Binyomin Wilhelm (1886–1972) was a founder of
Yeshiva Torah Vodaas
Yeshiva Torah Vodaas (or Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Vodaath or Yeshiva Torah Vodaath or Torah Vodaath Rabbinical Seminary ) is a ''yeshiva'' in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.
History
The yeshiva was conceived in 1917 and for ...
.
Biography
Born in
Lodz, Poland, Binyomin was the oldest son of a
Radoshitzer chassidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
family.
His mother died when he was eight years old,
and he left Europe by himself in 1907 based on correspondence with a friend who preceded him to America.
He first peddled from a pushcart, until he had made enough money to rent a store. Within less than two years he had his own houseware business;
the business still exists.
Binyomin married Bluma Weberman.
Torah Vodaath
He moved to
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...
, where he and his friend, Louis (Leibish) Dershowitz,
wanted to open a
yeshiva
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...
for boys. At that time, the few yeshivas that existed in the United States —
Rabbi Jacob Joseph School
The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School is an Orthodox Jewish day school located in Staten Island, New York that serves students from nursery through twelfth grade, with another branch in Edison, New Jersey. The school was founded in 1903 by Rabbi Shmuel Y ...
,
Etz Chaim Yeshiva, Yeshiva Rabbi Solomon Kluger — were all in the
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets.
Traditionally an im ...
of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
.
Wilhelm envisioned a yeshiva that taught secular studies in the afternoons.
[ Wilhelm had to overcame large opposition to his type of yeshiva. Most parents did not want to send their children to yeshiva. There was also opposition from the other side. Some parents held that a yeshiva should be purely for Jewish studies. In the end he prevailed and founded in 1918 what would become known as 'the mother of all American yeshivos' - Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Vodaath.
A major breakthrough was the later recruitment and hiring of a yet unknown man, whom Wilhelm uncovered, Rabbi 'Mr.' Shraga Feivel Mendelowitz. Together they built the first mesivta (Yeshiva High School) in New York and spurred the creation of Torah Umesorah.
Wilhelm was instrumental in the founding and stabilization of the first ]Bais Yaakov
Bais Yaakov ( he, בית יעקב also Beis Yaakov, Beit Yaakov, Beth Jacob or Beys Yankev; lit., House fJacob) is a genericized name for full-time Haredi Jewish elementary and secondary schools for Jewish girls throughout the world.
Bais Yaak ...
schools for girls and many other organizations.
Wilhelm was active in Torah Vodaath until his 80s, when he moved to Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in 1968. There, he founded a network of afternoon programs for Sephardic
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
youth in developing areas, which was to strengthen their commitment to Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
. He called the network Mifal Torah Vodaath.[ "Founded in 1968 by the Torah pioneer and builder R' Binyomin Wilhelm, z"l, after he moved to Israel Mifal played a major role in turning the tide that was ..."] This innovative program was one of the very first Jewish outreach programs created.
Belsky, Hershkowitz, Gewirtz branches
The Wilhelm family went on to become known as leaders on the Jewish communal scene in communities across the country and beyond.
Their daughter Chana married Rabbi Berel Belsky and in 1970 moved from Williamsburg to Kensington.; their son Yisroel Belsky
Chaim Yisroel HaLevi Belsky (August 22, 1938 – January 28, 2016) was an American rabbi and posek of Orthodox and Haredi Judaism. He was one of the roshei yeshiva (deans) at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, and rabbi of the summer camp network run by Agudat ...
, years later, became a rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...
of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm, Binyomin
1886 births
1972 deaths
American Haredi rabbis