Midreshet Africa Academy is a South African nonprofit educational and communal institution rooted in Jewish tradition and attentive to the religious, cultural and human realities of Africa.
We bring learning into conversation with life: Hebrew and sacred texts, Jewish history and thought, spiritual practice, community leadership and interfaith encounter.
Midreshet Africa exists to make the wisdom of Jewish tradition accessible, meaningful and alive in the African context.
We create opportunities for serious learning, personal formation and responsible service. Our work welcomes people who seek knowledge, spiritual depth and honest encounter across religious and cultural boundaries.
Our educational covenant is: LEARN · PRACTICE · GROW · SERVE
Learning opens the mind. Practice brings knowledge into life. Growth forms the person. Service carries what we receive into the world.
Our present work includes:
teaching Hebrew, Bible, Jewish history, theology and spirituality;
developing readers, sourcebooks and original educational materials;
offering courses, study sessions and public teaching;
convening gatherings, festivals, retreats and spaces for dialogue;
supporting interfaith and intercultural learning;
building partnerships that connect education with community life.
The Academy is also developing a public Library through which readers, essays, research, publications and recorded teaching can become more widely accessible.
Midreshet Africa is a growing academy, building its wider structure around an active programme of teaching and the development of learning materials.
Our Charter establishes a long-term framework for Schools, programmes, teachers, learners, elders and active communities. Some parts of this vision are already taking shape; others will develop as teachers, partners, resources and communities gather around the work.
We present this process openly. Midreshet Africa is an active institution with a substantial body of learning and a clear direction, while much of its wider structure remains under development.
Midreshet Africa was founded by Rabbi Sa’ar Khai Shaked, an ordained rabbi, educator, chaplain, writer and interfaith practitioner.
Ordained at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem in 2004, Rabbi Shaked has lived and worked in South Africa since 2013. His work brings Jewish learning into conversation with African spirituality, interreligious encounter, community formation and the search for a responsible spiritual life.
As Dean, he provides the Academy’s academic and spiritual direction and works with its Board, teachers, partners and communities to translate its founding vision into sustained practice. His personal rabbinic services, writing and wider professional work are presented separately at RabbiSaar.com.
Midreshet Africa Academy NPC is a registered South African Non-Profit Company. Registration number: 2025/666912/08
The Academy is governed through its Memorandum of Incorporation, Charter and Board of Directors. Its developing constitutional structure also provides for a Council of Teachers, a Circle of Elders and communities of learners and friends.
Midreshet Africa is committed to responsible governance, transparent stewardship, intellectual integrity and the dignity and freedom of every participant.