start a new life far from home" – via www.youtube.com.
  2. ^ "Dokumente" (PDF). www.ev-ref-gem-dresden.de.
  3. ^ a b "About Besht".
  4. ^ K.d.ö.R, Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland (October 7, 2020). "Jüdische Gemeinde Dresden will sich nicht verstecken". Jüdische Allgemeine.
  5. ^ Bohr, Felix (November 15, 2019). "Spiegel". Der Spiegel (in German).
  6. ^ "Leaving the ultra-orthodox – Jews seeking a new life in Germany | DW Documentary" – via www.youtube.com.
  7. ^ "Jüdisch sein – Eine Frage des Glaubens? Akiva Weingarten: Vom Aussteiger zum Rabbiner in Dresden | MDR.DE". www.mdr.de.
  8. ^ a b "Curriculum" (in German).
  9. ^ "وثائقي | اليهود الأرثوذكس المتشددون – الهروب إلى ألمانيا | وثائقية دي دبليو – YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  10. ^ Library, The Initiative Paul A. Levine (November 5, 2020). "W E B I N A R – 7.12.2020".
  11. ^ "Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation" [1]
  12. ^ "Über mich" (in German).
  13. ^ "Partner" (in German). Archived from the original on June 26, 2020.

51°04′01″N 13°44′16″E / 51.06692°N 13.73764°E / 51.06692; 13.73764