Privacy Policy
Introduction
Yeshivat Tikkunei Ava is the online semichah (rabbinic ordination) preparation platform operated by Ava Torah Judaism, a Jewish community based in Ava, Missouri. This privacy policy explains what data we collect, why we collect it, how it is stored, and what rights you have regarding your information.
We are committed to protecting your privacy. We collect only the minimum data necessary to provide this educational service, and we do not sell, share, or disclose your data to any third parties.
Data We Collect
When you create an account on ytava.org, we collect the following information:
| Data Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Display purposes within your account and study progress screens. |
| Hebrew Name (optional) | Display purposes. Provided at your discretion. |
| Email Address | Used as your login identifier for authentication. |
| Password | Stored only as a bcrypt hash. Your plaintext password is never stored, logged, or accessible to anyone — including site administrators. |
| Birth Month & Year | Used solely for age-based content gating. Specifically, Hilkhot Niddah (laws of family purity) content is restricted for males under the age of 18, in accordance with traditional practice. |
| Gender | Used solely in conjunction with birth date for age-based content gating as described above. |
| Study Progress Data | Quiz scores, lesson completion records, and curriculum progress. Used to track your personal learning journey. |
| Declaration Acceptance | Record that you accepted the commitment to Torah study and ethical conduct upon registration. |
| Email Consent (optional) | If you opt in, we record your consent and consent date to send you program updates and community announcements. You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us. |
How Your Data Is Used
Your personal data is used exclusively for the following purposes:
- Authentication and account management — Your email and password hash are used to log you in and maintain your session.
- Content access gating — Your age (derived from birth month/year) and gender are used to determine access to age-restricted content, specifically Hilkhot Niddah for males under 18.
- Tracking personal study progress — Quiz scores, lesson completions, and your position in the curriculum are stored so you can resume study and monitor your growth over time.
- Display personalization — Your name and optional Hebrew name are displayed on your account dashboard.
- Email communications (opt-in only) — If you consent during registration, we may send you program updates and community announcements. You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us. Your email is never shared with third parties.
Your data is NOT sold, shared with, or disclosed to any third parties. Your data is NOT used for marketing, advertising, or any purpose beyond the educational functions listed above.
Technical Security Measures
We take the security of your data seriously and employ the following measures:
- Password hashing — All passwords are hashed using bcrypt, an industry-standard one-way hashing algorithm. Plaintext passwords are never stored or logged.
- Secure session cookies — Session cookies are set with the
HttpOnly,Secure, andSameSiteflags, preventing access by client-side scripts and mitigating cross-site request forgery. - Parameterized database queries — All database interactions use parameterized prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks.
- HTTPS enforced sitewide — All communication between your browser and ytava.org is encrypted via HTTPS/TLS.
Cookies
ytava.org uses a single cookie for the following purpose:
- Session authentication cookie — A single cookie is used to maintain your logged-in session. This cookie is set with
HttpOnly,Secure, andSameSiteflags for security.
We do not use analytics cookies, tracking pixels, third-party cookies, or any other tracking mechanisms. The only cookie on this site is the session authentication cookie required for login functionality.
Third-Party Services
ytava.org does not integrate with any third-party analytics, advertising, or tracking services.
The one exception is the Bookstore page, which contains Amazon affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, you are taken to Amazon.com, which operates under its own privacy policy. No user data from ytava.org is shared with Amazon or any other external service. The affiliate relationship only means that if you make a purchase after clicking a link, Yeshivat Tikkunei Ava (YTA) may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Google Fonts are loaded from Google's servers to render the typography on this site. Google may collect standard web request data (such as your IP address) when serving these font files, subject to Google's Privacy Policy.
Your Rights
You have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Right to deletion — You may request the complete deletion of your account and all associated data (name, email, study progress, quiz scores, and all other stored information) at any time.
- Right to data access — You may request a full copy of all personal data we have stored about you.
- Right to correction — You may request correction of any inaccurate personal data.
To exercise any of these rights, contact the site administrator using the information provided in the Contact section below. Requests will be processed within a reasonable timeframe.
Data Retention
Your account data and study progress are retained for as long as your account remains active. If you request account deletion, all associated data will be permanently removed from our systems.
We do not maintain backups of deleted account data. Once deletion is confirmed, your information cannot be recovered.
Age Requirements
This platform is designed for serious Torah study and semichah preparation. While there is no minimum age to create an account, certain content (specifically Hilkhot Niddah) is restricted for males under the age of 18 in accordance with traditional Jewish educational practice. Birth month, birth year, and gender are collected solely to enforce this content restriction.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. If we make material changes, the updated policy will be posted on this page with a revised effective date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
Contact
For questions, concerns, or requests related to this privacy policy or your personal data, contact the administrator of Ava Torah Judaism:
- Email: info@ytava.org
- Website: AvaTorahJudaism.org
- Community: Ava Torah Judaism, Ava, Missouri