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OU’s ‘All Mishnah Jr.’ draws record 2,100 teen participants from 32 middle schools

“Our objective is to make learning as fun, exciting and attainable as possible,” says Rabbi Meir Avracen, who oversees the program.

Students Neta Ronen-Tal and Mindy Attali at Atlanta Jewish Academy with their All Mishnah Jr. Mishnayot books and the gift cards they won in the program’s weekly raffle. Credit: Courtesy.
Students Neta Ronen-Tal and Mindy Attali at Atlanta Jewish Academy with their All Mishnah Jr. Mishnayot books and the gift cards they won in the program’s weekly raffle. Credit: Courtesy.

An extracurricular program has become overwhelmingly popular among Jewish middle-school students across the United States: The Orthodox Union’s All Mishnah Jr. (AMJ), which has inspired more than 2,100 students in grades six through eight to learn two Mishnayot daily during their free time.

AMJ is an offshoot of the OU’s All Mishnah, a free app featuring lessons, learning aids, a study tracker and other resources that help facilitate the study of Mishnah. Whereas the main program centers on Mishnah Yomi—a seven-year cycle involving the study of two Mishnayot daily, seven days a week—AMJ’s three-year learning cycle runs for four months between Sukkot and Pesach, five days weekly, enabling students to catch up or review past material over the weekend at their discretion.

“All Mishnah Jr. is a transformative experience,” says Elie Dahan, a seventh-grader at Yeshivat He’Atid in Teaneck, N.J. “The program is amazing, and it makes me feel as if these laws are being taught to me directly from the chachamim.”

Launched in 2021 and now in its fourth season, AMJ is active in 32 schools in the states of New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Georgia, Florida, California, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Colorado and Illinois. Designed to make Torah study enjoyable and accessible, it encourages students to log their daily learning for a chance to win substantial raffle prizes like Visa and Amazon gift cards, AirPods, drones and even hoverboards. Participants also get swag such as slap bracelets and sweatshirts upon completing the first masechet: Megillah.

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Elan Rosen and Aaron Ascher of JEC (The Jewish Educational Center) show off their texts as part of the All Mishnah Jr. program at their school in Elizabeth, N.J. Credit: Courtesy.

“Our objective is to make learning Mishnayot as fun, exciting and attainable as possible,” says OU Torah Initiatives programming manager Rabbi Meir Avracen, who oversees AMJ. “We hope that this program will foster an appreciation for the greatness of Torah in its own right, inspire participants to study Torah and turn it into a lifelong habit.”

Rabbi Binyamin Weinreich, a middle-school teacher of Judaic studies at Yeshivat He’Atid, says student enthusiasm for the program is a source of pride for the school.

“AMJ gets students into the habit of being kovea itim laTorah, ‘setting aside time for learning Torah,’ which is great preparation for life beyond the school years,” he says. “The students who do it already show that learning extends far beyond classes in school. It’s something they value and do of their own choice. The prizes and sweatshirts help to motivate them, but chazal tell us, mitoch shelo lishma ba lishma, ‘one comes to learn for its own sake.’”

About 45 staff members, including administrators, rebbes and teachers, work alongside him to implement the program at their respective schools. After signing up, participants receive customized AMJ Artscroll Pocket Edition Mishnayot, generously sponsored by Ralph Rieder of Monsey, N.Y.

“AMJ launched with just eight schools, but since then, we’ve quadrupled in size,” says Avracen. Although 2,100 participants registered online this year; we always send 20% more Mishnayot to each school because once other students see the energy and excitement around AMJ, they want to get on board as well.”

‘They’re really invested’

Participants have various options through which they can complete their learning—on their own, with their parents, rebbes or teachers, as part of chevras or via the use of the AMJ website, which features videos and recorded lessons of the day’s Mishnayot in both Ashkenaz and Sephardic pronunciations. 

Following the terror attacks in southern Israel, on Oct. 7, 2023, the AMJ team added a layer to the program that makes student study even more meaningful: In partnership with Chayal of the Day, an Israeli-based organization, each participant is paired with a soldier from the Israel Defense Forces (chayalim) and learns in their zechut.

“Each student receives their chayal’s bio and is encouraged to send their chayal a personal message,” says Avracen. “Knowing they are supporting Israel and our chayalim encourages them to learn even more.”

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Theo Woodall and Yosef Isenberg at Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy in Los Angeles participate in the All Mishnah Jr. program. Credit: Courtesy.

Rabbi Matthew Faigen, junior high dean of students at Fuchs Mizrachi School in Beachwood, Ohio, notes that nearly 60 out of about 100 students signed up this year for the program.

“I can’t praise AMJ enough,” he says. “It’s perfectly designed for kids with the ideal balance of fun, creativity and meaning. The learning is not overwhelming, the website is straightforward, the pocket Mishnayot are wonderful, and the excitement around our weekly raffles is electric. But most importantly, the program teaches students at an early age about the value of kviut, of setting goals and times to learn daily.”

He adds that many Fuchs Mizrachi students completed their first-ever masechta through the program.

“Students feel great about their accomplishments, and many have been inspired to learn other Mishnayot on their own,” he says. “The program is remarkable.”

Weinrech says that Yeshivat He’Atid students are equally enthused.

“Students remember concepts they came across in their AMJ learning, and make connections between it and what we’re learning in class,” he says. “They’re really invested. Half of the middle school—83 students—completed Masechet Megillah with AMJ, many of whom have probably never finished a masechta of Mishnayot before. That kind of success is impossible to argue with.”

For more information, see: allmishnahjr.org.

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Founded in 1898, the Orthodox Union (OU), or Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, serves as the voice of American Orthodox Jewry, with over 400 congregations in its synagogue network. As the umbrella organization for American Orthodox Jewry, the OU is at the forefront of advocacy work on both state and federal levels, outreach to Jewish teens and young professionals through NCSY, Israel Free Spirit Birthright, Yachad and OU Press, among many other divisions and programs.
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