Anti-Semitism Awareness Seminar Coming To NJ This Labor Day – Parents, Student Hope It Will Arm Them For On-Campus Anti-Semitism

August 30, 2024 Passaic Torah Institute 0 American Culture, Charity, Civil Rights, Culture, Education, Equality, Events, Faith On Staten Island, Jewish News, Morality and Ethics, New Jersey News, News, Staten Island Families, Staten Island News, Staten Islander Exclusive

NEW SURVEY: THOUSANDS OF TERRIFIED PARENTS AND STUDENTS HOPE SEMINAR WILL ARM THEM FOR SCHOOL ANTISEMITISM

Editor’s note: As we reported earlier this year, newly observant Jews began to flood the Yeshiva Learning Center to learn more about their faith and practices as anti-semitism has been steadily rising. Last year, amid rising anti-semitic incidents, Senator Gillibrand asked for additional funding for security at religious institutions and places of worship.

81% of college students surveyed by the advocacy group, Alums for Campus Fairness, said they avoid certain places, events, and situations. 60% even claimed to have witnessed faculty making antisemitic comments to them or someone they know.

Fearing a return to record high antisemitism at schools and colleges this September, demand is higher than ever for Aish Hatorah’s famous Discovery Seminar. Desperate parents and traumatized students are panic-struck about escalating violence and harassment. Discovery is the most highly attended seminar in Jewish history, with over a quarter million attendees.

Presentations of the famous “codes” seminar had all but halted in the U.S during COVID. Now, that word leaked out that a few North Jersey towns are booking it, dozens of cities nationwide followed suit, and Aish can hardly keep up with all the urgent requests. One of the first stops is Passaic Torah Institute (Yeshiva Ner Boruch) this coming Labor Day from 9am-12 noon.

The seminar has been attended by Hollywood celebrities and U.S. ambassadors, and presented by lecturers including Harvard mathematicians and national security advisors. The presenter for the Passaic presentation, Max Anteby, is the Senior International Aish presenter in America, having made hundreds of presentations in 50 states to spellbound audiences of every walk of life and even people of every religion. But this year is different.

The program comes just as school campuses are expected to erupt yet again with anti-semitic violence and harassment. Rabbi Steven Burg, executive director of Aish Global says “Discovery will provide cogent responses for young students as well as professional adults who are constantly being challenged regarding their religious beliefs and political affiliations.”

The highlight of the program are the hidden codes found in the Torah. Attendees learn about statistically tested and verified clues in the Torah that defy rational deniers of the Torah’s divinity, and some which seem to reveal the future.

Through an interactive, audio-visual examination of Jewish history and Jewish texts, participants gain a deeper appreciation of how a rational person cannot deny the divinity of Judaism. The Q & A segment is far reaching and varies wildly, reflecting the diversity of audiences, from completely secular to Orthodox Jews, and even people of other religions. Anteby reports he’s been faced with some of the toughest questions, but hasn’t tired of answering them, sometimes hours after the seminar is over. “I have not presented enough,” he modestly remarks. This year it could be a longer than ever line of parents and students with questions that might be more to ease their minds than to solve theological paradoxes.

The seminar’s agenda includes seeking answers to penetrating life questions such as what constitutes a rational foundation for a belief system, how to take steps toward being a confident and proud Jew, how one finds clarity on our purpose in this world, how to contemplate things that no human being could possibly know, and much more. Through the challenging Aish Discovery Seminar, participants come away infused with a profound connection to Judaism, discovering its depth, beauty, and practical significance in their daily lives.

“Rising anti-semitism has spurred increased interest in the ‘why’ of Judaism, and people want answers,” says PTI’s Associate Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim. “Aish HaTorah’s Discovery Seminar covers many topics that interest and intrigue Jews,” “including why bad things happen to good people, the beauty of Shabbos, marriage and relationships, and proofs of the existence of Hashem and the Torah. Hundreds of thousands have attended these seminars and left inspired. No matter what your background is, you’ll leave with a life-changing new view of Judaism.”

Aish Discovery Seminar. Image Credit – Passaic Torah Institute

Since the October 7th terrorist attack in Israel, there’s been a global surge of expression of Jewish identity and learning more about religious observance that hasn’t been seen since the glory days of kiruv decades ago. Chabads, Hillels, Birthright, and other Jewish campus organizations have never been more crowded, and applications to Israel Anglo yeshivas is at record highs. PTI, which had been a relatively small yeshiva for adults, was suddenly flooded with new young adults after the start of the war, and is now bursting at the seams, planning a much larger new building, and searching for dormitory housing.

To keep up with the demand for programming, PTI has 5 levels of classes for men and women every day and night 7 days a week, from the complete beginner with no background to the most advanced kollel scholar. “People of all backgrounds feel comfortable here,” says Rabbi Bodenheim. Everything is free.