Following the extensive hype regarding the status of Yeshiva University’s Graduate Program for Women in Advanced Talmudic Studies (GPATS), the singular major change this year has been the appointment of Mrs. Nechama Price as director, as was announced by the Observer in early September. Regarding her new role, she explained, “GPATS changed my life, without question, which is why I was excited when I was given this position.”
Mrs. Price is a full time instructor at Stern in both the Bible and Juds departments. She spent three years in GPATS while completing her masters in both Bible and Jewish Education at Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and the Bernard Revel Graduate School. Afterwards, she spent four years as a Sha’al U’meishiv in the Stern Beit Midrash, while teaching on the Beren Campus. She has been a Kallah teacher for over ten years and taught over one hundred Kallahs. Last year, she graduated from the Yoetzet Halacha program and currently works in the New Jersey communities of Tenafly, Englewood, West Orange, Livingston, and Long Branch.
As the first woman staff member of GPATS and an alumna of its second graduating class, Mrs. Price is an appropriately chosen mentor to the students in every way. She will help students approach any issue that they may face on their path to becoming Jewish leaders. According to Mrs. Price, whether students plan to become teachers, either informally or formally, Yoatzot Halacha, or Kallah teachers, this program will give them the necessary skills for their future. As she explained, “no matter your next step (after GPATS), those two years will change your life.”
Gabrielle Hiller, a current student of the program, who intends to teach Tanach and Gemara to high school students after GPATS, expressed: “The world of women’s Torah learning is still growing and developing, and it is amazing to have someone to speak to who can guide us on that journey.”
Mrs. Price stated that she is “a voice for the women” and, as such, she will help them deal with a large variety of leadership issues that are specifically applicable to women today. In addition to the mentorship aspect, her role also encompasses recruitment and arranging programming.
As in the past, the GPATS curriculum entailed learning Gemara in the morning, taught by Rabbi Moshe Kahn and Rabbi David Nachbar, and Halacha in the afternoon, with Rabbi Gedalia Berger. The topic of afternoon Halacha will continue to alternate each year between Nidah and Kashrus.
Every Wednesday, Mrs. Price organizes a Lunch-and-Learn featuring a presentation from a guest speaker such as Rabbi Brander, Dr. Pelcovitz, or herself. As part of this program, Mrs. Price will be increasing the focus on public speaking by “listening to them speak and critiquing them,” during the one-hour luncheons, in order to hone that critical skill.
Additionally, Mrs. Price wants “to work on getting GPATS students more involved with Stern students. For one thing, seeing GPATS students engrossed in learning Torah in Stern’s Beit Midrash gives Stern students the chance to consider GPATS for their future, a sight that influenced the decision of numerous current students to apply. Mrs. Price hopes to facilitate a meaningful collaboration that will benefit both sides.
At its core, GPATS is “two years of solid learning, skill building, growing as a person, and getting yourself ready for the next step,” says Mrs. Price. Her goal is for GPATS to continue educating women in Gemara and Halacha and also to give the students the leadership capabilities that they will need to impact the Jewish community at large.