Matan, the Sadie Rennert Women’s Institute for Torah Studies, will mark Jerusalem Day with a virtual tour of the Mount of Olives on Sunday, May 17, at 5 p.m. Led by noted tour guide Shulie Mishkin, the event is entitled “The Mountain that is East of the City,” and promises to offer a fascinating look at the Mount of Olives, its history and significance. It will be broadcast on Matan’s website www.matan.org.il, and will also be available live on The Jerusalem Post website www.jpost.com.
Matan’s two main centers are based in Jerusalem and Ra’anana and the organization – known for groundbreaking work to advance women’s Torah studies – has a total of nine branches spread across the country. Since the onset of the novel coronavirus, Matan has been zooming shiurim (lessons) to its students and the wider community in Israel and around the world, reaching audiences from North America, Europe, South Africa, China and Australia.
Over 25,000 people have participated in classes in English and Hebrew by Matan’s renowned Torah scholars, as well as special prayer sessions with music and song, miniseries on a variety of topics, English and Hebrew learning days prior to Passover and two learning days scheduled before Shavuot. The institute live streamed a festive virtual Lag Ba’omer bonfire sponsored by the Religious Council of Ra’anana. Audiences have included women and men of all ages and backgrounds and the sessions have been extremely well received.
One Matan student from Spain commented that she’s so glad she can join Matan shiurim on zoom. “At least it’s one positive thing about the corona situation which has affected people so badly.” Another from the USA wrote, “I listened to the entire session and loved it. The lecturers were terrific and so inspirational.”
The article was written in cooperation with Matan.