Hag haSemikhah - YCT Graduates 7 New Rabbis

Today, on Sunday 11 June 2006, seven students of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah graduated as rabbis. The ceremony, held at Columbia University's Lerner Hall, was MCed by graduate ('05) Rabbi Marc Gitler.
The list of graduates is made up of the following new rabbis:
- Rabbi Nissan Antine (pictured)
- Rabbi Seth Braunstein
- Rabbi Yonatan Cohen
- Rabbi Zev Farber
- Rabbi Aryeh Leifert
- Rabbi Ari Leubitz
- Rabbi Jason Weiner
These S. Daniel Abraham Semikha Fellows of 2006 will be going out to serve כלל ישראל (lit. the entirety of [the people of] Israel) throughout America. (All placements to be listed are from the program booklet passed out at the ceremony.) Rabbi Antine will be heading out to Beth Shalom Congregation and Talmud Torah in Potomac, MD as an assistant rabbi and director of education. Rabbi Braunstein will be the rabbinic associate at the Hebrew Institute of White Plains in New York, as well as continuing as the director of the Szarvas Fellowships Program. Rabbi Cohen has yet to decide where he will be going. Rabbi Farber will be headed out to Atlanta, GA to be the Rosh Kollel at the Torah MiTzion Kollel there, as well as studying dayyanus with Rabbi Michael Broyde. Rabbi Leifert will be serving as the assistant rabbi at Congregation Rodfei Sholom in San Antonio, TX. Rabbi Leubitz will be going out to Los Angeles, CA to serve as the assistant rabbi at B'nei David-Judea Congregation. Rabbi Weiner will also be reportedly headed out to Los Angeles.
Rabbi Chaim Marder, director of YCT's professional development curriculum, gave the invocation for the ceremony, Dr. Michelle Friedman, director of pastoral counseling at YCT presented the דבר תורה (lit. thing of Torah), Howard Jonas, chair of the Board of Trustees gave his greetings and thoughts to the crowd, with B.T. Roi presenting the gifts to the new graduates. Graduate Ari Leubitz spoke upon the yeshiva experience and fellow graduate Yonatan Cohen spoke on rabbinic aspirations. And to finish off all of the proceedings, the dean and founder of YCT, Rabbi Avi Weiss, spoke the final remarks.
----------------
Tags: YCT, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, graduation, YCT graduation, hag hasemikha, hag hasemikhah, YCT semikha ceremony 2006, YCT graduation 2006, rabbis, new rabbis, rabbinical school, rabbinic ordination