Rabbi Avi Weiss is the founding rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, the Bayit, and founder and co-founder, respectively, of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Maharat rabbinical schools. He serves as the spiritual adviser of Tzofim Garin Tzabar, a national program of Friends of Israel Scouts, whose mission is to support young Jewish Americans who want to make Israel their home and serve as lone soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces.