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Frequently Asked Questions
Overview of Partners in Torah
Founded in 1993, Partners in Torah’s vision is to make Judaism and Jewish wisdom as accessible as possible for Jews around the globe. No judgment. No hierarchy. No commitment. No cost. Also, we aim to bring Jews of different backgrounds together in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual respect and put an end to polarization among Jews. We stood together at Mount Sinai — as one person with one heart — and were equal partners in Torah. Okay, so we got a little sidetracked. And we’re trying to get it back together, to unify the Jewish community — two people at a time.
Generally, partnerships learn for about 30 minutes, once a week. We strongly recommend both the student and the mentor have the same text in front of them and use it as a springboard for learning and discussion. A lot of people spend the first few minutes schmoozing and then dive into their text of choice, taking turns reading and discussing.
The first call, or “kickoff call” is your opportunity to briefly introduce yourselves to one another. It is not meant to be a learning call. Your goal is to set a weekly date and time to learn and select a topic or book that you would like to start with.
There are a few different factors that go into being matched, including gender, age, having compatible topics of interest, and time availability. Men are paired with men and women are paired with women. We try to pair people in a similar age bracket. The wider range of topics you’re interested in learning and the more times you’re available, the better chances you have of being matched up. If you want to increase your chances of being matched sooner, you can increase your availability or topics of interest by logging in to your settings page.
It depends! Some of our participants are paired within minutes of them signing up, others may wait longer.
Partners in Torah mentors are all volunteers who want to carve time out of their day to learn Torah with a fellow Jew. They come from a wide variety of Jewish backgrounds and locations. They are not always necessarily Rabbis, Rebbitzans or professional teachers, but each one is well educated in the variety of topics we offer and are here to share what they know.
Signing up for Partners in Torah
The process of signing up takes about 10 minutes. Just click here and select if you would like to learn or teach and then fill in the form that follows.
Partners in Torah pairs Jews from around the world to learn with one another, regardless of background.
Unfortunately, we require an email address and phone number in order to participate in our program. This way we’re able to reach you easily to tell you about your new partner, do follow up and check-ins, and let you know about all of the great things happening here at Partners in Torah.
We only allow individuals 18 years and older to participate in our program.
Partners in Torah is a volunteer fueled organization. Unfortunately at this time we only have the resources to service the Jewish population.
Yes! You can continue where you left off. You should have received an email with instructions on how to complete your registration. You can also view the “I need help logging into my account” section of this page
Click here to log into your account and update your settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select “Find me a partner.”
Roles in the Program
Our participants get ongoing communication with our dedicated support staff, access to our digital library, the weekly newsletter, special events, short term learning programs, and monthly raffles.
Although there is no cost to participate in the program, we do expect our students to take their involvement seriously. Once you have a set day and time to learn with your partner, please do your best to keep the appointment. If something comes up and you need to cancel or reschedule, please reach out to your mentor as soon as possible. Remember, all of our mentors are volunteers, so please respect them and value their time.
Although you are a volunteer, we do expect our mentors to take their involvement seriously. Once you have a set day and time to learn with your partner, please do your best to keep the appointment. If something comes up and you need to cancel or reschedule, please reach out to your student as soon as possible. Additionally, we do expect our mentors to initiate the weekly calls to their students. Don’t wait for them to call you.
The Partners in Torah support team is available to assist all of our participants during regular business hours. We have staff available Monday through Thursday from 9AM to 5PM and Fridays 9AM to 1PM ET. We are here to offer guidance, hear exciting updates, and share in your learning experience.
We suggest multiple forms of contact. Don’t feel uncomfortable reaching out to them several times before seeking our assistance. Try calling, texting, emailing or sending a WhatsApp and hopefully your partner will respond to you soon! There are times when situations come up where individuals are not responsive, but everyone wants to hear from their Partner in Torah.
Short Term Learning Programs
In general with Partners in Torah, our partnerships last for as long as you’d like. We have participants who only learn for a few months, and others who have been learning for over 20 years. With the short term learning programs, we’re here to give you a taste of Partners in Torah. With only a three week commitment, you can learn something new one-on-one, for a shorter, set amount of time.
During our short-term learning programs, we’ll provide you with learning materials straight to your inbox. No need to buy a book or spend time browsing- from day one you can jump right in!
Both you and your partner have access to this Learning Companion.
If you don’t finish the material within 3 weeks, that’s okay. You’re welcome to continue reading through the Learning Companion with your partner even after the program has ended.
We’re so happy you asked! We have a lot of other things in store for you to make the experience even better! Stay tuned to hear about our weekly events, contest, workshops and more!