Our mission.

Drisha is a leading center for serious, high level, and honest study of classical Jewish text. A change agent in the field, Drisha has profoundly affected the lives of the many thousands of its students from across the United States, Israel, and beyond, many of whom have gone on to occupy significant leadership roles in the Jewish world. Our model of deep and honest learning, alongside our commitment to action, provides women and men of all demographics with the opportunity to encounter texts in an intellectually rigorous, spiritually meaningful and inclusive manner. Drisha is a place for people of all commitments and backgrounds to partner in the shared project of Torah, to learn from it and from each other. 

Drisha was founded with a historic mission: to provide access to serious learning to anyone who wants to learn. It has continued that mission for more than four decades, and today advances it with new, groundbreaking initiatives. In 1984, Drisha opened its Fellowship program, which provided women the opportunity to study Talmud at the highest level, and then its Scholars Circle (1992). Drisha continues to equalize access to Jewish learning— with its flagship Dr Beth Samuels High School Program (founded in 1988) and its new Middle School Program (2022), its immersive Kollel programs in the US and Israel, and its robust Community Education program. One of our most recent ventures is Yeshivat Drisha in Israel (founded in 2018), which is radically raising the bar for women’s Torah learning.

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Years Since Founding
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Hours of Torah Lectures
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Students and Alumni
What’s important to us
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Serious torah study

To enable individuals to become Torah scholars and leaders through learning that is deeply immersive, serious, and respectful.

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Commitment to action

To infuse the community with a model of learning that entails respect for the other and responsibility for all, and aspires to a life of service.

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Access to learning

To open our doors to anyone who wants to learn, regardless of background or experience.

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Community and openness

To bring together individuals of different backgrounds and commitments, and to learn with and from each other.