Michlelet Bruria was founded in 1976 by Rabbi Chaim Brovender, as the woman's component of Yeshivat Hamivtar. At Bruria, as in a traditional men's yeshiva, women studied in hevrutot (a traditional Jewish system of partner-based religious study) and learned Talmud as well as advanced Tanakh.[2][3] In 1986, Bruria merged with Ohr Torah Stone Institutions and was renamed "Midreshet Lindenbaum" after Belda and Marcel Lindenbaum.[2][4]
Midreshet Lindenbaum offers a certificate in "Halachik leadership" (Hebrew: מנהיגות הלכתית), a five-year course in advanced studies in Jewish law, with examinations equivalent to the rabbinate's ordination requirement for men.[5] It also runs a Torah study program for developmentally disabled young men and women known as Midreshet / Yeshivat Darkaynu.[6][7][8]
The midrasha has been a leader in developing women's role in rabbinical courts in Israel and in founding the first school dedicated to training women to serve as advocates in rabbinical courts,[9][10] known as Toanot Rabniyot. Lindenbaum also operates a legal aid center and hotline which has taken an active role in advocating for a resolution to the Agunah problem.[11][12]
