Mazal Tov to Rabbi Daniel Rose who recently received semicha from Rabbi Brovender and Rabbi Fink at WebYeshiva.org.
He is currently Director of Education at Koren Publishers, where he has developed several educational siddurim that are used in schools, camps, and communities around the world and is in the midst of working on an exciting new Tanach project.
Daniel also works for the Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust, developing curriculum and educational resources to further the teachings and legacy of Rabbi Sacks zt”l. Due to his involvement in these roles he spends much of his time engaged in Torah learning of some kind or another, especially machshava, and now Tanach.
Why did you choose to enroll in the Halacha Mastery Program and how did you enjoy it?
Ever since learning in Yeshiva post-high school at Yeshivat Hamivtar when I was first exposed to serious study of halacha, I have wanted to invest in learning halacha in-depth, and perhaps pursue semicha studies. My professional and academic journeys took me in different directions until recently when I found myself with the opportunity to do this and jumped at the chance.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Halacha Mastery Program. I found it intellectually and spiritually stimulating and engaging. The teachers were all excellent, and I especially benefited from the digital mode of learning (remote) and the versatility of the program, by using the archives which allowed me to create my own learning schedule and fit my studies into my already hectic professional and family life.
Additionally, it was very special for me to be able to reconnect to teachers from my yeshiva days some thirty years ago, and learn from them once again, especially Rabbi Brovender and Rabbi Fink.
What stood out for you learning practical halacha from the sources?
I particularly benefited from the tremendously diverse courses available, which include not only the familiar classical subjects of halacha you would imagine would appear in a semicha program, but also other diverse and relevant topics to our lives, such as hilchot tefilla, technology and halacha, and medical ethics and halacha.
Since receiving semicha from WebYeshiva, what are your goals in learning moving forward?
The semicha program pushed me to spend more time immersed in halachic texts than ever before in my life. While my work and personal learning interests find me learning Jewish thought and philosophy often, as well as other text based learning to prepare for teaching and educational resource development, rarely do I find myself pushed to delve deeply into halachic texts.
Having spent this time doing just that I hope to harness the momentum and continue this going forward.
