י
ב״ה
The
JohnnyYeshiva
Program
In loving memory of
Jonathan "Johnny" Ellis A″H
יונתן בן ישראל ע״ה
What it is
Open a door.
An immersive adult learning fellowship.
Five Sundays of class. Three self-study weeks. A capstone day at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights.
No Hebrew required
No background required
No judgment
Apply for cohort 01 →
$180 all-in · scholarships available · cohort capped at 24
What it is
A five-week
adult learning
fellowship.
Five Sundays of in-person learning, three self-study weeks built around the holidays, and a capstone trip to 770. For Jewish adults 25–40, no matter where you're starting from.
No Hebrew required
No background required
No judgment
When
9 weeks
May 3 – June 28
Format
5 + 3 + 1
class · self-study · trip
Hours
10 – 2
brunch included
Cost
$180
scholarships available
Cohort
24 fellows
first-come, first-served
Get
All books
+ trip to 770
א
יונתן בן ישראל ע״ה
In his memory
Johnny was a rock of CYP. He showed up. He learned. He brought people in. He believed Jewish life isn't something you watch — it's something you do.
The Johnny Yeshiva Program is the community's way of keeping that fire burning — in his name, for the people he loved.
The arc · nine weeks
Five Sundays,
three weeks off,
one trip to 770.
Built around real adult life. The class weeks are immersive and substantive. The self-study weeks fall on holiday weekends — Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Father's Day — when you should be with family anyway. Each off-week comes with a small take-home practice (~30 min).
01
Sunday · May 3Class
Welcome + Tefilah
In-person
02
May 10 · Mother's DaySelf-study
Bridging Tefilah → Chassidus
Take-home
03
Sunday · May 17Class
Chassidus & The Soul Map
In-person
04
May 24 · Memorial DaySelf-study
Bridging Chassidus → Shabbat
Take-home
05
Sunday · May 31Class
Shabbat + Kashrut
In-person
06
Sunday · June 7Class
Joy + Relationships
In-person
07
Sunday · June 14Class
The Rebbe + Ethics
In-person
08
June 21 · Father's DaySelf-study
Bridging The Rebbe → The Trip
Take-home
09
Sunday · June 28Trip day
The Trip to 770
Capstone
Class Sundays: 9:30 AM optional Hebrew · 10 AM – 2 PM main session · brunch included.
770
The capstone
A day at 770.
We close out at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn — the world headquarters of Chabad. Daven in the Rebbe's shul. Walk through Crown Heights with a guide. Lunch with the cohort. Optional visit to the Ohel.
3,500+
Chabad centers worldwide
100+
countries served
1
place it all started
This is for you if
You're curious.
✓
You're Jewish, somewhere in your late 20s through 30s, and you've been meaning to "get into" your tradition.
✓
You'd be embarrassed to admit you don't know what the Amidah is — and you'd rather just learn it in a room of friends.
✓
You loved Johnny — or wish you had — and you want to honor him by doing the kind of thing he loved.
No prior knowledge required. No pressure. Just real Torah, real friends, real food.
The FAQ
Common questions.
Do I need to know any Hebrew?+
Not a single letter. There's an optional 9:30 AM pre-class Hebrew session every Sunday for fellows building literacy from zero. It starts with the alphabet on a whiteboard. By the trip to 770, you'll be reading. Skip it entirely if you don't want it — the main 10:30 session never assumes Hebrew.
Do I need to be religious?+
No. The program is built for the full range — from people who've never been inside a shul to people who grew up Modern Orthodox and want a Chassidic perspective. There's just Jews on different parts of the same journey.
What's the deal with the self-study weeks?+
Three Sundays in the middle of the program (May 10, May 24, June 21) fall on Mother's Day, Memorial Day, and Father's Day — days you should be with the people you love. The cohort doesn't meet in person on those days. Instead, you get a small take-home assignment by email Friday afternoon — about 30–45 minutes of practice that bridges what you just learned with what's coming next. Optional, but every fellow who does them gets a noticeably deeper experience.
Can I miss a Sunday?+
Yes. Real life happens. We record audio of each session and the rabbi will catch you up before the next class if you ask. The only Sunday you really shouldn't miss is the trip on June 28 — the bus leaves at 8 AM and there's no make-up day.
Is it really $180? What's the catch?+
It's really $180 for the full nine weeks — books, brunch every class Sunday, lunch in Crown Heights, the bus, the tour, all of it. The actual cost is several times that; the difference is subsidized by the Johnny Ellis Memorial Fund. If $180 is a stretch, email us — no-questions-asked scholarships, nobody turned away.
I'm intermarried, or my partner isn't Jewish.+
You're welcome. Full stop. The program is for Jews, but you don't have to pass any test about your home life to walk in. Bring those questions too — we cover relationships head-on in Sunday 4.
What books will I get?+
A Hebrew/English Tehillat Hashem siddur (the standard Chabad prayer-book), the Tanya in English with commentary ("Lessons in Tanya"), an English Pirkei Avos, and a workbook for the Hebrew sessions. All yours to keep.
I don't live in Hoboken or Jersey City.+
If you can make it to the Chabad House on five Sundays — yes. We've had fellows commute from Manhattan, Bayonne, Newport, and Brooklyn. The address is shared after you apply.
ש
Sign up
Open a door.
Cohort capped at 24. Registration closes May 1. Books ship in late April. We start May 3.
Cohort 01 status
17 of 24 seats left
First-come, first-served. Registration closes when the cohort fills.