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Aish HaTorah

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Aish/Aish HaTorah
אש התורה‎
NicknameAish
Established1974
FounderRabbi Noah Weinberg
TypeNonprofit
PurposeJewish education
HeadquartersJerusalem, Israel
ServicesOnline educational content, Yeshiva, classes, seminars
Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits
Rabbi Steven Burg
Key people
AffiliationsOrthodox Judaism
Websiteaish.com

Aish, formerly known as Aish HaTorah (Hebrew: אש התורה, lit. "Fire of the Torah"), is a Jewish Orthodox educational organization. The focus of Aish is the spread of traditional Jewish religious teachings and culture to Jews around the globe, utilizing a significant online presence made up of its website, Aish.com, and various social media channels.

In addition to the educational organization, the organization's main campus in Jerusalem also includes a yeshiva and a women's seminary, as well as several other in-person programs. In the late 1990s, the Los Angeles branch of Aish pioneered the speed dating concept as a way to promote marriages between Jewish partners.

In 2001, as part of its outreach and advocacy, Aish set up the Hasbara Fellowships, an initiative designed to combat anti-Israel ideas on North American college campuses, in collaboration with the Israeli Foreign Ministry.[1]

History

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Aish, founded in Jerusalem in 1974 by Rabbi Noah Weinberg after leaving the Ohr Somayach yeshiva, which he had co-founded, aimed to educate young Jewish students, particularly travellers and volunteers, in the history and traditions of Orthodox Judaism.[2][3] It later expanded worldwide and established 30 branches; each is currently run as its own entity. Aish continues to promote an extensive array of relevant in-person courses and online educational material.[4] After Weinberg died in February 2009, his son, Rabbi Hillel Weinberg, served as interim dean for a few years.[5] In 2015, Rabbi Steven Burg was named CEO of the organization,[6] and, in 2019, Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits was named rosh yeshiva.[7]

Politics

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The organization is ideologically conservative. Its officials have stated they oppose a full hand-over of the West Bank to the Palestinians.[8] In 2012, Aish HaTorah officials were linked to the Clarion Fund, publishers of the controversial film The Third Jihad, alleging a muslim strategy to infiltrate and dominate America.[8]

Activities

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See also: Hasbara Fellowships

Aish operates roughly 30 full-time branches on five continents, providing seminars, singles events, executive learning groups, Shabbat and Jewish holiday programs, and community-building. Its Jerusalem headquarters includes a high-tech main campus and outreach center featuring a rooftop vista overlooking the Temple Mount.[9]

The organization operates a website at Aish.com that attracts a global audience.[10] Among the services offered are live chat sessions with Rabbis who are available to answer questions.[11]

In the late 1998, Rabbi Yaakov Deyo, then Educational Director of the Los Angeles branch of Aish,[12] invented the speed dating concept.[13][14] Speed dating events under the auspices of Aish have continued to the present, designed to promote marriages between Jewish partners and thus continue the Jewish tradition.[14]

In 2001, the Israeli Foreign Ministry worked with Aish HaTorah to create the Hasbara Fellowships, an initiative designed to combat anti-Israel ideas on North American college campuses.[1]

In December 2013, Aish HaTorah of New York filed suit against its former chief financial officer Jacob Fetman to enforce a Beth Din ruling that Fetman had stolen $20 million in funds from the organization.[15]

Notable faculty

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References

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  1. ^ a b Stub, Zev (2024-12-31). "From posters to protests, pro-Israel US campus leaders take varying paths to shared goal". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  2. ^ Andrew Friedman (February 11, 2009). "The Fire Within: The Passion, Vision, and Teacity That Was Rav Noach Weimnerg ztz"l". Mishpacha. pp. 16–24.
  3. ^ Goldberg, J.J. (2016-08-16). "Is Israel Trying To Turn American Jews Into Orthodox Right-Wingers?". The Forward. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  4. ^ Nas Daily (2024-07-08). I had a conversation with a Jewish Rabbi. Retrieved 2024-07-11 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Kahana, Shaul (May 21, 2019). "משגיח הישיבה התארס עם הרבנית מעפולה" [Yeshiva's Mashgiach Engaged to a Rebbetzin from Afula]. Kikar HaShabbat (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  6. ^ Yudelson, Larry (June 18, 2015). "his place in jerusalem". Jewish Standard. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  7. ^ Simmons, Shraga (August 14, 2019). "Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits to be Inaugurated as Rosh Yeshiva of Aish HaTorah". Aish.com. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Powell, Michael (2012-01-23). "In Police Training, a Dark Film on U.S. Muslims". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  9. ^ Staff, JLNJ (2022-02-17). "US Ambassador To Israel Visits Aish". The Jewish Link. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  10. ^ Wire, Aish/Jewlish (June 14, 2022). "Aish and Jewlish enter into a strategic partnership, making Aish the #1 global Jewish food media brand". Jewish News Syndicate.
  11. ^ "DMing my rabbi: Aish's live chats see spike 300% post-Oct. 7, antisemitism surge". The Jerusalem Post. 2024-06-19. ISSN 0792-822X. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  12. ^ Greenwald, Toby Klein (2021-10-18). "Torah Live Breathes New Life into Education". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  13. ^ Kennedy, Pagan (2013-09-27). "Who Made Speed Dating? (Published 2013)". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  14. ^ a b Staff (2025-08-05). "Largest-ever Jewish virtual dating event timed to holiday of Tu B'Av". JNS.org. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
  15. ^ Nathan-Kazis, Josh (26 June 2015). "$20M Charity Embezzlement Case Shows Power of Rabbinic Courts". The Forward. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  16. ^ Landesman, Shmuel (5 December 2019). "Rabbi Chaim Malinowitz, Artscroll Editor And Rav, 67". Jewish Press. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
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