Besht Yeshiva Dresden

Besht Yeshiva Dresden
ישיבת בעש״ט דרזדן
Location

Information
TypeYeshiva
Religious affiliation(s)liberal hasidic
Established2020
FounderRabbi Akiva Weingarten

The Besht Yeshiva Dresden is a Jewish educational institution in Dresden, Germany and the first founded Yeshiva in East Germany after the Shoah, as well as the first liberal-Hasidic yeshiva in the world. It was named after the founder of the Hasidic movement, Baal Shem Tov.

In April 2020 Rabbi Akiva Weingarten founded the Besht Yeshiva in Dresden with the aim of giving Jewish Off the derech's the opportunity to live their Jewishness in a liberal way and to pass on their deep traditional knowledge in the non-Orthodox Jewish communities. The Yeshiva is open to everyone and offers Talmud lessons and Hebrew courses. Another goal of the Yeshiva is to make Jewish life visible and natural again in Dresden. "Besht" is an acronym for the name of the founder of the Hasidic movement, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1700–1760).