The Sephardic Night Yeshiva

Founded in 2003, The Sephardic Night Yeshiva was created with the singular goal of helping the Toronto Sephardic community grow, one month at a time. Through nightly programs and various other initiatives, the Night Yeshiva provides a stimulating learning environment for the youth of Toronto ’s Sephardic community. Programs are run nightly in the Sephardic Kehila Centre and cover a wide array of topics including Halacha, Chumash, Gemarah and Mussar. All aimed at bettering our youth and preparing them for a life of Torah & Mitzvot.

Check out our past events to see how far we've come.

Youth Learning
Running nightly from 8:00-9:00pm, followed by evening prayers, youth from the community are offered a monetary incentive to dedicate an hour every evening to learning the Torah and its laws. For a $50 cash payout per week, a Night Yeshiva student must attend classes the entire week without missing an evening and coming no more than 10 minutes late on any given night.

Classes are given by various youth leaders and Rabbis from the city of Toronto and cover a myriad of topics aimed at bettering our youth and putting them on the right path of Torah and Mitzvot.

Beginner’s Gemara Shiur
Meeting every Wednesday evening at 9:15pm in the Sephardic Kehila Centre Medrash, the Beginner’s Gemara Shiur targets those adults who have never had the opportunity to learn in a yeshiva environment growing up. Led by David Kadoch, the shiur focuses on Masechet Berachot which often leads to lively debates often covering the full gamut of Jewish life, values and philosophy. Haham Assayag periodically visits as well to conduct a Q & A period on any and all questions raised in the class.

Oneg Shabbat
The Oneg Shabbat program offers the youth of our community the rare opportunity to enjoy the holiness of Shabbat in a most appropriate location – The house of Rabbi & Rabbanit Assayag.

Every Friday night, youth and adults congregate at the home of Haham Amram Assayag for beautiful songs, good company and desert.

A Night Yeshiva Shabbat
The Night Yeshiva thus far has successfully arranged 2 Shabbatons over the course of the last year and will periodically arrange further trips as it continues to grow. A Night Yeshiva Shabbat offers the youth of our community an opportunity to leave the confines of their home for a rewarding Shabbat full of inspiring words of Divrei Torah and great food. Not to mention the opportunity to bond with one another outside of a classroom environment.

Past Shabbatons in the Night Yeshiva have included a weekend getaway with Arachim in a beautiful resort and a Shabbat at the home of Rabbi David Sapirman, Rabbi of JEP and lecturer at the Sephardic Night Yeshiva.

Yeshiva Minyan
Every Shabbat morning, beginning at 9:00AM , the Night Yeshiva runs a weekly prayer service for all the youth in the area. The prayers are run by our youth and allow them the priceless opportunity to learn many of the traditional tunes of our heritage – in both prayers and Torah reading. Additionally, two boys are chosen every week to prepare a short Devar Torah to be delivered to the Minyan.

During the services, the entire book of Tehilim (Psalms) is distributed among those gathered and completed in prayer for the complete Refua Shelema of the ill in our community. Services are then followed by a shiur on Gemara with a Siyum Masechet taking place every Simhat Torah.  

Churrissimo Rosh Hodesh
Churrissimo Rosh Hodesh provides the venue where all members of our community can bond together over Churros, drinks and light snacks. Taking place every Rosh Hodesh, this event is highlighted by a keynote speech from prominent Rabbis in our community. The atmosphere created by such an event is conducive to delivering the ultimate goal of the Night Yeshiva – a cohesive and Torah learning community.

Ask the Haham
Beginning Friday, November 5, 2004 , Ask the Haham was created with the sole purpose of providing a means by which the Sephardic Community at large can pose their most perplexing Halachic and philosophical questions to the Haham. With answers distributed once a week and archived on this site, Haham Amram Assayag personally answers any and all questions from the community.

Come join the nearly 400 other members from around the world and pose your question. The Haham is waiting.

Communal Selihot
Join us every year, the Motsae Shabbat prior to Yom Kippur, for what has become a most moving Selihot experience in our community. Join us as our entire community, young and old, come together once a year to pour our hearts out in prayers to G-d Almighty. The night is punctuated by keynote speeches and services are led by various rabbanim from our community.

The impact of such an event, praying with your fellow community members, listening to tens of shofarot blowing in the wee hours of the morning cannot be put into words – it is truly an even you cannot afford to miss.

Audio Library
Rabbi Eli Mansour's Lecture at Yachin U'Boaz - June 21, 2005 - Listen Online or Download

The Night Yeshiva is currently in the process of archiving past shiurim that have been given at the Night Yeshiva and Medrash Torah VeHayim so that our entire community can easily access the words of Torah that have been spoken over the years.

Shiurim given by the Haham will be available as well as a plethora of other classes and lecturers that have taken place. The Audio Library will be updated often so check back to hear what’s new.

Additionally, the Night Yeshiva will provide for download haftarot, parashiyot and tunes of the holidays so that every member in our community can learn and listen to our beautiful heritage.

Seminary Nights
A program structured for girls in the grade 7-8 and 9-10 age group with a similar focus as that of the Yeshiva. Meeting once a week and on Shabbat mornings, Seminary Nights provides an opportunity for Jewish girls to be mentored and develop long lasting relationships with prominent young Jewish women from the city of Toronto.

Men, Women and Couples Parasha Hashavua Shiur
Join us once a week as the Night Yeshiva provides a weekly shiur into the Parasha Hashavua. On a rotating schedule, these classes will be given by various lecturers at the Night Yeshiva and will be available for download in our Audio Library the following week.

To help alleviate the problem of finding a babysitter, the Night Yeshiva is currently in negotiations to provide a large list of potential babysitters through which the attendees can use at their disposal.

Rather than going out to the theatre or dinner, wouldn’t you rather come listen to a shiur once a week and gain an eternal helek in Olam Haba?


Help us Continue to Grow

The Night Yeshiva is expanding and is always looking to begin new initiatives for the purpose of growing our community. Through your support we will continue to grow and so too will our impact.

In less than 2 short years, the Night Yeshiva can boast:

• Over 95 youth from the Jewish community have walked through the Night Yeshiva doors
• 10 alumni have pursued or are pursuing their Judaic studies in yeshivas in Eretz Israel and New York
• 2 youth put on Teffilin for the first time since their Bar Mitzvah
• Boys are attending prayers and classes on a consistent basis even outside of Night Yeshiva hours
• Excellent attendance on a nightly basis, youth and adults, for weekday classes
• A distribution list of over 400 for askthehaham@kehilacentre.com
• Standing room only for Oneg Shabbat & Churrisimo Rosh Hodesh events
• The realization that we are making a difference every day in the lives our youth, our future leaders
• And many more individual successes too numerous to mention

Be a part of our programs and help us reach our goal of a united Torah observant community. To participate in any Night Yeshiva program or make a tax deductible donation contact Menachem Azulay, David Azulay or David Kadoch.

Just think, your donation could make the difference in our youth and in our community – can you afford not to give?

The Sephardic Night Yeshiva is
Under the auspices of
Chief Rabbi Haham Amram Assayag

7026 Bathurst Street, Thornhill, L4J 8K3
Phone: 905-669-7654 x223 Fax: 905-669-5138
Call Salomon Beldeb at (905) 669-7654 (ext. 223)