YU-RIETS Semichas Chachamim: Building A Community Of Talmidei Chachamim

By: Larry Gordon

Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz

Rabbi Willig teaching a shiur

Rabbi Akiva Willig

For men of all ages who have spent years learning in yeshiva and continued studying with chavrusas or in a yeshiva setting, the YU-RIETS Semichas Chachamim program offers a unique opportunity: to pursue serious, structured Torah learning with world-class Torah scholars while working toward the distinguished achievement of Semichas Chachamim.

A Yeshiva University creation in the Five Towns, the program was first envisioned by Rabbi Menachem Penner and Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz of RIETS and implemented by Rabbi Akiva Willig of the Bais Medrash of Woodmere. Now entering its third year, the program operates on a five-year cycle and concludes with the awarding of Semichas Chachamim.

The program is designed specifically for serious professionals who have spent their lives making time for Torah and want to take their learning to the next level. It is not intended for aspiring rabbis or mechanchim, but for men who want to develop mastery of the halachic subjects that form the core of a semicha curriculum.

Rabbi Willig teaches the in-depth learning three mornings a week, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst. The commitment is significant: six hours each week in the beis midrash, along with the chazarah and review that participants undertake on their own time. Yet for those who have joined, the demand is not the story, the experience is. Participants describe waking up before dawn three times a week not out of obligation, but out of anticipation, eager to get back to their sugya and to the chavrusa waiting for them at the table.

Over the course of the five-year program, participants study major areas of practical halacha, including basar v’cholov, ta’aroves, aveilus, and Shabbos. This year’s focus is hilchos Shabbos.

When Rabbi Willig was recently contacted about the program, he noted that two new men had signed up that very day, a reflection of the growing interest among local professionals in pursuing high-level, goal-oriented Torah learning. He added that what strikes him most is not the growth in numbers, but the palpable energy in the room each morning. Men come in as strangers but emerge as close chavrusas, pushing each other to understand the sugya more deeply and showing up for one another well beyond the beis medrash. 

Rabbi Lebowitz, who teaches semicha courses for RIETS at its Washington Heights campus, oversees the program’s topics and rigor. He works together with Rabbi Menachem Penner, Dean Emeritus and Director of Strategic Initiatives at RIETS, and Rabbi Jordan Auerbach, Director of YU-RIETS Torah Projects and Community Engagement, to coordinate the program and recruit prospective talmidim.

“We are so fortunate to have people in our community who value high-level Talmud Torah and are interested in learning many of the areas of halacha that are studied in our semicha program on a high level,” said Rabbi Lebowitz. “This program is not geared toward aspiring rabbis and mechanchim, but toward serious professionals seeking a goal-oriented learning program.” 

The name “Semichas Chachamim” was deliberately chosen to distinguish the program from RIETS’ more rigorous four-year, full-time semicha program, while emphasizing the high level of learning taking place. 

“More than anything else,” Rabbi Lebowitz explained, “making the decision to join the Semichas Chachamim program makes a statement to oneself and family that Limud HaTorah and knowing halacha is a high priority at all stages of life.”

The program also represents the growing impact of Yeshiva University and RIETS on the Five Towns community and beyond. Over time, the goal is not simply to have individuals complete a demanding course of study, but to help create a community of talmidei chachamim professionals who have combined demanding careers and family responsibilities with a serious commitment to Torah learning.

For many participants, that community has become the unexpected heart of the program. Men who spend their days in law offices, medical practices, and boardrooms speak of the beis medrash as the place they feel most like themselves, sitting beside chevrutot who understand the pull of a good kushya and the satisfaction of finally resolving it. Several have described the program as unlike any learning experience they have ever had, a rare setting where the intensity of a full-time yeshiva meets the camaraderie of old friends, where the three hours pass without anyone noticing.

Participant Tod Rothschild commented, “My entire family is extremely grateful to Rav Willig for the 5T semichas chachamim program. It is an amazing group of baalebatim. I am privileged to learn with them and call them chevrutot and friends.” Other participants have echoed that sentiment, describing the program as transformational, not only for what it has added to their learning, but for how it has reshaped their weeks, their friendships, and the example they set for their own families.

Under the direction of Rabbi Lebowitz and Rabbi Willig, two outstanding personalities in the Torah community, the program demonstrates what can be achieved when serious Torah learning is a top priority. Its reach and potential are limited only by the willingness of members of the community to make that commitment. 

It’s never too late to join. Even as the current cohort moves into its third year, new lomdim can enter the program and begin their own journey toward Semichas Chachamim and the kind of chevra that keeps them coming back, day after day. 

The program is a tribute not only to the Five Towns community, but also to Yeshiva University and RIETS, a vision that recognizes what members of the community can accomplish when they take their learning many steps further.

For more information or to join the program, contact Rabbi Jordan Auerbach of RIETS at [email protected]. 

Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.