On Parashat Behar-Bechukotai, right before Yom Yerushalayim, rabbinic students from the Musmachim semicha program will be joining the community of Ra’anana to share Torah in many synagogues around the city. Musmachim is a program of the Religious Zionist Shlichut Center, which was founded by World Mizrachi, and is the premier semicha program for Religious Zionist native English speakers learning and living in Israel. This is the latest impact moment of this innovative program which, having begun in 2019, already has over 30 graduates making an impact across the Jewish world. Here is the story of the Musmachim program.
For those who have visited “Beit Meir,” World Mizrachi’s headquarters in Yerushalayim, on Wednesday afternoons the building transforms into a beit midrash hosting the Musmachim program. This program trains the next generation of young rabbis, with a particular focus on those who will serve Diaspora communities on shlichut. As World Mizrachi’s Executive Chairman Rabbi Doron Perez explains, the program actually grew out of an earlier initiative, the Shalhevet shlichut training program.
“We started running the Shalhevet program in 2016 as a two-year leadership program meeting once a week for three hours,” says Rabbi Perez. “We aimed to teach people general leadership skills, public speaking, and provide them with the basic knowledge a shaliach needs. We were also teaching them fundamental halacha for different situations encountered during shlichut. But as the program became a victim of its own success and grew in numbers, we realized we needed a more rabbinic-focused program. So we created a new program called Musmachim to give young rabbis the halachic and rabbinic training they needed to become the cadre of future rabbis. Shalhevet, which had become very popular, would be streamlined into a leadership program for educators, rabbis, and public community leaders.”
Rabbi Binyamin Zimmerman, who leads the program as its director, describes its credentials and vision: “We are an RCA-approved semicha program recognized in Australia, South Africa, United Kingdom, Canada, and all English-speaking countries. The semicha itself is given by the Va’ad Rabbanim of Mizrachi headed by Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon, and is signed by Rav Rimon, Rav Doron, and myself. We are planning a Chag HaSemicha for graduates from the first five years of the program, which will be held iy”H after Sukkot this year. This celebration will honor not only the first graduates of the program but also those who have already been on shlichut and accomplished wonderful things. It will showcase their achievements while inspiring future leaders, helping them understand that with our training and Mizrachi’s connections, they too can make a difference in places where no one has been before – equipped with a skill set and organizational support that didn’t exist in the past.”
The framework of the program is both comprehensive and unique. “The program spans three years and covers all the major sugyot in Masechet Shabbat, issur v’heter, kashrut, and niddah, taught by Rabbi Binyamin Zimmerman,” says Rabbi Perez. “Additionally, Rabbi Zimmerman brings extensive experience in halacha and technology, addressing everything from electricity and milking cows to hydroponic technology in shemitta and fertility issues handled by institutions like Machon Puah. In all areas where halacha intersects with technology, our students receive significant training. That’s the second component. The third part is pastoral rabbinics – leadership training with psychologists to equip these potential rabbanim with all the necessary soft skills.
“What distinguishes this semicha program is that participants don’t need to leave their current yeshiva. Many of our students study at Yeshivat Hakotel, Yeshivat Har Etzion, Yeshivat Sha’alvim, Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh, Yeshivat Otniel and others. We don’t want to pull people away from their yeshivot; we want them to continue their studies there. Students complete the learning for our program while in their yeshiva and come to Mizrachi one day a week from 2pm to 7pm for shiurim. Because of the comprehensive nature of the program, we actually have some guys who are studying for the Rabbanut exams who are also in our program, as this gives a broader range of skills and training to train rabbis to lead communities.”
Rabbi Zimmerman emphasizes that one of the program’s strengths is its participants: “We have a very idealistic group of individuals, many who grew up in English-speaking countries and made Aliyah and served in the army. They bring broader life experience than many others and possess a deep ideological commitment to making a difference for the Jewish people, both in communities abroad and among olim in Israel.
“We carry significant responsibility, but also have the opportunity to train outstanding leaders, educators, and rabbis who will impact communities throughout the world. Baruch Hashem, we’ve seen success on two levels. First, our graduates have secured excellent positions, and second, numerous organizations and communities approach us – unfortunately, we receive more requests than we have graduates to fill these positions.”
The Shabbat in Ra’anana will provide another opportunity for students to gain experience giving shiurim before they head to positions across the world. With rabbis currently serving in or heading to Canada, UK, Australia, USA, and Israel, the program is bringing some of the best and brightest to serve at the forefront of Jewish communities worldwide.
If you are interested in having a graduate of the Musmachim program serve in your community, please contact Rabbi Binyamin Zimmerman, Rosh Kollel and Program Director, at ravbinyamin@mizrachi.org.