The year 5769 will mark the 400th anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Yehudah Lowe, reverently known as the Maharal of Prague (1525-1609).

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The Maharal was a great Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, Kabbalist and philosopher. The Maharal is also famous among non Jews for his vast secular knowledge of mathematics, astronomy and other sciences.  Few among the great men of Jewish history have been the subject of so many popular legends as the Maharal. But most important, he was a man who during the most trying periods of Jewish history, did so much for their brethren.  He was their spiritual leader and spokesman.  In his writings he left us a wealth of deep Jewish thoughts and moral teachings.  Let us not think of the Maharal as the creator of the Golem, but rather of the light he has brought to Torah studies and the source of information and faith contained in his writings.

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The Maharal’s impact remains strong to this day.  Not only because his own writings are extensively studied, but also because of the profound impression his writings made on scholars and Jewish leaders of subsequent generations. It is well known that Rabbi Shneur Zalman, founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, who was a direct descendant of the Maharal, based much of his book The Tanya (the foundational work of the Chabad philosophy) on the teachings of his great grand-father – the Maharal.

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In honor of this anniversary THE MAHARAL INSTITUE was established. The purpose of the institute is to familiarize people with the teachings of the Maharal and his disciples who continued to explain and expand his works.  The Institute has opened a full time Yeshiva study program here in Prague dedicated to the study of Talmud, Jewish law, mysticism, Kabbalah, and Jewish philosophy – works of the Maharal. There will also be emphasis on studying the works of the other great Prague Rabbis, such as the Kli Yakar and Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, the Noda B’Yehudah.

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The Institute will hold seminars and lectures by noted Rabbis and scholars, as well as publish various publications in several  languages.