MANCHESTER / BOSTON — Across five time zones, through Zoom screens and busy schedules, two men from vastly different backgrounds have found common ground in ancient texts and timeless questions.
When Michael Lowe received an email from Partners in Torah just over a year ago, he had no way of knowing it would lead to weekly transatlantic conversations that challenge him as much as they inspire. Based in Manchester and spending a quarter of his year in Israel, Michael had already been involved in Jewish learning partnerships through Project SEED since 1999. But his pairing with Mark Rudman, an immigrant from the Former Soviet Union living outside Boston, Massachusetts, has proven to be something entirely different.
The logistics alone require dedication. With a five-hour time difference, the pair meets around 5:30 PM UK time for 30 minutes each week. “When I’m in Israel, it’s a bit more difficult,” Michael admits, but they make it work. Their entire relationship has unfolded on Zoom, although Michael observes he’d like to visit the U.S. Northeast sometime, even if family commitments in Israel often take precedence.
Michael’s journey into chevruta learning (in pairs) began when he lived in Borehamwood and was paired with a partner from the Golders Green Beth Hamedrash (also known as Munks) through Project SEED. When a new SEED project was launched in Cheadle/Gatley, Greater Manchester, Michael, who had moved north by then, offered to participate in a role reversal, this time as the more experienced partner. He’s been learning with someone from Cheadle since 1999, working through Gemara together in a more structured format.
His partnership with Mark operates on completely different terms. “With him, he wants to ask questions about the parsha, or something he’s read in a sefer,” Michael explains. “He is an author with an incredibly inquiring mind.”
Mark’s background provides context for that intellectual curiosity. Originally from Moldova, he spent time in Moscow for college before living in the Ural Mountains and Kazakhstan. He arrived in New York State in 1980 and eventually settled in the Boston suburbs. Since learning English, he has written more than a dozen books and hundreds of short stories, including a website where readers can vote on whether stories were written by humans or AI.
Mark’s wife started learning through Partners in Torah first. “I got jealous and decided it was time for me to do that too,” he says. He’d been studying Daf Yomi (one page of Gemara per day) for three or four years and engaging in self-study for many years, but he wanted a shared learning experience. A member of a Modern Orthodox synagogue since 1980, first in New York and then in Boston, Mark brought an established foundation in Jewish observance but an unquenchable thirst for deeper understanding.
That thirst keeps Michael on his toes. “His questions make me expect the unexpected,” Michael says. While his SEED partnership has a defined scope, with Mark, “anything goes, including questions from left field.” The pair has coined a nickname, “Question Mark,” to describe how many queries he posits. “Sometimes I know the answer, and sometimes I don’t,” Michael admits. “I have a degree in philosophy, but I’ll try and work out the answers, even if I don’t know it with 100% certainty.”
“Stories like Mark and Michael’s remind us that Torah study transcends geography and background,” says Rabbi Eli Gewirtz, Founder and International Director of Partners in Torah, now a division of AISH. “When two Jews learn together, they’re building a timeless bond, a journey that bridges continents.”
The weekly parsha forms the framework of the studies for Mark and Michael, but Mark often raises questions from Daf Yomi or concerns about midrashim (ancient commentary on part of the Hebrew scriptures, attached to the biblical text). Michael finds himself explaining why it’s dangerous to take things too literally, discussing how ancient texts sometimes speak in code. Mark, whom Michael jokes “would make a good Yemenite” because he follows the Rambam, wants to understand why certain phrases are used, why one person speaks and not another, why G-d spoke to Abraham face-to-face at the beginning of the Akeida (binding of his son Isaac), but sent an angel at the critical moment.
“Teachers always learn from students, and it’s very true in our case,” Michael reflects. “He tends to raise things he’s noticed.” Mark is open-minded to alternative interpretations, and when Michael is completely stumped, he’ll research and find an answer. “It’s an enjoyable experience that I look forward to.”
“The partnership of Mark and Michael embodies what Partners in Torah aims to create: not just knowledge transfer, but a genuine relationship built on mutual respect, intellectual curiosity, and shared commitment to learning,” said AISH CEO Rabbi Steven Burg.
For Mark, the rewards run deep. “The most fruitful part is that this is the traditional way. Jews learn in pairs. It’s better to do it that way,” he says. “If there’s something you don’t understand, the other can help. If you both don’t understand, it shows the topic might be really difficult. It’s easier to find an answer when two people are searching for it.”
The partnership has deepened Mark’s understanding of Torah, and he credits Michael with helping him become more organized in his approach. “Michael is the senior partner of the chevruta; otherwise I wouldn’t stay here,” Mark says frankly. But he also believes the learning flows both ways. “I learn from him, and I hope he also learns from me.”
Michael confirms this mutual enrichment. Mark’s questions force him to think more deeply, to consider angles he might not have explored on his own, to return to source material with fresh eyes.
“I’m very thankful to him,” Mark says. “He’s patient and working with me requires a lot of that.” His hope is simple and heartfelt: “B’H we’ll continue as long as I’m able and he is willing.”