Mesivta Torah Vodaas, Hershowitz school jeh

Yeshiva Torah Vodaas (or Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Vodaath or Yeshiva Torah Vodaath or Torah Vodaath Rabbinical Seminary ) 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 ...

'' in the

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

History

The yeshiva was conceived in 1917 and formally opened in 1918, by friends Binyomin Wilhelm and Louis Dershowitz, to provide a

education centering on traditional Jewish sacred texts to the children of families then moving from 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 ...

to the Williamsburg section of

. From the diary of Binyomin Wilhelm (as cited by his great-grandson, Rabbi Zvi Belsky), Louis Dershowitz is credited, not only with giving early financial and moral support for the founding of the yeshiva, but for the very idea of establishing a yeshiva in Williamsburg. The two friends contacted prominent local Rabbi Zev Gold of Congregation Beth Jacob Anshe Sholom and together they formed a board and established the yeshiva on Keap Street in Williamsburg as an elementary school. The yeshiva later moved to a new building at 206 Wilson Street and remained there until 1967, (The elementary school remained at 206 Wilson St. Until 1974) when it moved to its current location at 452 and 425 East 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11218. Gold was elected as the Yeshiva's first president and suggested the name of the school (which in its English rendering is, Yeshiva Torah Vodaath), after the yeshiva founded in

Lida Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuani ...

in 1905 by Rabbi

Yitzchak Yaacov Reines Yitzchak Yaacov Reines ( he, יצחק יעקב ריינס, Isaac Jacob Reines), (October 27, 1839 – August 20, 1915) was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi and the founder of the Mizrachi Religious Zionist Movement, one of the earliest movements o ...

, which combined secular studies with Jewish studies and traditional

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 ...

study. During this first period in the yeshiva's history, the yeshiva was modeled after those in Europe, with religious studies in Yiddish and Talmud taught in the Hungarian style of the European yeshivas. The founding members of the yeshiva soon offered the principalship of the institution to Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, who headed the yeshiva from 1922 to 1948. Under Mendlowitz's leadership, a

mesivta ''Mesivta'' (also metivta; Aramaic: מתיבתא, "academy") is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva secondary school for boys. The term is commonly used in the United States to describe a yeshiva that emphasizes Talmudic studies for boys in grades ...

(yeshiva high school) was opened in 1926. Later he opened a ''yeshiva gedola'' as well. Rabbi Dovid Leibovitz, a notable torah scholar from Europe was brought in to head the yeshiva's ''

beit 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 ...

'' (study hall) in 1929 but left after only four years to start his own yeshiva (

Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim (also known as the Rabbinical Seminary of America) is an Orthodox Yeshiva in the United States, based in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, New York. It is primarily an American, Lithuanian-style Talmudic Yeshiva. The Yeshiva is ...

) after personal conflicts with Mendlowitz. Two years later, in 1935, Rabbi Shlomo Heiman became ''

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 ...

'' (head of the yeshiva), a position he held until his death in 1944. When Mendlowitz died in 1948, he entrusted the yeshiva to Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky and Rabbi Reuven Grozovsky as roshei yeshiva, Rabbi Alexander Linchner as the financial head and secular studies principal, Rabbi Gedalia Schorr as ''menahel'' of the yeshiva, and Rabbi Nesanel Quinn as the principal of the high school. The yeshiva has since expanded to include a ''beit midrash'' in Monsey, an elementary school division in nearby Marine Park, and two summer camps all serving a student body, from nursery to postgraduate ''

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); ...

'', that numbers nearly 2,000 students.

Philosophy

"''

Torah im Derech Eretz ''Torah im Derech Eretz'' ( he, תורה עם דרך ארץ – Torah with "the way of the land"Rabbi Y. Goldson, Aish HaTorah"The Way of the World", Ethics of the Fathers, 3:21/ref>) is a phrase common in Rabbinic literature referring to variou ...

''" historically influenced the yeshiva's philosophy, but today it is strongly influenced by the

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 ...

philosophy. However, Torah Vodaath is one of the many major haredi yeshivas that allow its students to attend college while studying at the yeshiva. The great majority of the yeshiva's graduates go on to work in fields that are not related to the torah education that they received in yeshiva. The Yeshiva was founded on a chassidic flavor that is everlasting. The Yeshiva also does not say Tachnun on Yud Tes Kislev, a major Chassidic holiday. מנהגי ישיבה תורה ודעת יו"ל ע"י ישיבה ומתיבתא תורה ודעת שנת תשע"ח

''Roshei Yeshiva''

The current three ''

roshei 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 ...

'' are the following: Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, Rabbi Yosef Savitsky, and Rabbi

Yitzchok Lichtenstein Yitzchok (Yitzchak) Lichtenstein (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יצחק ליכטנשטיין; born December 1962) is an Israeli-American Orthodox Rabbi, Orthodox rabbi who is a co-rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas located in Brooklyn, New York City ...

. Lichtenstein is a student of Rabbi Meshulum Dovid Soloveitchik, son of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, grandson of Rabbi

Joseph B. Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( he, יוסף דב הלוי סולובייצ׳יק ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion ...

, and rabbi of Kehillas Bais Avrohom in Monsey, NY. Savitsky is a student of Rabbi Berel Soloveitchik and Rabbi Aharon Kotler. Reisman is rabbi of Agudath Israel of Madison and author of several books, including ''The Laws Of Ribbis'' and ''Pathways of the Prophets''. The previous ''

'' include Rabbis

Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz (1886 – 7 September 1948) was a leader of American Orthodoxy and founder of key institutions such as Torah U'Mesorah, an outreach and educational organization. He is also known for having taken the reins in 1921 and b ...

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 Agud ...

Avraham Yaakov Pam Avraham Yaakov Pam (1913 – August 16, 2001) was the '' rosh yeshiva'' of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn, New York. Biography Rabbi Pam began his career at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in 1938, when was appointed '' maggid shiur'' (Talmudic lectur ...

Shlomo Heiman Shlomo Heiman, (1892–1945) known informally as "Reb Shlomo", was a rabbi, Talmudist, and rosh yeshiva. He led some of the most prominent yeshivas in Europe and the United States. Early life Shlomo Heiman was born in Paritsh, Minsk in Belaru ...

Dovid Leibowitz Dovid Leibowitz (1887–1941) was a leading rabbi and disciple of prewar Europe's Slabodka yeshiva in Lithuania, who went on to found the Rabbinical Seminary of America, better known today as "Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen" or the ''"Cho ...

Yaakov Kamenetsky Yaakov Kamenetsky (February 28, 1891 – March 10, 1986), was a prominent rabbi, rosh yeshiva, ''posek'' and Talmudist in the post-World War II American Jewish community. Biography Yaakov Kamenetsky was born at a folwark called Kalyskovka owned b ...

, Shachne Zohn,

Zelik Epstein Zelik Epstein, also known as Zelig Epstein (full name Aharon Zelig Epstein) (July 10, 1914 – August 3, 2009), was a prominent Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah-Grodno, a private Talmudical institution in Kew Garde ...

Gedalia Schorr Gedalyahu HaLevi Schorr (27 November 1910 – 7 July 1979),http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/jo/tworld/rschorr.html also known as Gedalia Schorr, was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva. He was regarded as the "first American Gadol" (Torah ...

, Elya Chazan, Reuvain Fein,

Simcha Sheps Simcha Avraham Sheps (April 18, 1908 – November 5, 1998) was an American Orthodox rabbi. He served as rosh yeshiva (dean) of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas. Early life Simcha Sheps was born to Simon Sheps in Wysokie Mazowieckie, Russian Empire (cu ...

, Moshe Rosen (Nezer HaKodesh), and

Reuvain Grozovsky Refael Reuvain Grozovsky ( be, Рафаэль Гразоўскі; 1886, Minsk, Belarus – 1958, United States) was a leading Orthodox rabbi, Jewish religious leader and rosh yeshiva ("dean") known for his Talmudic analytical style. Early years ...

Notable alumni

* Milton Balkany, Republican political activist and fundraiser *Professor Joseph M. Baumgarten,

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the nor ...

scholar *Rabbi

Saul Berman Saul J. Berman (born April 30, 1939) is an American scholar and Modern Orthodox rabbi. Berman was ordained at Yeshiva University, from which he also received his B.A. and his M.H.L. He completed a degree in law, a J.D., at New York University, a ...

, American scholar and Modern Orthodox rabbi *Rabbi Professor

Benjamin Blech Benjamin Blech (born 1933) is an American Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi. He is a Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University where he has taught since 1966, and was the rabbi of National Council of Young Israel, Young Israel of Oceanside, New York ...

, Professor of Talmud at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universit ...

*Rabbi

J. David Bleich Judah David Bleich (born August 24, 1936 in Tarrytown, New York) is an authority on Jewish law and ethics, including Jewish medical ethics. He is a professor of Talmud ( rosh yeshiva) at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate o ...

, Rosh Yeshiva in

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS ) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after Yitzchak Elchanan ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universit ...

*Rabbi

Shlomo Carlebach Shlomo Carlebach ( he, שלמה קרליבך; 14 January 1925 – 20 October 1994), known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a rabbi, religious teacher, spiritual leader, composer, and singer dubbed "the singing rabbi" during his lifetime. ...

, composer, singer, spiritual leader, pioneer of the

Baal teshuva movement The baal teshuva movement is a description of the return of secular Jews to religious Judaism. The term ''baal teshuva'' is from the Talmud, literally meaning "master of repentance". The term is used to refer to a worldwide phenomenon among th ...

Noach Dear Noach Dear (November 20, 1953 – April 19, 2020) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as a New York Supreme Court judge. Dear was elected in 2008 as a civil court judge, in 2010 as an Acting Supreme Court Justice, an ...

(1953–2020),

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

Judge *Rabbi

Zvi Dershowitz Zvi Dershowitz (born May 4, 1928) is an American rabbi, and is currently Rabbi Emeritus at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. Early life Dershowitz was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1928. In 1938, just 33 days before the Nazis invaded, Dersho ...

, Conservative rabbi *

David G. Greenfield David G. Greenfield (born September 26, 1978) is an American politician, law professor, and non-profit organization executive. He served as a Democrat in the New York City Council from the 44th district from 2010 to 2017. The district includes ...

, politician and Chair of New York City Council's Land Use Committee from 2013-2017 *Rabbi

Moshe Heinemann Rabbi Moshe Heinemann is an Orthodox rabbi and Posek who heads the Agudath Israel of Baltimore synagogue and is the rabbinical supervisor of the Star K kashrus certification agency. He studied for many years in Beis Midrash Govoha under Rabbi ...

, Rabbinical Supervisor ,

Star-K Star-K Kosher Certification, also known as the Vaad Hakashrut of Baltimore ( he, ועד הכשרות דבאלטימאר), is a kosher certification agency based in Baltimore, Maryland, under the administration of Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, with the ...

and Rav of Agudas Yisroel of Baltimore *Rabbi

Levi Yitzchak Horowitz Levi Yitzchak HaLevi Horowitz (born 3 July 1921, Boston, died 5 December 2009, Jerusalem) was a rabbi and the second rebbe of the Boston (Hasidic dynasty), Boston Hasidic Dynasty founded by his father, Pinchos Dovid Horowitz. He was the first Ameri ...

, the Bostoner Rebbe * Rabbi

Yakov Horowitz Rabbi Yakov Horowitz is an Orthodox rabbi, author, educator and advocate from Monsey, New York. Early life Horowitz was born to Shloime and Beile Horowitz. His father died when he was three years old. He was raised in a Haredi family in Belle Ha ...

, educator and child safety advocate *Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, Rosh Yeshiva of the

Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia The Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia ( he, פילאדעלפיע ישיבה) is a Haredi Litvish yeshiva in the Overbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its heads of school are Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, Rabbi Shimon Yehudah Svei an ...

*Rabbi

Aryeh Kaplan Aryeh Moshe Eliyahu Kaplan ( he, אריה משה אליהו קפלן; October 23, 1934 – January 28, 1983) was an American Orthodox rabbi, author, and translator, best known for his Living Torah edition of the Torah. He became well known as ...

, rabbi, Jewish thinker and author of over 40 works. *Rabbi

Sholom Klass Rabbi Sholom Klass (1916–2000) was the co-founder, publisher and editor of ''The Jewish Press'', a large Jewish circulation newspaper. He also authored ''Tales from our Gaonim'' and the halachic work ''Responsa of Modern Judaism'' (3 volumes ...

, rabbi, publisher of

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*Professor David Kranzler historian of Rescue by Jews during the Holocaust *Rabbi Dr.

Norman Lamm Norman Lamm (December 19, 1927 – May 31, 2020) was an American Modern Orthodox rabbi, scholar, academic administrator, author, and Jewish community leader. He was the Chancellor of Yeshiva University until he announced his retirement on July ...

, rabbi, chancellor of

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on the Yeshiva Universit ...

*Rabbi Bernard Levy, rabbi, head of OK Labs *Rabbi

Yerucham Olshin Yerucham Olshin is an Orthodox rabbi and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages). He is one of the four ''roshei yeshiva'' (deans) of Beth Medrash Govoha,Goldberg, Rabbi Hillel. "The Traffic is Edgy, Rav Olshin Is Not". ' ...

, a Rosh Yeshiva of

Beth Medrash Govoha Beth Medrash Govoha ( he, בית מדרש גבוה, Sephardi pronunciation: ''Beth Midrash Gavoha''. lit: "High House of Learning"; also known as Lakewood Yeshiva or BMG) is a Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish Misnagdim, Lithuanian ''yeshiva'' in Lake ...

, Lakewood, New Jersey *Rabbi

, later Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva (see above) *Rabbi Nesanel Quinn, later Menahel of the Yeshiva *Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, today Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva, and Rabbi of Agudath Yisroel of Madison *Rabbi

Sholom Rivkin Rabbi Sholom Rivkin (6 June 1926 – 1 October 2011) was an Israeli-born United States, American rabbi. He was the last Chief Rabbi of St. Louis, Missouri, and the last chief rabbi of one of only a few cities in the United States that has ever ha ...

chief rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

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*Rabbi

Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld Zvi Aryeh Benzion Rosenfeld (1922 – 11 December 1978) was an American rabbi and educator credited with introducing Breslov Hasidism to the United States. Teaching children, teens, and adults in New York City for nearly three decades, he inspired ...

, Polish–American rabbi and educator associated with the Breslov Hasidic movement *Rabbi

Yitzchok Scheiner Rabbi Yitzchok Scheiner (November 5, 1922 – January 31, 2021) was an Israeli–American rabbi who was the '' rosh yeshiva'' of the Kamenitz yeshiva of Jerusalem. Early life and education He was born in May 1922 in Pittsburgh to immigrants fro ...

, Rosh Yeshiva of the

Kamenitz yeshiva Yeshivas Knesses Beis Yitzchak was an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva, founded in Slabodka on the outskirts of Kaunas, Lithuania (then ruled by the Russian Empire), in 1897. The yeshiva later moved to Kamyenyets, then part of Poland, and currently i ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

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, renowned Hasidic composer and hazzan *Rabbi

Nosson Scherman Nosson Scherman ( he, נתן שרמן, born 1935, Newark, New Jersey) is an American Haredi rabbi best known as the general editor of ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications. Early life Scherman was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, where his paren ...

, rabbi, owner and general editor of

Artscroll ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Rahway, New Jersey. Rabbi Nosson Scherman is the general editor. ArtScroll' ...

*Rabbi

, later Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva (see above) *

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

(Chaim Witz), aka The Demon, co-founder of the rock band

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*Rabbi

Elya Svei Elya Svei (March 19, 1924 (''Taanis Esther 5684'') – March 26, 2009 (''Rosh Chodesh Nisan 5769'')) was a Soviet Union, Russian-born American Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish rabbi and ''rosh yeshiva'' (dean) of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelp ...

, Rosh Yeshiva of the

*Rabbi

Yaakov Weinberg Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg, known as Yaakov Weinberg (also Jacob S. Weinberg) (1923 – July 1, 1999) was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, Talmudist, and rosh yeshiva (dean) of Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland, one of the major American ...

, Rosh Yeshiva of

Yeshivas Ner Yisroel Ner Israel Rabbinical College (ישיבת נר ישראל), also known as NIRC and Ner Yisroel, is a Haredi yeshiva (Jewish educational institution) in Pikesville (Baltimore County), Maryland. It was founded in 1933 by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ru ...

*Rabbi Dr. Ephraim Wolf, recruited for the Yeshiva, founding Rabbi of the Great Neck Synagogue and the North Shore Hebrew Academy

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 40, 38, 17.56, N, 73, 58, 9.54, W, region:US-NY, display=title Educational institutions established in 1917 Jewish seminaries Mesivtas Torah Vodaas 1917 establishments in New York (state)