Gateways is an international organization whose self-declared mission is it to "raise

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish consciousness."

Origins

Gateways was founded in 1998 by Rabbi Mordechai Suchard with the stated goal of "providing opportunities for Jews to unlock the treasure of their heritage through dynamic educational and social programs." The organization is based in

Monsey, New York Monsey (, yi, מאנסי, translit=Monsi) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The ...

, United States. It began as an American offshoot of Arachim (meaning "values"), an Israeli

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

outreach organization founded in 1979. Funding for Gateways is entirely from individual donors.

Programs

The programs educate in Jewish values and traditions." Gateways often joins with other organizations to co-sponsor events. Programs include: * Family education. * Learning programs for collegiates and young professionals. * Services focused on the Russian American Jewish community. * Singles networking and matchmaking. * Learning opportunities via the internet, including an " Ask the rabbi" portal. * Life skills and professional development seminars. *

Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

programs. In addition to the New York metropolitan area, the organization hosts events throughout the United States.

Gateways personalities

Gateways is staffed by a team of 45 working in seven departments.

Rabbi Mordechai Suchard

Rabbi Mordechai Suchard is the founder and executive director of Gateways. He is a Jewish educator, speaker and author.

Biography

Suchard was born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. His father is a dayan (ecclesiastical "judge") on the

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

Beth Din A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a Rabbinic Judaism, rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of ...

. He studied at the

Telshe yeshiva Telshe Yeshiva (also spelled ''Telz'') is a yeshiva in Wickliffe, Ohio, formerly located in Telšiai, Lithuania. During World War II the yeshiva began relocating to Wickliffe, Ohio, in the United States and is now known as the Rabbinical College ...

, in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Ponevezh in Bnei Brak, Israel, and received his rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Itzhak Kolitz, the Chief Rabbi of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and Dean of the Jerusalem Beth Din. Suchard founded Gateways to promote the continuity of

. He has established and run a network of outreach organizations targeting college students, young professionals, singles and Russian immigrants in the United States. He is active in Jewish education on the Internet. Suchard has served on the rabbinical board of "Ask The Rabbi" answering questions about Jewish law, philosophy and ethics. He speaks across America on Jewish issues such as

prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a '' prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pr ...

and seeing

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

in one's life. Suchard was on the American delegation accompanying US President

George Bush George Bush most commonly refers to: * George H. W. Bush (1924–2018), 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd president * George W. Bush (born 1946), 43rd president of the United States and son of the 41st president Georg ...

when he visited Israel in May 2008 to mark the country's sixtieth birthday celebrations.

Political views

Rabbi Suchard is a supporter of Senator

Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for ...

, contributing to his political campaign from 2002 to 2006.

Rabbi Mordechai Becher

Rabbi Mordechai Becher is an author and lecturer on topics of Jewish philosophy and ritual law and practice.

Biography

Born in Australia, Becher attended the Bialik College in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

for elementary school. He received his rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Chief Rabbi of

. Shortly thereafter, he started lecturing at

Neve Yerushalayim Neve Yerushalayim ( he, נוה ירושלים) is the oldest and largest college for Jewish women in the world. Founded in 1970 to educate '' baalot teshuva'' (female returnees to Orthodox Judaism) in the why and how of living an Orthodox Jewish l ...

, Darchei Binah and Ohr Somayach College, remaining at the latter for 15 years. He also served as a senior lecturer at Ohr Somayach Thornhill for four years in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, from 1992 to 1996. Becher first moved to Israel in 1978, and served in the

armoured infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is disti ...

in the Israel Defense Forces,. He was an army chaplain, teaching in training programs for rabbis and educators. His wife, Chavy, is from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in 1985 and lived for a time in

Kiryat Moshe Kiryat Moshe ( he, קריית משה) is a neighborhood in Jerusalem, named for the British Jewish philanthropist Moses Montefiore. Kiryat Moshe is bordered by Givat Shaul. History Kiryat Moshe was founded in 1923 with funding from the Moses Mon ...

, Israel. He has co-authored two books on contemporary issues in Jewish law and has responded to legal, ethical and philosophical questions on the Ohr Somayach "Ask the Rabbi" website. Becher considers Rabbi Moshe Shapiro to be his ''rebbe'', or primary mentor in areas of Torah and Judaism. Becher lives with his wife and their six children in Passaic Park.

Gateways

Becher is a Senior Lecturer for Gateways. He also lectures for Project Genesis and is one of the leading voices in American Orthodox Jewish outreach. He is known for his sense of humor, evidenced by some of the lectures he delivers, with titles including "Guns and Moses: A Jewish Perspective on

Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

," "The

Rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

, the

Tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

and the

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...

," "

First Fruits First Fruits is a religious offering of the first agricultural produce of the harvest. In classical Greek, Roman, and Hebrew religions, the first fruits were given to priests as an offering to deity. In Christian faiths, the tithe is similarl ...

Cheeseburger A cheeseburger is a hamburger topped with cheese. Traditionally, the slice of cheese is placed on top of the meat patty. The cheese is usually added to the cooking hamburger patty shortly before serving, which allows the cheese to melt. Chees ...

s and

Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes ...

" and "

Shabbos Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stori ...

: Who Invented the Weekend Anyway?"

Other endeavors

Becher is the author of books, including ''Avodat Ahavah'' (''Labor of Love'', available only in Hebrew) covering the Jewish laws related to ''

kiruv Orthodox Jewish outreach, often referred to as ''Kiruv'' or ''Qiruv'' ( he, קירוב "bringing close"), is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-observant Jews to encourage belief in God and life accord ...

''. He co-authored ''After the Return: A Guide for the Newly Observant'' with Moshe Newman and wrote ''Gateway to Judaism: The What, How and Why of Jewish Life''. Becher has contributed to the development of computer software programs related to Israeli

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

. Becher has a radio show on OU-Radio, which operates in a question and answer format. Becher is the host of a

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

show that airs on Shalom TV, carried on

Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...

's Channel 1 On Demand entitled "Dimensions of the Daf," a reference to the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

, a page of which is referred to as a ''daf''. Becher has given lectures for organizations that include the UJA and the

Zionist Organization of America The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) () is an American non-profit pro-Israel organization. Founded in 1897, as the Federation of American Zionists, it was the first official Zionist organization in the United States. Early in the 20th centur ...

. Becher has studied

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...

, archeology and history and is on the speakers list of the Israeli Consulate in New York.
Lectures by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

Rabbi Jonathan Rietti

Rabbi Jonathan Rietti is an English-born Rabbi, educator, and prominent speaker.

Biography

Rietti was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the son of British actor and director

Robert Rietti Robert Rietti, (born Lucio Rietti; 8 February 1923 – 3 April 2015), was an actor, and Oscar-nominated director of Anglo-Italian descent. With over 200 credits to his name, he had a highly prolific career in the American, British and Ita ...

. A descendant of the Sephardic leader the

Ben Ish Chai Yosef Hayim (1 September 1835 – 30 August 1909) ( Iraqi Hebrew: Yoseph Ḥayyim; he, יוסף חיים מבגדאד) was a leading Baghdadi ''hakham'' (Sephardi rabbi), authority on ''halakha'' (Jewish law), and Master Kabbalist. He is best ...

, Rabbi Rietti studied at Dvar Yerushalaim under Rabbi Baruch Horovitz and then went on to receiving his rabbinical ordination from

Gateshead Talmudical College Gateshead Talmudical College ( he, ישיבת בית יוסף גייטסהעד), popularly known as Gateshead Yeshiva, is located in the Bensham area of Gateshead in North East England. It is the largest yeshiva in Europe and considered to be o ...

and was then involved in establishing a growing

kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. Rietti is a senior lecturer for Gateways. He lectures on Jewish life and identity, lecturing throughout the United States. He possesses a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in educationJewish Inspiration, Inc. - reverse side of audio albums and has been an educational consultant since 1986, offering guidance to parents of gifted and

ADD Addition (usually signified by the plus symbol ) is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the other three being subtraction, multiplication and division. The addition of two whole numbers results in the total amount or '' sum'' of ...

children. Rietti is the author of a book entitled ''The Art of Healthy Living'', based on

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Tora ...

' teachings of healthy diet. He runs educational seminars and lectures, focusing on inner growth, relationships, positive parenting, health, and support for the authenticity of

. He has recorded over 200 lectures.

References

External links

*Gateways
Gateways website

The Brownstone

RAJE"Gateways' Russian American Jewish Experience (RAJE) Newly Top-Rated Jewish Nonprofit on GuideStar"
''ABC'', Lincoln, NE November 23, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gateways (Organization) Baalei teshuva institutions Jewish organizations based in the United States

Origins

Programs

Gateways personalities

Rabbi Mordechai Suchard

Biography

Political views

Rabbi Mordechai Becher

Biography

Gateways

Other endeavors

Rabbi Jonathan Rietti

Biography

See also

References

External links