| Aish/Aish HaTorah | |
| Native Name Lang: | he |
| Nickname: | Aish |
| Established: | 1974 |
| Founder: | Rabbi Noah Weinberg |
| Type: | Nonprofit |
| Purpose: | Jewish education |
| Headquarters: | Jerusalem, Israel |
| Services: | Online educational content, Yeshiva, classes, seminars |
| Leader Title: | Rosh Yeshiva |
| Leader Name: | Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits |
| Leader Title2: | CEO |
| Leader Name2: | Rabbi Steven Burg |
| Key People: |
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| Affiliations: | Orthodox Judaism |
Aish, formerly known as Aish HaTorah (he|אש התורה|lit=Fire of the Torah), is a Jewish Orthodox educational organization. The focus of Aish is the spread of traditional Jewish religious teachings and culture to Jews around the globe, utilizing a significant online presence made up of its website, Aish.com, and various social media channels.
In addition to the educational organization, the organization's main campus in Jerusalem also includes a yeshiva and a women's seminary, as well as several other in-person programs. In the late 1990s, the Los Angeles branch of Aish pioneered the speed dating concept as a way to promote marriages between Jewish partners.
In 2001, as part of its outreach and advocacy, Aish set up the Hasbara Fellowships, an initiative designed to combat anti-Israel ideas on North American college campuses, in collaboration with the Israeli Foreign Ministry.[1]
Aish, founded in Jerusalem in 1974 by Rabbi Noah Weinberg after leaving the Ohr Somayach yeshiva, which he had co-founded, aimed to educate young Jewish students, particularly travellers and volunteers, in the history and traditions of Orthodox Judaism.[2] [3] It later expanded worldwide and established 30 branches; each is currently run as its own entity. Aish continues to promote an extensive array of relevant in-person courses and online educational material.[4] After Weinberg died in February 2009, his son, Rabbi Hillel Weinberg, served as interim dean for a few years.[5] In 2015, Rabbi Steven Burg was named CEO of the organization,[6] and, in 2019, Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits was named rosh yeshiva.[7]
The organization is ideologically conservative. Its officials have stated they oppose a full hand-over of the West Bank to the Palestinians.[8] In 2012, Aish HaTorah officials were linked to the Clarion Fund, publishers of the controversial film The Third Jihad, alleging a Muslim strategy to infiltrate and dominate America.
See also: Hasbara Fellowships.
Aish operates roughly 30 full-time branches on five continents, providing seminars, singles events, executive learning groups, Shabbat and Jewish holiday programs, and community-building. Its Jerusalem headquarters includes a high-tech main campus and outreach center featuring a rooftop vista overlooking the Temple Mount.[9]
The organization operates a website at Aish.com that attracts a global audience.[10] Among the services offered are live chat sessions with Rabbis who are available to answer questions.[11]
In the late 1998, Rabbi Yaakov Deyo, then Educational Director of the Los Angeles branch of Aish,[12] invented the speed dating concept.[13] Speed dating events under the auspices of Aish have continued to the present, designed to promote marriages between Jewish partners and thus continue the Jewish tradition.[14]
In 2001, the Israeli Foreign Ministry worked with Aish HaTorah to create the Hasbara Fellowships, an initiative designed to combat anti-Israel ideas on North American college campuses.
In December 2013, Aish HaTorah of New York filed suit against its former chief financial officer Jacob Fetman to enforce a Beth Din ruling that Fetman had stolen $20 million in funds from the organization.[15]
