The Hebrew Theological College, known colloquially as "Skokie Yeshiva" or HTC, is 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 ...

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. Its population, according to the 2020 census, was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's do ...

. Although the school's primary focus is the teaching of

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

and Jewish tradition, it is also a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

that is part of the

Touro College and University System Touro University is a private Jewish university system headquartered in New York City, with branches throughout the United States as well as one each in Germany, Israel and Russia. It was founded by Bernard Lander in 1971 and named for Isaac ...

which hosts separate programs for men and women. Founded as a

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

institution, it has evolved to include students from

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

and

Hasidic 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 ...

backgrounds.

History and mission

Hebrew Theological College (HTC) was founded in 1921 in the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

by Chaim Tzvi Rubinstein (b.1872—d.1944) and Saul Silber (b.1876—d.1946). Rubinstein, an alumnus of

Volozhin Yeshiva Yeshivas Etz Ḥayyim (), commonly called the Volozhin Yeshiva (), was a prestigious Lithuanian ''yeshiva'' located in the town of Volozhin, Russian Empire (now Valozhyn, Belarus). It was founded around 1803 by Rabbi Ḥayyim Volozhiner, a stude ...

, had arrived in the United States in 1917; Silber, a pulpit rabbi in Chicago, served as president of the school for its first twenty-five years. They were followed by Oscar Z. Fasman (b.1946—d.1964), Simon G. Kramer (b.1964—d.1970), and Irving J. Rosenbaum. Don Well was president from 1981—1989, followed by Jerold Isenberg from 1989—2013. Shmuel Leib Schuman became interim CEO in 2013. HTC's original location was at 3448 West Douglas Boulevard in the

North Lawndale North Lawndale is one of the 77 community areas of the city of Chicago, Illinois, located on its West Side. The area contains the K-Town Historic District, the Foundation for Homan Square, the Homan Square interrogation facility, and the great ...

community. It later moved to Skokie, a northern suburb of Chicago, in 1958. Throughout its history, HTC's leadership has been shared by its

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 ...

and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), formerly known as the President, and subsequently as the Chancellor. HTC was founded as a

institution of higher education. It has since evolved to include students from

and

backgrounds. The school's primary purpose is to prepare students for the assumption of formal roles as educators, as well as to train eligible students to meet the requirements and demands of ''

semikhah Semikhah ( he, סמיכה) is the traditional Jewish name for rabbinic ordination. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 C ...

'' (rabbinical ordination). As its secondary purpose, it endeavors to provide its students with broad cultural perspectives and a strong background in the

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

and Sciences to facilitate a creative synthesis of general and Jewish knowledge. In so doing, the college also provides a foundation for the pursuit of advanced professional training.https://web.archive.org/web/20050920071319/http://www.htcnet.edu/WEB/Catalog/index.htm See also: http://www.htc.edu/

Organization

The

consists of a ''

beth midrash A ''beth midrash'' ( he, בית מדרש, or ''beis medrash'', ''beit midrash'', pl. ''batei midrash'' "House of Learning") is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall." It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth kness ...

'' (rabbinical school); the Bellows Kollel, with some of the ''

kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions); ...

'' members studying for ''semikhah'' in a program led by Chaim Twerski; the Blitstein Institute for Women; and the

Fasman Yeshiva High School Fasman Yeshiva High School, known colloquially as Skokie Yeshiva, is an Orthodox Jewish all-boys high school in Skokie, Illinois. As of the 2020-2021 school year, the school has 120 students enrolled in grades 9-12. Fasman Yeshiva offers a dual ...

. The college is composed of the Bressler School of Advanced Hebrew Studies and the Kanter School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. All students complete a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Judaic Studies through the Bressler School, with the option of a second major through the Kanter School. The men's program offers a B.A. with a focus in

Judaic studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; he, מדעי היהדות, madey ha-yahadut, sciences of Judaism) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (espe ...

and specifically

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

, with second majors offered in Business, Accounting, and Psychology. The woman's program, located on a separate campus at the Blistein Institute for Women, offers Judaic Studies majors in Bible, Hebrew Language, and Jewish History, with dual majors available in Business, Computer and Information Sciences, Education (including Elementary and Special Education), English, Health Sciences and Psychology. The College is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It w ...

Notable people

Roshei yeshiva

Nissan Yablonsky , trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun brands ...

, an alumnus of Slabodka, served as the first rosh yeshiva for the first few years, followed by Chaim Korb.

Chaim Zimmerman Aharon Chaim Zimmerman (1914 – March 9, 1995) (7th Adar II 5755) was a Ukrainian-born American Orthodox rabbi. Biography Aharon Chaim Zimmerman was born in Konotop, Ukraine. He was the son of Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Zimmerman and nephew of Rabbi Ba ...

served as rosh yeshiva from 1947 to 1966. Simon Kramer was appointed president. Under his stewardship, HTC reached its highest enrollment with approximately 300 students in the high school and 200 in the college. Aaron Soloveichik became rosh yeshiva in 1966, but after being forced out in 1974, he founded Yeshivas Brisk in Chicago. In 1985, Shlomo Morgenstern, an alumnus of

Hebron Yeshiva Hebron Yeshiva, also known as ''Yeshivas Hevron'', or Knesses Yisroel, is a yeshiva devoted to high-level study of the Talmud. It originated in 1924 when the roshei yeshiva and 150 students of the Slabodka Yeshiva, known colloquially as the "mother ...

, became rosh yeshiva, serving in that position for 22 years. On January 27, 2008, Avraham Friedman was named rosh yeshiva. Other roshei yeshiva included: * Yosef Babad * Nachman Barr * Avrahom Yitzchok Cordon * Eliezer Y. Gottleib, * Yaakov Greenberg * Moshe Hershler * Dovid Kaganoff * Hirsch Isenberg * Herzel Kaplan *

Yisrael Mendel Kaplan Israel or Yisrael Mendel Kaplan (April 14, 1913 – April 4, 1985), known as "Reb Mendel" was an American Orthodox Jewish rabbi and author. He was best known as a teacher in the Hebrew Theological College of Chicago and the Talmudical Yeshiva o ...

Chaim Kreiswirth Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth (1918–2001) was an Orthodox rabbi who served as the longtime Chief Rabbi of Congregation Machzikei Hadass Antwerp, Belgium. He was the founder and rosh yeshiva of the Mercaz HaTorah yeshiva in Jerusalem, and was a highly ...

* Yosef Leff * Yechezkel Lichtman *

Dovid Lifshitz Rabbi Dovid Lifshitz (1906–1993) was a distinguished Rosh yeshiva in the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) for almost fifty years. He was appointed upon the invitation of Rabbi Samuel Belkin in 1944. He was also known as the "S ...

* Chaim Mednick * Elazar Muskin * Chaim Dovid Regensberg * Mordechai Rogow * Chaim Zvi Rubenstein * Nachum Sachs * Yitzchak Sender * Zelig Starr * Zvi Teller * Moshe Wernick

Faculty

Notable faculty include the

, Avraham Friedman and Chaim Twerski. Notable past members of the faculty include

Eliezer Berkovits Eliezer Berkovits (8 September 1908, Nagyvárad, Austria-Hungary – 20 August 1992, Jerusalem), was a rabbi, theologian, and educator in the tradition of Orthodox Judaism. Life Berkovits received his rabbinical training first under Rabbi ...

, chairman of the department of Jewish philosophy from 1958 until 1967, and

Yaakov Perlow Yaakov Perlow ( yi, יעקבֿ פּערלאָוו he, יעקב פרלוב‎; November 16, 1930 – April 7, 2020) was an American Hasidic rabbi and rosh yeshiva, and Rebbe of the Novominsk Hasidic dynasty. From 1998 until his death in 2020, ...

, the Novominsker Rebbe, Chaver Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah in America.

Alumni

David Applebaum David Applebaum ( he, דוד אפלבום; 1952–2003) was an American-born Israeli physician and rabbi. He was chief of the emergency room and trauma services of Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center. Applebaum was murdered in a Palestinian ...

* David Bigman, rosh

yeshivat Ma'ale Gilboa Yeshivat Ma'ale Gilboa ( he, ישיבת מעלה גלבוע ) is a Shiluv Yeshiva located on Kibbutz Ma'ale Gilboa in Israel's Gilboa Mountains. The Shiluv Yeshiva is unique in that it combines two years of Torah study with the full three years of ...

* Charles Ber Chavel * Nosson Tzvi Finkel, rosh yeshiva, Mir Jerusalem * Moshe Gottesman, rabbi, educator and community leader *

Yehiel Mark Kalish Yehiel Mark Kalish was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 16th district. The 16th district, located in the Chicago area, consists of the West Ridge, Chicago, West Ridge neighbor ...

, member of the Illinois General Assembly, 16th House District * Menachem Kellner * Moshe Kletenik, Av Beis Din Seattle * Moses Mescheloff *

Don Patinkin Don Patinkin (Hebrew: דן פטינקין) (January 8, 1922 – August 7, 1995) was an American-born Israeli monetary economist, and the President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.Nissan Liviatan, 2008. "Patinkin, Don (1922–1995)," ''The N ...

(1922–1995)), Israeli-American economist, and President of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

* Abraham J. Twerski, Hasidic rabbi and psychiatrist *

Berel Wein Berel Wein (born March 25, 1934) is an American-born Orthodox rabbi, lecturer and writer. He authored several books, in both Hebrew and English (the latter published by Artscroll), concerning Jewish history and popularized the subject through mor ...

, rabbi, lecturer and writer *

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Education in Skokie, Illinois Educational institutions established in 1922 Jews and Judaism in Chicago Orthodox Jewish universities and colleges Orthodox yeshivas in the United States Universities and colleges in Chicago Universities and colleges in Cook County, Illinois Jewish seminaries Seminaries and theological colleges in Illinois 1922 establishments in Illinois