Middlebury Language Schools, Hebrew College Announce Partnership

When Naomi Zipursky decided to pursue her dream of becoming a rabbi, she quickly learned she’d need to build her Hebrew language skills to tackle the work ahead. After consulting with trusted advisors, she enrolled in the Middlebury School of Hebrew in summer 2022.

The seven-week immersive program prepared her for rabbinical school at Hebrew College, allowing her to “dive deep into Jewish texts and traditions in the language” that previously felt daunting.

“The reason I felt as prepared and empowered as I did on my first day of school, and still do today, is a direct result of my time spent at Middlebury,” said Zipursky, who returned the following summer to pursue further study of the language. “I noticed every day how my learning at Middlebury set me up for success in rabbinical school.”

Zipursky decided to share her experience in the hope that others would benefit from the Middlebury Language Schools training as well. 

“I started to wonder, ‘What if every incoming student at Hebrew College could attend Middlebury?’” She ran the idea by Elizabeth Gerner, co-director of Middlebury’s School of Hebrew, and Rabbi Gita Karasov, director of admissions and student life at Hebrew College, both of whom embraced the concept and worked to formalize it.

The new partnership launches this summer with students attending either the seven-week program or the three-week immersion program Middlebury offers as both academic and lifelong learner tracks. As part of the program, all students sign a Language Pledge® to read, write, listen, and speak only in Hebrew.

Karasov said the partnership gives her an official response to the most asked question of prospective students: Where can I go to learn Hebrew in a deep, rigorous way in a short amount of time?

“What they can accomplish in seven weeks over the summer is significant,” Karasov said. “We’re excited to send people to a place they can learn from the best of the best that is now a formal partnership.” 

Language Schools students receive about five hours of daily classroom instruction while engaging in extensive reading and listening activities using texts from invited lecturers, novels, short-stories, plays, movies, media items, and journalistic accounts. They also engage in daily co-curricular activities, including music, theater, readings, and lectures to develop cultural fluency. 

As a benefit of the partnership, participants will receive both financial aid from Middlebury and $1,000 from Hebrew College to attend Middlebury’s summer program. They also receive an expedited admissions process, and informational Zoom sessions. 

Karasov envisions the partnership will evolve into a natural part of the preparatory admissions cycle where students will apply in the fall, interview in the winter, gain acceptance in the spring, and attend Middlebury in the summer. 

“There’s also something sweet about building a connection that can help up-and-coming Jewish leaders, potential rabbis, and Jewish educators by opening up their professional opportunities in the Jewish world,” she said.

The partnership coincides with a new curriculum track by the School of Hebrew that combines modern and biblical Hebrew study. Students start the summer focusing exclusively on modern Hebrew, followed by both modern and biblical Hebrew. Gerner said the combination helps students learn skills required for admission to rabbinical school.

“Students in both the modern and biblical Hebrew tracks will participate in three semesters of college curriculum while in the program,” Gerner said. “In addition to this coursework, they will engage in many hours of speaking and learning Hebrew outside the classroom, which would take years to acquire without immersion.”