Yeshivah College, officially Yeshivas Oholei Yosef Yitzchok Lubavitch (), is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

comprehensive single-sex

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and secondary

Jewish day school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jews, Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school" is used to differentiat ...

for

boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy ...

, located in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

suburb of

St Kilda East St Kilda East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Glen Eira and Port Phillip local government areas. St Kilda East recorded a population of 12 ...

, in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia. The school is run by the

Chabad-Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

movement's Yeshivah Centre, and caters to students from

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

through to

Year 12 Year 12 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the twelfth or thirteenth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-comp ...

History

The previous Lubavitcher Rebbe sent five Chabad families to establish a community in Australia. They originally moved to

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

as there was already a Chabad family there. In the 1950s they moved to Melbourne and started the school in 1958. Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Groner was sent from New York to help in the school and not long after his arrival he became the principal and director of the school. Yeshivah College now thrives on the same campus as Yeshivah Shule, the community's synagogue. In 2017, the school had the distinction of having the Chief Rabbi of Israel come and address students. Rabbi David Lau was visiting Melbourne on his Australia tour.

Administration

The school is part of a worldwide network of the umbrella, and Rabbi Mordechai Berger was the principal of the high school, having replaced Rabbi Avrohom Glick at the start of the 2008 school year, however, Rabbi Glick stepped in as Interim Menahel when Rabbi Berger left at the end of the 2009 school year. Rabbi Glick ended his term as Interim Menahel at the end of term two, being succeeded by Rabbi Yehoshua Smukler from Sydney, Australia who finished in 2019 and then moved to Moriah College, Sydney. Following his exit, Dr Shimon Waronker took the position however due to issues relating to COVID-19, he was unable to continue as principal. After his departure, Mrs. Barbara Belfer took the position as interim principal over Yeshivah and Beth Rivkah Colleges. The current Principal of Yeshivah-Beth Rivkah Colleges is Rabbi Elisha Greenbaum.

Curriculum

For students in Year 10 and upwards, Yeshivah College has two educational tracks. One is a dual curriculum including both religious studies and general education studies. The other is a religious studies-only curriculum known as ' ''Mesivta'' Melbourne' (Hebrew for "academy"). The Mesivta program consists of Chassidus,

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

, Shulchan Aruch, and many other Jewish texts and subjects. Every month the students get together for a "farbrengen" a gathering in which stories and words of inspiration are shared by students, teachers, and guest speakers. The students regularly publish a kovetz (compilation of talmudic novelties). Overall the Mesivta students provide a sense of Jewishness to the school.

Shluchim

Every year a group of ''shluchim'' (emissaries) are sent to assist the teachers and ''mashpias'' of the school in setting an example for today's students. They do so by instituting ''mivtzos'' - programs that encourage the practice of Chassidic life. In most years, the shluchim are sent from Ohlei Torah Rabbinical College in America. Over the years the number of Shluchim to the school has varied between five and six for a one-year stay, although during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

they stayed for 2 years.

In the community

Yeshivah scores top VCE results for a non-selective boys-only school. The Yeshivah College is part of a larger network of facilities of the Yeshivah Centre, which includes a youth movement, Jewish studies classes, day camps, and many other initiatives for Melbourne's wider Jewish community. The Melbourne Lubavitch community is part of a larger

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

community based in Melbourne.

Controversies

While the college received criticism for its handling of reported child abuse in the 1990s, it has also been lauded for its efforts to reach out to victims and for the strength of its child protection policies at the present. In 2015, Yeshivah established a groundbreaking redress scheme for victims years before any other Jewish school and predating the National Redress Scheme. The college was investigated by the Australian

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and repo ...

, for alleged abuses that occurred during the tenure of Rabbi Avrohom Glick, where Glick served as Principal in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2015, Glick resigned from all posts at Yeshivah College. He also tendered his resignation from the spiritual committee of the Yeshivah Centre.

Notable alumni

*Rabbi Yaakov Glasman *Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick *Rabbi

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Joseph Gutnick Joseph Isaac "Diamond Joe" Gutnick (born June 1952; ) is an Australian businessman, mining industry entrepreneur and the former president of the Melbourne Football Club (1996–2001). He is also an ordained Orthodox rabbi, and is well known for ...

– mining magnate *

John Safran John Michael Safran (; born 13 August 1972) is an Australian radio personality, satirist, documentary maker and author, known for combining humour with religious, political and ethnic issues. First gaining fame appearing in '' Race Around the W ...

– award-winning comedian * David Solomon – noted international Jewish historian and author *

Manny Waks Menachem Leib "Manny" Waks
ABC, broadcast 2 April 2015 (born 1976) is an Australian activist. He was pr ...

– founder of the sexual abuse victims' advocate group, Tzedek. Featured in the documentary film that covers allegations of child sex abuse at Yeshivah College.

References

External links

Yeshivah College Official Website
{{Jews and Judaism in Australia Boys' schools in Victoria (state) Chabad schools Educational institutions established in 1955 Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools Jewish schools in Melbourne 1955 establishments in Australia St Kilda, Victoria Chabad yeshivas Buildings and structures in the City of Port Phillip Chabad in Australia