200 gather for PTI program
About 200 young men attended a recent Young Professionals Program at Passaic Torah Institute (Yeshiva Ner Boruch-PTI), where they were matched with career mentors in various fields. The evening included a gala dinner and music by Reb Moshe Auslander and Chacham Isaac Jamal.
The program attracted dozens of cosponsors across the NJ-NY area and Israel, including the Jewish Standard, the New Jersey Jewish News, and Touro University.
Harry Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Law Firm discussed his experiences at Ohr Somayach before he graduated from Harvard Law School.
“The whole community and many organizations and businesses came together to give the next generation a jumpstart on their careers and spiritual growth,” Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim, PTI’s associate rosh yeshiva, said.
PTI announced plans to raise funds this year to double the number of young professionals in the program. It aims to expand to a full week from its current three-day schedule — Sunday mornings and Monday and Thursday evenings. Funds will allow PTI to hire another full-time rabbi, in addition to its current 20 faculty and kollel fellows who teach and learn one on one.
“It was so inspiring, just awesome,” Ben Rand, who coordinates the Young Professionals Program, said. “Our first year grew so fast in the wake of October 7 with many people coming to PTI looking for a deeper understanding of their Judaism.”
PTI has five levels of classes for men and women, from the complete beginner with no background to the most advanced kollel scholar, seven days and evenings a week. For information, email PTIyoungprofessionals@gmail.com or ptishulcloud.com.
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