Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh (in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ישיבת נתיב אריה) is a

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, the ...

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 ...

located at the

Western Wall Plaza The Western Wall Plaza is a large public square situated adjacent to the Western Wall in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It was formed in 1967 as a result of the razing of the Moroccan Quarter neighborhood at the very end of t ...

in the

Old City of Jerusalem The Old City of Jerusalem ( he, הָעִיר הָעַתִּיקָה, translit=ha-ir ha-atiqah; ar, البلدة القديمة, translit=al-Balda al-Qadimah; ) is a walled area in East Jerusalem. The Old City is traditionally divided into ...

. Netiv Aryeh was founded in 2003 by the current

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 ...

, Aharon Bina.

Avigdor Nebenzahl Avigdor Nebenzahl (born 1935) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and Posek. He is the senior rosh yeshiva at Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh, a faculty member at Yeshivat HaKotel, and rabbi of the Ramban Synagogue. Nebenzahl previously served as rabbi of the Old ...

, former

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 ...

of the Old City of Jerusalem, is the senior rosh yeshiva. His son

Chizkiyahu Nebenzahl Chizkiyahu Nebenzahl is the current Rabbi of the Old City of Jerusalem. Nebenzahl is the youngest son of Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, the previous Rabbi of the Old City. He also serves on the faculty of Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh. References Extern ...

, the current chief rabbi, also serves as a rosh yeshiva.

History

The yeshiva is named after Bina's father, Aryeh Bina. It occupies a building that formerly housed the yeshiva of

Shlomo Goren Shlomo Goren ( he, שלמה גורן; February 3, 1917 – October 29, 1994), was a Polish-born Israeli Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi and Talmudic scholar who was considered a foremost authority on Jewish law (Halakha). Goren founded and serve ...

. The yeshiva opened in September 2003 following a split in the leadership within

Yeshivat HaKotel Yeshivat HaKotel ( he, ישיבת הכותל, lit=Yeshiva of the Western Wall) is a religious Zionist Hesder yeshiva situated in the Old City of Jerusalem. The yeshiva's building is located opposite the Temple Mount and overlooks the Kotel (W ...

and started with over 200 students. The majority of students are post

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, English-speaking students from the United States, with some students from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Students at the yeshiva study a curriculum consisting of

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 ...

, Nach, Halacha, Jewish Philosophy, Zionism, and Hassidut.

Controversy

Allegations of abuse have been levelled at the yeshiva. Bina has been alleged to "regularly yell at, humiliate and insult students in public; threaten to expel them for seemingly no reason; press psychologists he hires to share private information about the students he has sent them; and tell those in disfavor that they are cursed." He has been accused of regularly calling students '' shaygetz'' (

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

slur meaning "Gentile"), "gay", "fat", "alcoholic", that they would get infected with

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

or get divorced. Bina's supporters maintain that these are merely symptoms of what is commonly referred to as his 'tough love', and that these behaviors are ultimately beneficial to the students, especially the ones who were inconsistent with their classroom attendance.

Notable alumni

Mordechai Shapiro Mordechai Shapiro (born 1989) is an American singer, songwriter and entertainer in the Orthodox pop industry. He has been described as having the "ability to do things with his voice no one else in this business can" by Jewish music producer Yitz ...

, American entertainer

Bibliography

References

External links

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Orthodox yeshivas in Jerusalem Yeshivas in the West Bank {{yeshiva-stub