Why Abarbanel?
Isaac ben Judah Abarbanel knew the world and served the Jewish people.
Born in Lisbon in 1437, Abarbanel was a statesman, Bible commentator, and finance minister to the Portuguese and Spanish crowns. Unsuccessful in his attempt to overturn the Edict of Expulsion, he left Spain with his fellow Jews in 1492. He continued his career as a princely adviser and Jewish leader in Italy, dying in Venice in 1508.
The Abarbanel Institute is committed to providing teens with knowledge and experience of the world in order to prepare them as Jewish leaders, while our adult courses ensure that learning never ends. Young or old, all Abarbanel Scholars are encouraged to embrace complexity, bringing thoughtfulness, humility, honesty, and understanding to the challenges we face.
Why Now?
Aaron Tugendhaft established The Abarbanel Institute as a way to give back to the Jewish community after decades studying and teaching on four continents. It offers intellectually driven teens the opportunity to think seriously about being Jewish in a complex world and to cultivate the pride and character necessary to flourish as committed members of am yisrael.
As the Jewish people begins a new chapter of its history, we need spaces for honest and creative thinking, free of ideological orthodoxies and political distortions. The Abarbanel Institute strives to be that space.
You can read some of Dr. Tugendhaft’s thoughts about education in The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Jewish Review of Books.