By Nava Sturm, Staff Writer
This year, a new initiative, spearheaded by the campus couples, began on the YU Beren campus. Tuesday Night Live isa program that is now a consistent part of the Beren Torah programming.
In an interview with the YU Observer, Rabbi Azriel Fine, Beren Campus Rabbi, said that the goal of Tuesday Night Live is to allow as many students as possible the opportunity “to do something and experience something that they find meaningful.”
“It’s not that you have to [learn] any one particular thing; at the core, you can come to the beit midrash and do whatever you want in the context of a community of people learning and growing,” he told the YU Observer.
Every Tuesday night, dozens of students arrive at the beit midrash, ready to learn Torah and enjoy yummy food. Each week a student or faculty member begins with divrei chizzuk (words of encouragement) and then moves into the main part of the program as students begin their own learning.
“We want to give people a specific reason to come and then from that create a culture where people just feel this is the place to be on Tuesday nights,” Rabbi Fine said. “The goal is to try and bring people together to the beit midrash to be able to, in addition to whatever learning they are doing by themselves during the week, have one night a week where we are all together.”
During Tuesday Night Live, students can choose to learn independently, b’chavrusa (with a peer), or participate in one of Beren Itim L’Torah tracks, three different tracks of designated areas of study: Nach, halacha, and Gemara. The Nach track follows the learning schedule of the OU Nach Yomi Program, the halacha track learns Hilchot Kashrut through the Tzurbah Mirabanan seforim and the Gemara track learns sections of Masechet Kiddushin (in accordance with with some of the Gemara shiurim on the Beren campus).
The goal of the Beren Itim L’Torah initiative is to create a framework for students to set aside time to learn, to be kovea itim (dedicate a set time to learn Torah) and to maintain consistency in their Torah learning. Students participating in this program also have the opportunity to take short tests on what they are learning, with the potential to earn money that goes towards the Seforim Sale at YU later in the year, which they could then use to buy seforim of their choice.
Those participating in Beren Itim L’Torah follow a schedule for learning throughout the week, but Tuesday Night Live offers additional opportunities to enhance their studies. On Tuesday nights, the students in the Nach and halacha tracks have the option to attend a chaburah on some of the topics they are learning. Additionally, for those in the Gemara track, Rabbi Schonbrun is available during Tuesday Night Live to help answer questions related to their learning.
Rabbi Fine noted that the Tuesday Night Live program is meant for all students on the Beren campus. “Even if we don’t have the space physically yet,” he said “to house the entire school in this one room, this program is meant for everyone.”
Without the students who come to learn, the atmosphere in the beit midrash would not be the same. “Here, the environment is created by the students coming,” Rabbi Fine said. “The students are the ones giving energy to the program.”
Even in the first weeks of the semester, it is already clear that Tuesday Night Live has become a valuable enhancement of the Beren Torah programming. The program offers students the opportunity to be a part of a dedicated environment of limmud Torah. The variety of options allows students to choose the avenue best suited to their interests.
“You are choosing to be here, no one is forcing you,” Rabbi Fine said. “Do what you want to do and find meaning and inspiration in the way that you find meaning and inspiration in learning.” Rabbi Fine hopes that this “environment of people being excited to be in the beit midrash, learning and growing, can spill over into other nights as well.”
As president of the Torah Activities Committee, Aliza Walzman (SSSB ‘25) told the YU Observer, “Tuesday Night Live has been really amazing. It has been great to see how many people show up to the beis every Tuesday night, just to learn together and hang out,” she said. “I think that it is a really important initiative because having an open learning night like this just adds to that incredible environment, one centered around Torah, that we are trying to build.”
Students who participate in Tuesday Night Live are grateful for the environment this new initiative has created in the beit midrash. “For the past two years, I’ve spent time almost every night learning in the beit midrash. To now have a night a week where the Beit Midrash is full and alive is a special experience,” Tiferet Weissman told the YU Observer. “Having so many young women surrounding me who are taking their time to learn b’chavruta is an inspirational experience.”
Tuesday Night Live is an important initiative because it creates an opportunity for students to invest in the learning culture on the Beren Campus in a way that is meaningful and impactful to them, Rabbi Fine said. The program is designed to offer a structure for students to spend time in the beit midrash, connecting with others and helping to foster a community that is oriented towards learning and growth.
Tuesday Night Live is “an experience that is created by the students,” Rabbi Fine said. “The energy is coming from people being there and being excited to be there.”
Photo Caption: Students learning in the Beren campus Beit Midrash during Tuesday Night Live
Photo Credit: Rabbi Fine