At a meeting with Rabbi Yehoram Ulman and Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Kesselman, Israel’s Chief Rabbi Harav Dovid Lau signed the certificates of over 75 shluchim and rabbonim who participated in Machon Smicha’s Chuppah v’Kiddushin course; and stressed the necessity for rabbis to be proficient in these matters.
Exploring from the Shulchan Aruch and commentaries all the way down to the practical halachos and customs of officiating at a wedding, participants of the Machon Smicha course from across the world spent three months over the summer delving deeply into the halachos of chuppah v’kiddushin, with a special focus on the areas of birur yahadus and birur yuchsin, (ascertaining Jewish identity and halachic marriage compatibility.)
Two experts in the field, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman of Sydney, and Rabbi Mordechai Farkash of Seattle, delivered shiurim throughout the course, drawing upon their wealth of knowledge and experience to enlighten and empower the course participants.
“We received tremendously positive feedback from the course,” said Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Kesselman, Machon Smicha Director, “from the shliach gearing up to perform his first wedding to the veteran rov who married off dozens of couples; everyone learnt, grew, and came away better equipped to deal with the various aspects of officiating a wedding.”
Last week, Rabbi Ulman and Rabbi Kesselman met with Israel’s Chief Rabbi Harav Dovid Lau in Yerushalayim for the signing of the certificates.
At the meeting, the chief rabbi expressed his approval for the course, and emphasized the pressing need for all shluchim and rabbonim involved in officiating or arranging weddings to become proficient in the relevant halachos. Particularly in places where there is no central authority or beis din that ascertains a couple’ eligibility to get married, it is the responsibility of every shliach and rabbi to be as knowledgeable as possible.
Rabbi Ulman spoke of his extensive experience dealing with matters of birur yahadus and yuchsin, and was pleased to report that because of the course, a heightened sense of awareness has already been raised amongst the shluchim, and that some potentially unfortunate situations have been avoided. The recent story involving a Muslim man who masqueraded a Jew and was married by a rabbi to a Jewish girl was discussed, driving home the importance taking these matters seriously.
“We want to empower as many shluchim and rabbonim as possible,” concluded Rabbi Kesselman, “and look forward to running the course again.”
The next Chuppah v’Kiddushin course starts right after Chanukah. To learn more, or to enroll, go to onlinemachon.com/chuppah.
Photos by Yehoshua Deston
Machon Smicha is excited to announce the start of a brand new course – Kashrus in the Kitchen
Brush up on fundamental, practical topics in hilchos kashrus; exploring the Shulchan Aruch, the poskim and their application in your day-to-day life.
Machon Smicha is proud to host a winter course on the fundamentals of kashrus in the kitchen. The goal of the course is to study the halachos directly from the Shulchan Aruch and other sources, and then to apply them to the practical laws and customs of one’s day-to-day life.
The course was developed by the Machon Smicha, team led by Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Kesselman, as well as under the guidance of experts in this field – Rabbi Baruch Hertz, Anash Rov in Chicago, Rabbi Yitzchak Hanoka, OK Kosher Senior Rabbinic Coordinator, and Rabbi Nissan Zibell, Rabbinate of Central Florida Rabbinic Administrator.
Who is it For?
Whether you learned smicha years ago and could do with a good review, or you just completed it and want to take the next step in your learning, or even if you never did smicha but want to learn these important areas of halacha in an applicable manner, this course is for you.
And thanks to Machon Smicha’s innovative curriculum, this course can bring almost anyone up to speed, while still offering a high level of learning that will benefit everyone, from the beginner uninitiated to the advanced.
What is Machon Smicha?
Machon Smicha is an online program that, thanks to its unique curriculum, empowers and enables everyone to learn and master halachah. From the novice to the well-seasoned scholar, Machon Smicha offers all participants a structured program to grow and succeed in their Torah learning.
What is being learnt?
The topics covered by the course are relevant as well as interesting, and are subdivided into four primary topics:
- Basar B’chalav (Meat and Milk) – dealing with mixtures, waiting times, utensils, knives, sharp foods, nosen ta’am lifgam, and na”t bar na”t,
- Ma’achalei Aku”m (Foods Prepared by Non-Jews) – pas aku”m, bishul aku”m, gevinas aku”m cholov aku”m, and more.
- Ta’aruvos (Forbidden Mixtures) – the bedrock of Hilchos Kashrus; dealing with forbidden foods, bittul, cooking in a kli rishon vs. kli sheini etc.
- Hechser Keilim (Re-kashering utensils) – The laws of why, how and when to kasher utensils
The course is three months, from a week after Chanukah to a week before Purim. Exact dates are 12 December 2021 (8 Teves) – 10 March 2022 (7 Adar II).
To learn more, and to enroll, go to onlinemachon.com/refresher
Baruch Hashem, our fist smicha cohort of 5782, consisting of 40 participants, have begun their journey to smicha.
Hatzalcha Rabbah!
Machon Smicha is an online Smicha program with a unique curriculum that makes learning, getting tested, and receiving Smicha practical.
At Machon Smicha, learning Shulchan Aruch is possible and enjoyable for all – a direct result of the specially crafted program and individualized attention.
Machon Smicha utilizes a special smicha curriculum and program that was designed and initiated successfully. The one of a kind curriculum provides the learner with much needed shiurim, translations, explanations, and summaries of all relevant halachos; all in English, in an easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to navigate, format.
Three students took an early test on Hilchos Taaruvos with Rabbi Shneur Zalman Yeruslavski, and did extremely well.
Machon Smicha is an online Smicha program with a unique curriculum that makes learning, getting tested, and receiving Smicha practical.
At Machon Smicha, learning Shulchan Aruch is possible and enjoyable for all – a direct result of the specially crafted program and individualized attention.
Machon Smicha utilizes a special smicha curriculum and program that was designed and initiated successfully. The one of a kind curriculum provides the learner with much needed shiurim, translations, explanations, and summaries of all relevant halachos; all in English, in an easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to navigate, format.
Machon Smicha is an online Smicha program with a unique curriculum that makes learning, getting tested, and receiving Smicha practical.
At Machon Smicha, learning Shulchan Aruch is possible and enjoyable for all – a direct result of the specially crafted program and individualized attention.
Machon Smicha utilizes a special smicha curriculum and program that was designed and initiated successfully. The one of a kind curriculum provides the learner with much needed shiurim, translations, explanations, and summaries of all relevant halachos; all in English, in an easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to navigate, format.
Machon Smicha is an online Smicha program with a unique curriculum that makes learning, getting tested, and receiving Smicha practical.
At Machon Smicha, learning Shulchan Aruch is possible and enjoyable for all – a direct result of the specially crafted program and individualized attention.
Machon Smicha utilizes a special smicha curriculum and program that was designed and initiated successfully. The one of a kind curriculum provides the learner with much needed shiurim, translations, explanations, and summaries of all relevant halachos; all in English, in an easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to navigate, format.
Machon Smicha is an online Smicha program with a unique curriculum that makes learning, getting tested, and receiving Smicha practical.
At Machon Smicha, learning Shulchan Aruch is possible and enjoyable for all – a direct result of the specially crafted program and individualized attention.
Machon Smicha utilizes a special smicha curriculum and program that was designed and initiated successfully. The one of a kind curriculum provides the learner with much needed shiurim, translations, explanations, and summaries of all relevant halachos; all in English, in an easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to navigate, format.
Machon Smicha is an online Smicha program with a unique curriculum that makes learning, getting tested, and receiving Smicha practical.
At Machon Smicha, learning Shulchan Aruch is possible and enjoyable for all – a direct result of the specially crafted program and individualized attention.
Machon Smicha utilizes a special smicha curriculum and program that was designed and initiated successfully. The one of a kind curriculum provides the learner with much needed shiurim, translations, explanations, and summaries of all relevant halachos; all in English, in an easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to navigate, format.
