Binyomin Wilhelm (1886–1972) was a founder of

Yeshiva Torah Vodaas Yeshiva Torah Vodaas (or Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Vodaath or Yeshiva Torah Vodaath or Torah Vodaath Rabbinical Seminary) is a ''yeshiva'' in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. History The yeshiva was conceived in 1917 and formal ...

Biography

Born in Lodz, Poland, Binyomin was the oldest son of a Radoshitzer

chassidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those affi ...

family. His mother died when he was eight years old, and he left Europe by himself in 1907 based on correspondence with a friend who preceded him to America. He first peddled from a pushcart, until he had made enough money to rent a store. Within less than two years he had his own houseware business; the business still exists. Binyomin married Bluma Weberman.

Torah Vodaath

He moved to

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...

, where he and his friend, Louis (Leibish) Dershowitz, wanted to open a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; 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 studied in parallel. The stu ...

for boys. At that time, the few yeshivas that existed in the United States — Rabbi Jacob Joseph School,

Etz Chaim Yeshiva Etz Chaim Yeshiva (, ''Yeshivat Etz Hayyim'', lit. "Tree of Life") was an orthodox yeshiva located on Jaffa Road close to the Mahane Yehuda Market in downtown Jerusalem. History Etz Chaim Yeshiva was originally a Talmud Torah that was establish ...

, Yeshiva Rabbi Solomon Kluger — were all on 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. Historically, it w ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Wilhelm envisioned a yeshiva that taught secular studies in the afternoons. Wilhelm had to overcame large opposition to his type of yeshiva. Most parents did not want to send their children to yeshiva. There was also opposition from the other side. Some parents held that a yeshiva should be purely for Jewish studies. In the end he prevailed and founded in 1918 what would become known as 'the mother of all American yeshivos' - Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Vodaath. A major breakthrough was the later recruitment and hiring of a yet unknown man, whom Wilhelm uncovered, Rabbi 'Mr.' Shraga Feivel Mendelowitz. Together they built the first mesivta (Yeshiva High School) in New York and spurred the creation of Torah Umesorah. Wilhelm was instrumental in the founding and stabilization of the first

Bais Yaakov Bais Yaakov (, also Beis Yaakov, Beit Yaakov, Beth Jacob or Beys Yankev; ) is a genericized name for full-time Haredi Jewish elementary and secondary schools for girls worldwide. Bais Yaakov, started by Sarah Schenirer in post-World War I K ...

schools for girls and many other organizations. Wilhelm was active in Torah Vodaath until his 80s, when he moved to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 1968. There, he founded a network of afternoon programs for

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

youth in developing areas, which was to strengthen their commitment to

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. He called the network Mifal Torah Vodaath. "Founded in 1968 by the Torah pioneer and builder R' Binyomin Wilhelm, z"l, after he moved to Israel Mifal played a major role in turning the tide that was ..." This innovative program was one of the first Jewish outreach programs created.

Belsky, Hershkowitz, Gewirtz branches

The Wilhelm family went on to become known as leaders on the Jewish communal scene in communities across the country and beyond. Their daughter Chana married Rabbi Berel Belsky and in 1970 moved from Williamsburg to Kensington.; their son Yisroel Belsky, years later, became a

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; 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, primarily the Talmud and th ...

of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath. The Wilhelms' daughter Lea married Yona Zev Hershkowitz. Claire married Bernie Gewirtz.

References

Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm, Binyomin 1886 births 1972 deaths American Haredi rabbis