Academic Calendar
Shapell’s follows a traditional yeshiva calendar with approximately nine months of learning a year. Our year begins on Rosh Chodesh Elul – one month before Rosh Hashana – with the six-week Elul Zman. After a three-week intersession, our Winter Zman begins on Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan and runs until two weeks before Pesach. At Shapell’s we divide the winter into two parts with the “Mid-Winter Zman” usually beginning in mid-January. After a month-long Pesach break, our two-month Spring Zman and six-week Summer Zman complete the academic year.
New students can join for a zman, a year, or longer, and are welcome to join at any of the five start dates each year. For more information or to learn about shorter-term opportunities, contact us.
Start: Wed Sept 4 (1 Elul)
End: Shabbat Oct 12 (Yom Kippur)
Start: Sun Nov 3 (2 Cheshvan)
End: Thurs Jan 9 (9 Tevet)
Start: Mon Jan 13 (13 Tevet)
End: Thurs March 27 (27 Adar)
Start: Mon April 28 (1st day Rosh Chodesh Iyyar)
End: Thurs June 5 (9 Sivan)
Start: Sun June 8 (12 Sivan)
End: Thurs July 3 (7 Tammuz)
Start: Mon July 7 (11 Tammuz)
End: Sun Aug 3 (Tisha B’Av)
Start: Mon Aug 25 (1 Elul)
End: Thurs Oct 2 (Yom Kippur)
Campus
Shapell’s is located in Jerusalem in the residential neighborhood of Bet Hakerem. A leafy and calm corner of Jerusalem, originally founded by writers and academics, today Bet Hakerem is a peaceful and cosmopolitan mix of religious and non-religious Jews, and is home to several educational institutions interspersed with villas, apartment buildings, and some of the tallest trees in Jerusalem. We’re just steps away from the state-of-the-art Jerusalem light-rail, connecting students and faculty in minutes to the Central Bus Station, the Jerusalem City Center, the Old City, and the Meah Shearim-Geulah area. Bet Hakerem itself has a plentiful selection of stores, bakeries, banks, and other facilities, and is just a short walk from area hotels, Shaare Zedek hospital, and the Kiryat Moshe, Bayit VeGan, and Givat Shaul neighborhoods.
Formerly a hotel, our building and grounds provide students with an all-in-one experience of learning and living. The Feinberg Family Beit Midrash houses our library collection and is the center of yeshiva life, with all programs, studying and davening (praying) together there. It’s located alongside our dining room, classrooms, and educational offices on the first floor. The yeshiva courtyard, where students often learn outside and which plays host to “welcome barbecues” and other events, is adjacent to the beit midrash.
The second and third floors of the yeshiva building have ample dormitory facilities where students live two or three to a room. Each room is air conditioned and has its own bathroom and shower and provides students with closets and desks.
Many first-time visitors comment about the cleanliness, light, and décor of our well-maintained campus. The building is under the care of cleaning and maintenance staff, and students enjoy tasty and nutritious catered meals.
Daily Schedule
From 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM each day, students join in small classes to study Gemara with our expert faculty. It’s here that Shapell’s students gain the skills and knowledge necessary to start learning Gemara independently. The morning is divided between a short shiur in hashkafa (Jewish philosophy), Gemara study with a chavruta in the beit midrash, and an organized and interactive shiur to teach the fundamentals of Gemara language, structure, and comprehension.
The Shapell’s system is designed for students to progress through different levels of Gemara, beginning with the structure and language of the Gemara, integrating the study of Rashi and Tosafot, and finally understanding the role that other commentaries play in understanding the text.
Afternoons at Shapell’s feature a carefully constructed program of Hebrew, Chumash, Halacha, and Jewish thought – in addition to Gemara. Students progress through three levels of Hebrew and four levels of other subjects to receive a well-rounded education. The afternoons also feature our monthly Holocaust Education Program.
After dinner, students reconvene in the beit midrash for a relatively unstructured opportunity to review the day’s learning, learn topics of interest, and attend short classes on a wide range of subjects including Contemporary Halacha, Parshat Hashavua, and Chassidus. Students often say that the night seder – which also presents a good opportunity to interact with rabbeim – is an essential way in which they solidify their growth at Shapell’s.
In addition to the three main parts of the day, optional classes create round-the-clock opportunities to learn. A short daily class in Halacha follows morning davening, and regular classes and personal growth workshops are offered during breakfast, before mincha and after maariv. There’s also a weekly mussar “shmuze” delivered on Tuesday mornings, and frequent guest speakers.
Shabbat, Holidays and Events
The daily schedule at Shapell’s is intense and uplifting, but that’s not the whole story. The intellectual and spiritual growth that students at Shapell’s experience is also rooted in the holy experiences that they share. Every third week, students gather together for an “in-Shabbat” with a visiting member of the faculty – davening, learning, eating, and singing together as one family. A few times a year, we visit communities in Israel for Shabbat, meeting new people and gaining exposure to the different Torah communities that make Israel what it is.
On “out-Shabbatot,” some students “get away” to other communities, while others stay close to home. Every week, the yeshiva hosts davening as well as a kiddush and Seudah Shlishit (third meal). Students can make their own arrangements for the night and day meals, or turn to our Shabbat coordinator who arranges invitations to families in the area.
We also celebrate holidays and special events together. Whether it’s the Chanukah and Purim celebrations or the solemn experience of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur in yeshiva, students who learn with us are sure to benefit from the unique feel of these spiritual highlights. When students and alumni celebrate their weddings or the bris of a new son, the yeshiva is united in joy, as students and rabbis share in – and really “make” – the exalted simcha.
Students remain part of our extended family when they become alumni. Roshei Yeshiva and Rebbeim keep in touch and there are opportunities for in person and on line alumni learning. At Shapell’s, “once a talmid, always a talmid”!
Executive Vice President, Rabbinical Council of America
Guest Speakers
Positioned in the center of the Jewish world, Shapell’s students have the frequent pleasure of distinguished and diverse speakers from Israel and around the Jewish world. Surrounding us are just some of the honored guests who have addressed students in our Beit Midrash.
Tiyulim
To enhance our studies – and sometimes just to get a well-deserved break – we travel and hike the land, seeing firsthand the history and wonder of both ancient and contemporary Israel. Follow the links to check out some of our favorite tiyulim.
