Derech Etz Chaim is a post-high school religious zionistic

Zionism

Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...

 yeshiva

Yeshiva

Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

 located in Har Nof

Har Nof

Har Nof is a neighborhood on a hillside on the western boundary of Jerusalem, Israel, with a population of 20,000 residents, primarily Orthodox Jews.-History:...

, Jerusalem, Israel. It was designed for students to spend a year or more studying Torah

Torah

Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

 after completing their high school studies and before embarking to university studies. Studies focus primarily on the study of Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

, and are intended to give students the ability and confidence to carry on learning Torah independently after leaving DEC.

History

DEC was founded in 1998 by Rav Aharon Katz, who received semicha (rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

nic ordination) from both R' Yaakov Weinberg

Yaakov Weinberg

Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg, known as Yaakov Weinberg was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, Talmudist, and rosh yeshiva of Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland one of the major American non-Hasidic yeshivas...

 z"l and R' Moshe Halberstam

Moshe Halberstam

Rabbi Moshe Halberstam was the son of Grand Rabbi Yaakov Halberstam of Tschakava, a scion of the Sanz dynasty, and of the daughter of Rabbi Sholom Moskowitz of Shotz of London. He was the Rosh Yeshivah of the Tschakava Yeshivah in Jerusalem and one of the most prominent members of the Edah...

. DEC is affiliated with the Jewish Agency’s MASA Program

Educational philosophy

A stated goal is to allow students to build a strong foundation in Judaism before beginning university studies.

Daily Schedule

The daily schedule is divided into three major study segments: Morning seder is devoted to in depth study, followed by a lecture. The afternoon is a lighter program including group review and with the expectation of covering large amounts of material. Evenings are open study as per the students choice.

Classes are offered on a variety of subjects including Chumash, Halacha, Machshava, Parshat Hashavua, Sefer Hachinuch, and Mussar.

Student life

The DEC facility is a four story villa containing the dormitory, dining room, weight room, lounge areas, Beit Medrash and Shiur rooms. Each floor has views overlooking the Jerusalem Forest. Shabbos and Yom Tov meals take place in Yeshiva twice a month. DEC participates annually in the American Flag Football League in Israel each fall/winter. In 2009, Derech Etz Chaim became the Flag Football Champions of the AFI league.

During the year program the school provides a number of trips around Israel.