Midrasha in Berkeley

"I am inexpressibly grateful to the Midrasha program for teaching me to think critically about learning, instead of just accepting one traditional answer as automatically 'correct.'"
     Alona Bach

"Midrasha has given me the opportunity to talk about anything and everything with an intelligent and interesting group of people....Midrasha gave me the space to explore my Jewish heritage and understand what it means to me."
     Daniel Baldasarre

"I looked forward to the Midrasha retreats I have gone on more so than almost any other events of my high school career.....The Midrasha community is my closest community outside of my family."
      Eli Bovarnick

"What Midrasha did was to present more than just one way of looking at any one topic in the way it taught Judaism, and frankly, it also taught us about life."
      Leo Grossman

"Midrasha helped me develop my moral compass and understanding of Judaism, which I could then use to guide my actions and choices."
      Alexandra Kennedy

"The classroom here is not only a classroom but also a community......I came into this school as an insecure middle schooler desperate for approval and new friends. I leave Midrasha not only confident in the sustainability of the relationships founded here, but also in my own ability to go out into the world and create similar experiences."
      Hannah Lukanuski

"I found Midrasha’s conversation-based classes to be a superior method of learning. On both retreats and in Sunday classes I was thinking critically and speaking up about complex topics such as spirituality, my Jewish identity, and international conflicts of the past and our present. Instead of being shushed, we were encouraged to talk....Midrasha has given me the freedom to explore my Jewish identity and spirituality in an extremely loving and accepting environment and for that I am so grateful."
      Lena Miller

"Once I enrolled at Midrasha in Berkeley, I was delighted to discover the opportunity that allowed me to not only focus on feeding the homeless, but also to connect with fellow Jewish teenagers who had similar passions....who derived something unique from their experience in the Midrasha program. Some gained insight from their classes, some nurtured lasting friendships and social connections with fellow Jewish teens, and others, like me, gained the valuable opportunity to pursue community service and our passion for Tikkun Olam."
      Zachary Piser

"Teachers at Midrasha understand what we’re going through."
     Avi Rosenblum

"(In the Abraham's Vision class)it was amazing to see people reaching out to each other and defying the stereotypes that we all read in the newspaper. It gives me so much hope of a brighter future to know that I am not alone in my desire to understand and grow closer to people of different backgrounds and faiths."
     Maya Katz-Ali

"My teenagers are so lucky to have Midrasha as the place they will look back on when they think about the good times associated with being a teenager. It's got it all--friends, intellectual challenge, humor, values--a safe place to grow up into a complex, interesting, authentic mensch." 
     Karen Bovarnick, Parent, Class of 2008 and 2011