Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
: ישיבת חפץ חיים) is a K–12
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 ...
founded in 1917. Its present campus, located at 4445
Old Court Road
Old Court Road is a state- and county-maintained highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Including the adjacent road in Howard County, Maryland, Howard County known as Woodstock Road, the highway runs from Maryland Route 99 (MD 99) near Woodstoc ...
, includes a pre-school building, an elementary school building, a middle school building, a high school building, three gymnasiums, a dormitory, two computer labs, and two study halls which double as prayer sanctuaries.
History
Talmudical Academy of Baltimore (TA) was founded in 1917 as Baltimore Parochial Hebrew School by Rav Avraham Nachman Schwartz.
The first enrolled student was Rabbi Dr. Zalman Naftali Skaist (born 1911), who was to become a noted pioneer in
American Jewish
American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% ide ...
education. TA was located on Cottage Avenue until a fire caused by one of the custodians destroyed the building. The
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 ...
then moved to its present location on Old Court. In 2018, the school completed a $22 million campus expansion which included an Early Childhood center and a new high school building, which included a gym, classrooms and
beis medrash
A ''beth midrash'' (, "house of learning"; : ''batei midrash''), also ''beis medrash'' or ''beit midrash'', is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall". It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth knesseth''), although ...
(study hall/prayer sanctuary). The
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 ...
(dean) is Yosef Rottenberg"TA Celebrates Chanukas HaBayis/Hachnasas Sefer Torah in Grand Fashion" (December 9, 2018) ''Baltimore Jewish Life''. Retrieved April 19, 2020. and the
mesivta
''Metivta'' (also mesivta; Aramaic language, Aramaic: מתיבתא, "academy") is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish yeshiva secondary school for boys. The term is commonly used in the United States to describe a yeshiva that emphasizes Talmudi ...
mashgiach
A mashgiach (, "supervisor"; , ''mashgichim'') or mashgicha (pl. ''mashgichot'') is a Jew who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment. Mashgichim may supervise any type of food service establishment, including slaughterhouses ...
is Rav Shraga Hershkowitz.
Curriculum
Secular
The Elementary and Middle School curricula include all the basic secular studies: English, Math, Social Studies and Science. The High School curriculum includes Algebra (1&2), Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, World History, American History, English, and Jewish History (1&2).
Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...
courses that TA offers, include Physics, American History, European History, and English Literature. Seniors may optionally take college courses for English 101 and Psychology 101 provided by Baltimore City Community Community College (BCCC).
Religious
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 ...
study begins in 5th grade at an introductory level. Talmudic study in earnest begins in 8th grade with its division into Bekius and Iyyun. Tractates that are studied with the Bekius method include
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...
,
Sotah
Sotah ( or , "strayer") is a tractate of the Talmud in Rabbinic Judaism. The tractate explains the ordeal of the bitter water, a trial by ordeal of a woman suspected of adultery, which is prescribed by the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible ( ...
,
Ta'anit
A ta'anit or taynis (Biblical Hebrew ''taʿaniṯ'' or צוֹם ''ṣom'') is a fast in Judaism in which one abstains from all food and drink, including water.
Purposes
A Jewish fast may have one or more purposes, including:
* Atonement for si ...
Chagigah
Hagigah or Chagigah () is one of the tractates comprising Moed, one of the six orders of the Mishnah, a collection of Jewish traditions included in the Talmud. It deals with the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot and the ...
,
Succah
A or succah (; ; plural, ' or ' or ', often translated as "booth") is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated with autumnal, harvest or Judaic ...
, Brachos and others. Shorter tractates are usually chosen as Bekius tractates. The mesivta has a five-year cycle of Biyun mesechtos to finish. The five year time period ensures that the same tractates are not studied by the same students. The bekius tractates are chosen by the rabbi of the class, and unless circumstances force otherwise, that rabbi will learn the same tractates every year.
Mishna
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
is studied until 5th grade when the primary focus becomes Talmudic studies. The learning of
halakha
''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...
'' (Jewish law), however in most classrooms this is not a main focus of time and effort.
Beis medrash
Until 1998, a beis medrash-level
shiur
A shiur (, , ; , ) is a lecture given any Torah-related topic of study, such as Gemara, Mishnah, ''Halakha'' (Jewish law), or Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), usually given in a yeshiva, though commonly in other Jewish communal settings.
Histor ...
was given by Rabbi
Yosef Rottenberg
Yosef (; also transliterated as Yossef, Josef, Yoseph Tiberian Hebrew and Aramaic ''Yôsēp̄'' and Yosseph, or Joseph, Arabic ''Yusof'') is a Hebrew male name derived from the Biblical character Joseph. The name can also consist of the Hebrew yad ...
. When he became too ill to continue giving the shiur, the beis medrash was discontinued. At the end of 2004, Rabbi Yisrael Asia was brought in to lead the beis medrash, which he did for the 2004–05 and 2005–06 school years. During the 2005/06 year, Rabbi
Avrohom Notis
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the covenantal relationship between the Jewish people and God; ...
also gave shiur to the beis medrash. In 2006–07, the beis medrash was resurrected yet again by Rabbi Bentzion Mellman and Rabbi Dovid Hoffman. Mellman acted as rosh beis medrash and instructor of Iyyun (a slower, in-depth Talmudic analysis) and Hoffman as the "Sho'el u-Maishiv" (study-hall mentor) and instructor of B'kius (a faster, less in-depth method of Talmudic study). The inaugural class consisted of seven members; however three more students joined the program in the middle of the year. The program continued through the 2008–09 year, but has been discontinued.
Extra-curricular activities
TA used to have a varsity basketball team called the
Fighting Davids
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is resorted to either as a method of ...
in the '70s and '80s. In the '90s they became the Tigers. The team reached its zenith in the
Tamir Goodman
Tamir Goodman (; born January 18, 1982) is a former American-Israeli professional basketball player. He was dubbed the "Jewish Jordan" by ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine.
After playing basketball for the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore in 11th ...
era, which was in the late '90s and early 2000s. The team name was then changed to the "Thunder".
Torah Youth Association (TYA) is loosely connected with TA. The Association, headed by Gavi Cohn, serves as an outlet for teenage boys to play sports and hang out in an environment that is acceptable for
Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...
groups. The TYA sponsors a flag football league based in a public park near TA, and tennis and pizza nights on Motzei Shabbos, as well as an annual
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
party. TYA also hosted shabbatons at the Pearlstone Center in
Western Maryland
upright=1.2, An enlargeable map of Maryland's 23 counties and one independent city
Western Maryland, also known as the Maryland panhandle or Mountain Maryland, is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that typically consists of Washing ...
, as well as
Camp Shoresh
Camp may refer to:
Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution
* Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups
* Extermination ...
.
A Mishmar program for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students takes place on most Thursdays, in which additional hours of Talmudic study occur. After the learning the 6th and 7th graders have a raffle and pizza is served. The 8th graders begin and end much later than the other students and have a basketball league afterwards followed by
cholent
Cholent or Schalet () is a traditional slow-simmering Sabbath stew in Jewish cuisine that was developed by Ashkenazi Jews first in France and later Germany, and is first mentioned in the 12th century.Rabbi Yitzahk ben Moishe or "Zaruah" in his ...
.
TA sponsors many informal sports and other leisurely activities, such as the (now defunct) chess club, debate club, and the 'tag club' of the mid-1990s. TA also sponsors scholarly and religious programs for students and Jewish residents in the community, such as the small
kollel
A kollel (also kolel) (, , , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced Torah study, study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features Shiur (Torah), shiurim (lectures) and ...
they ran (which recently closed). There was a short-lived varsity baseball team, led by
Paul Blitz
Paul may refer to:
People
* Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people
* Paul (surname), a list of people
* Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament
* Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
player
Mike Collier Michael Collier may refer to:
* Michael Collier (photographer), American photographer
* Michael Collier (poet) (born 1953), American poet, teacher and editor
* Michael Collier (swimmer) (born 1971), Sierra Leonean swimmer
* Mike Collier (America ...
briefly served as gym teacher.
Notable visitors
TA has hosted several famous
roshei yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, 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 the Torah ...
(deans) and other scholars of repute. The list includes Rav
Aharon Leib Shteinman
Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman (), also Shtainman or Steinman (November 3, 1914 – December 12, 2017), was a Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. Following the death of Yosef Shalom Elyashiv in 2012, he was widely regarded as the Gadol HaDor ...
, Rabbi
Mendel Blachman Mendel may refer to:
People
* Mendel (name), includes a list of people with the name
:*Gregor Mendel (1822–1884), the "father of modern genetics"
* Mendel (Hungarian family), a prominent Hungarian family that flourished in the 15th century
* Yidd ...
(Ra"m at
Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh
Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh (, lit. ''Vineyard in Yavne Yeshiva'') is a youth village and major yeshiva in southern Israel. Located near the city of Ashdod and adjacent to Kvutzat Yavne, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council ...
Yeshivat Sha'alvim
Yeshivat Sha'alvim is a hesder yeshiva, a kollel and a yeshiva high school for boys, located in Kibbutz Sha'alvim. It is one of the most prestigious Yeshivas in central Israel.
History
Yeshivat Sha'alvim was founded in 1961 by Meir Schlesinger ...
, Rav
Shmuel Kamenetsky
Shmuel Kamenetsky (born November 12, 1924) is an American Haredi rabbi. He is the co-founder and rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia. He is also a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages).
Early ...
(
Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia
The Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia () is a Haredi Litvish yeshiva in the Overbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its heads of school are Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, Rabbi Shimon Yehudah Svei and Rabbi Sholom Kaminetsky.
Histo ...
Reuven Feinstein
Sholom Reuven Feinstein (; born August 1937) is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish rabbi and rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva of Staten Island, New York (state), New York. He is the younger of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's two sons, the leading posek of ...
, Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, Rabbi
Yehuda Peretz
Judah or Yehuda is the name of a biblical patriarch, Judah (son of Jacob). It may also refer to:
Historical ethnic, political and geographic terms
* Tribe of Judah, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel; their allotment corresponds to Judah or Jud ...
Torah Ore
Torah Ore (, "Torah is Light") is an American Orthodox post-high-school yeshiva and kollel located in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Kiryat Mattersdorf. It was founded in 1960 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, by Rabbi Chaim Pinchas Sche ...
), Rav Aaron Schechter, and Rabbi Asher Zelig Rubinstein (rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Toras Simcha).
Ner Israel Rabbinical College
Ner Israel Rabbinical College (ישיבת נר ישראל), also known as NIRC and Ner Yisroel, is a Haredi yeshiva (Jewish educational institution) in Pikesville, Maryland. It was founded in 1933 by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, a discipl ...
*
Mordechai Gifter
Mordechai Gifter (October 15, 1915 - January 18, 2001) was an American Haredi rabbi. He was the rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland. He was a staunch opponent of Zionism.
Gifter studied in yeshivas in Lithuania, and held seve ...
, rosh yeshiva
Telshe Yeshiva
Telshe Yeshiva (; ; also spelled ''Telz'') is a yeshiva in Wickliffe, Ohio, formerly located in Telšiai, Lithuania. During World War II the yeshiva relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in the United States and is now known as the Rabbinical College of ...
*
Tamir Goodman
Tamir Goodman (; born January 18, 1982) is a former American-Israeli professional basketball player. He was dubbed the "Jewish Jordan" by ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine.
After playing basketball for the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore in 11th ...
, basketball player
* Avigdor Miller, rabbi and author
*
Yisroel Neuman
Yisroel Tzvi Neuman (born April 1947 in Baltimore, to his parents Jaye and Sarah ()) is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi and one of the four rosh yeshiva, roshei yeshiva (deans) of Beth Medrash Govoha (the Lakewood Yeshiva) in Lakewood Township ...
, rosh yeshiva at
Beth Medrash Govoha
Beth Medrash Govoha (, pronounced: ''Beis Medrash Gavo'ha''. lit: "High House of Learning"; also known as Lakewood Yeshiva or BMG) is a Haredi Jewish Litvishe ''yeshiva'' in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. It was founded by Rabbi Aharon Kotle ...
*
Zelig Pliskin
Joshua Zelig Pliskin () is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish rabbi, writer, lecturer, and author of more than 25 books, including ''Gateway to Happiness'', ''Conversations With Yourself'', ''Building Your Self-Image and the Self-Image of Other ...