Oholei Torah
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Oholei Torah ("Tents of Torah") is the common name of the Lubavitch schools Educational Institute Oholei Menachem and Talmudical Seminary Oholei Torah. The main branches of the school, and its administrative offices, are located in Brooklyn, New York City;
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[edit] History
Oholei Torah was founded in early 1956 by Rabbi Michoel Teitelbaum, following a statement by the Lubavitcher Rebbe that there should be a school focusing on Torah study. (The existing Lubavitcher elementary school in Brooklyn, United Lubavitcher Yeshiva, had a curriculum typical for American Jewish day schools, in which the day was divided between religious and secular subjects.)
The school opened in a synagogue in Brownsville with three students. Over the next few decades the school grew, moving to various converted buildings and synagogues around the Crown Heights and East Flatbush neighborhoods. In 1975, the school began renting space for the elementary classes at the Brooklyn Jewish Center at 667 Eastern Parkway, and eventually bought the building outright in 1991. Beginning in 1997, the building underwent a major expansion, with a new wing (known as the Deitsch Campus, after the school's major financial patron Dovid Deitsch) and a study hall for the Talmudical Seminary.
Today Oholei Torah enrolls approximately 1600 students in its various departments.
In 1991, the elementary school was renamed "Oholei Menachem" in honor of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, though the old name persists in general usage.
[edit] Divisions
Oholei Torah has four main divisions:
[edit] Kindergarten
[edit] Enrollment
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[edit] Location
Oholei Torah's kindergarten, formally known as Oholei Menachem Kindergarten, is located in the Deitsch Campus at 667 Eastern Parkway. There is also a smaller kindergarten division at Cong. B'nai Abraham in East Flatbush, a synagogue where Rabbi Teitelbaum served as president until his passing in 2005.
[edit] Staff
- Director: Mrs. Faige Winner-Hertzel
[edit] Elementary
[edit] Enrollment
Educational Institute Oholei Menachem (Oholei Torah) consists of a preschool grade (Pre-1A) and 8 elementary grades. Each grade has an average enrollment of about 100 students, so there are four or five classes for each grade.
[edit] Location
The elementary school is located at 667 Eastern Parkway.
[edit] Staff
- Dean: Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Lustig
- Principals:
- Grades Pre-1A - 2: Rabbi Meir Shimshoni
- Grades 3-5: Rabbi Pinchus Rapoport
- Grades 6-8: Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Lustig
[edit] Mesivta
[edit] Enrollment
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[edit] Location
Oholei Torah Mesivta is located at 417 Troy Avenue (the Rabbi Jacob J. Reines Shul). There is also a branch of the Mesivta (formally known as Beis Dovid Shlomo) at 300 Norton Ave., New Haven, Connecticut.
[edit] Staff
- Dean (Troy Ave.): Rabbi Zushe Wilhelm
- Dean (New Haven): Rabbi Lustig
[edit] Beis Medrash
Formally called Talmudical Seminary Oholei Torah, and colloquially as Oholei Torah Zal (Yiddish zal, [study] hall), is the largest Lubavitch yeshiva in the United States.
[edit] Enrollment
The Seminary currently has 200 students. About 1/3 of the students live locally; the rest come from other parts of the United States, as well as Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Israel, and South Africa.
[edit] Location
The Zal is located at the Eastern Parkway campus.
[edit] Staff
- Rosh Yeshiva: Rabbi Yisroel Friedman
- Menahel, and Mashgiach for Nigleh: Rabbi Elchonon Lesches
- Mashgichim for Chasidut: Rabbis Shmaryahu Roitblatt and Zalman Wilenkin
- Mashpia: Rabbi Nachman Schapiro
[edit] Shlichus
Like many Lubavitch yeshivas, Oholei Torah Zal sends graduating students to various cities around the world, primarily to other Lubavitch yeshivas, on Shlichus. The nature of their Shlichus varies by location, with some consisting of community outreach, and others simply helping younger students in the yeshiva.
Oholei Torah sends more students than any other yeshiva, to locations including California, Florida, Sydney, Melbourne, and France.
[edit] Publications
Since 1979 the Beis Medrash has published a journal (formerly weekly, now biweekly), Haoros U'bi'urim Oholei Torah, containing essays and disquisitions on various Torah topics, mostly contributed by current students and staff, as well as alumni. Occasionally prominent non-Lubavitcher rabbis, such as Rabbi Gavriel Zinner, submit papers to the journal.
Haoros Ubeurim has been edited since its inception by Rabbi Avrohom Y. Gerlitzky, who also contributes at least one essay to each issue.
Additionally, the school publishes an annual volume, which has variously been called Kovetz Oholei Torah or Kovetz Pilpulim, containing Torah essays by members of the Beis Medrash classes and their teachers.
[edit] Dormitory
Oholei Torah has a dormitory to house its Beis Medrash students. Located at 645 Eastern Parkway, the dorm houses over 100 students.
[edit] Alumni
A large number (the school's estimate is 70%) of Oholei Torah alumni have gone on to become Shluchim worldwide. Others have made their mark on the Jewish world as thinkers and writers (Rabbis Simon Jacobson, '79, and Yossi Jacobson, '89); heads of Yeshivos (Rabbi E.N. Silberberg, '93); charity administrators (Rabbi Sholom Duchman, '63); singers (Avraham Fried, '77); and in other capacities.
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[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Oholeitorah.com, official website.
- Haoros.com, biweekly publication by the Beis. Medrash students
