History
Launched in December 1991 by the National Society for Hebrew Day Schools through a grant from the Avi Chai foundation, Partners in Torah introduced its unique brand of Jewish study to day-school parents in schools across North America. Meeting at the time for an hour a week in community day schools, parents who wanted to keep pace with their children’s Jewish studies were paired up to study with other parents or community members who had a stronger background in Jewish studies. No longer feeling inadequate by their limited exposure to Jewish concepts and texts, participating parents felt empowered to support and assist their children as they progressed through school. Over a dozen schools boasted vibrant Partners in Torah programs.
Over time, the program evolved from its exclusive focus on day-school parents to addressing the study interests of all Jewish adults across the spectrum of denomination and affiliation. Following its original model of one-to-one, in-person study, Partners in Torah opened new programs housed in a variety of synagogues and JCCs. The first such program opened in Passaic, NJ in 1993 with six participants. Over 30 other communities followed suit.
As these programs continued to flourish, the focus shifted to the absence of quality programming for Jews in the hinterlands where Jews no less limited in their Jewish knowledge were scattered. The existing Partners in Torah model, which relied on local talent and resources, proved inadequate. But could the program’s relationship-based model be somehow modified, while preserving its primary ingredient of human, not virtual, dialogue and exchange of ideas? When a Jewish social worker from Ketchikan, Alaska called in late 1997 to ask how he too could study, the solution became apparent. Thank you Alexander Graham Bell. Within a week of that call, the first Torah “telepartnership” was arranged between the Alaskan social worker and a New York psychologist.
Over the next several months, “TelePartners”, the program that would grow to become Partners in Torah’s primary focus, was born. Additional staff were hired, a new database developed, and a phone-card arrangement made with a large telecom company to accommodate cross-country study and camaraderie. The close to 50 million minutes that have since been logged on those phone cards is but one indication of the growth of TelePartners. (With the proliferation of “unlimited minutes” and “free nights and weekends” plans, only a small percentage of participants still use Partners in Torah phone cards.) Another indication is the 30,000+ geographically and religiously diverse Jews who have developed a personal connection with Judaism through the program.
Whether by phone or in person, Partners in Torah continues making Judaism accessible, relevant, and meaningful to Jews of all backgrounds – at absolutely no cost.
