Jerusalem, Israel – April 7, 2010 – Rabbi Chaim Brovender's WebYeshiva has announced the first three courses in its seminar schedule for the current semester. The topics of the seminars will focus on the Holocaust and Israel and Jewish law (halacha). The seminars are being offered live through WebYeshiva's virtual classrooms, accessible through their website, www.webyeshiva.org.

Yom HaShoah – Some of the most difficult halachic (Jewish legal) questions were asked throughout the Holocaust. Impossible choices between life and death and heroic decisions were made by ordinary people who followed their faith in the most inhumane conditions imaginable. This seminar is being offered Sunday, April 11, at 9PM Eastern Daylight Time.

How “Jewish” is the Jewish State – In 5708 (1948), the course of Jewish history was changed. Or was it? The controversy over Israel’s Jewish nature began before the State was even born. Was declaring Israel as the Jewish State merely a compromise to the religious right, or was it an event of religious and historical significance for the Jewish people – religious and secular alike – throughout the world? This seminar is being offered Sunday, April 18, at 9PM Eastern Daylight Time.

This Land is Your Land – There is a portion of land in Israel for each and every Jew to build their eternal home; so why do so many treat this Divine gift as a mere vacation, while others reject Eretz Yisrael outright? Rabbi Ron-Ami Meyers will take you through the teachings, halachot (laws), rights, privileges, and obligations every Jew has towards Eretz Yisrael (The Land of Israel). This seminar is being offered Tuesday, April 20, at 9PM Eastern Daylight Time.

Other topics in the schedule include the halachot (laws) of Shavuot, the fast of the 17^th of Tammuz, and 15^th of Av, Israel's “Day of Love.”

“We're very excited to be able to provide this online educational forum to people throughout the world,” said Rabbi Rausman, director of WebYeshiva. “Yom Haatzmaut, Israel Independence Day, is such an amazing chag (holiday) here in Israel, which people from outside of Israel can't appreciate.” By providing these seminars, Rabbi Rausman continued, he hopes to share just how significant these days are in Israel, and the moderate cost makes them easily available.

Rabbi Jeffrey Saks, director of ATID, WebYeshiva's parent organization, explained how WebYeshiva differs from other online Torah education. “There's simply nothing like WebYeshiva available anywhere. Most online learning is a passive experience. At WebYeshiva, it's exactly like learning in a beit midrash or classroom. The teachers can respond immediately to questions. At times, the classes can get very lively.”

WebYeshiva is the first fully-interactive, online yeshiva, offering distance learning courses to hundreds

of students in dozens of subjects. Students attend classes from forty-six countries throughout the world, from Argentina to Zambia. All students need to attend classes at WebYeshiva are a PC or Mac and an Internet connection. Course archives are available to registered students. Rabbi Chaim Brovender, Rosh Yeshiva of WebYeshiva, has been a leading force in teaching Torah in Israel and enabling his students to "learn how to learn" according to the renowned "Brovender Method" for over forty years.