Local women among new Torch Fellowship leaders
The Orthodox Union’s 4G NCSY and Women’s Initiative have launched the Torch Fellowship, a new leadership program that equips young women pursuing careers outside formal Jewish education with the Torah learning, mentorship, and practical skills to become lifelong leaders in Jewish communal life.
Temmy (Gerson) Fenster and Shayna Summers, both of Bergenfield; Remi Erber and Emily Gul, both of Englewood; Racheli Finkelstein, Talia Lumerman, Dassi Mayerfeld, and Shoshana Sklarin, all of Teaneck; Bracha Moskowitz of Clifton, and Rivka Marcus of Springfield, are among the inaugural cohort of 33 fellows from across North America.
The fellows will receive training and mentorship to prepare them for roles as educators, community organizers, and chesed leaders, helping strengthen Jewish communities for generations to come.
A chance conversation between Suzanne Rabinovitch, director of 4G NCSY, the Orthodox Union’s premier leadership program for Jewish teenage girls, and now one of the program’s advisors, was the catalyst for the Torch Fellowship. “Our college-aged 4G advisors serve as critical role models for our high schoolers,” she said. “One advisor, deeply committed to chinuch and informal education, lamented that her involvement would end when her time at 4G was over. It struck me that, other than becoming a professional educator, there isn’t always an obvious path for women to remain involved in Torah-based education and communal life. Yet communities could truly benefit from their involvement, and they, in turn, could benefit from developing the skills and confidence to continue giving back.”
Beginning in October, fellows will participate in monthly Zoom sessions led by master educators covering informal chinuch, relationship building, public speaking, and adult education, culminating in a closing summit in New York City. Each fellow will be paired with a mentor and complete a capstone project focused on one of four areas: community education, institutional involvement, chesed, or community programming.
Ms. Rabinovitch concluded, “I strongly believe that investing in Jewish women’s education and leadership strengthens Klal Yisrael and inspires the next generation to love Torah learning and observe mitzvot,” Ms. Rabinovich said.
“The Torch Fellowship is a wonderful way to cultivate that passion early in their lives.”