Yeshiva Toras Moshe is an

English-speaking The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

Litvish ''Misnagdim'' (, "Opponents"; Sephardi pronunciation: ''Mitnagdim''; singular ''misnaged / mitnaged'') was a religious movement among the Jews of Eastern Europe which resisted the rise of Hasidism in the 18th and 19th centuries. The ''Misnag ...

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 ...

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 ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Founded in 1982, it was established in Israel to cater to post-high school students from English-speaking countries. It has since graduated over 1,000 students.

History

The yeshiva was founded in 1982 by Rabbi

Moshe Meiselman Moshe Meiselman () is an American-born Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) of Yeshiva Toras Moshe in Jerusalem, which he established in 1982. He also founded and served as principal of Yeshiva University of Los Angeles (YULA) from 1977 to 19 ...

, a grandson of Rabbi

Moshe Soloveichik Moshe Soloveichik (1879 – January 21, 1941) was an Orthodox rabbi. He was Rosh Yeshiva at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University. Biography He was born in Valozhyn, the middle son of Chaim Soloveitchik and gr ...

and nephew and student of Rabbi

Joseph B. Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic ...

, together with Rabbi Doniel Lehrfield, now

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 Yeshivas Bais Yisroel. Meiselman named the yeshiva after his grandfather Rabbi

(1879–1941). The yeshiva was first housed in

Machon Harry Fischel Harry Fischel Institute for Talmudic Research ("Machon Harry Fischel") is a Jewish theological institute in Jerusalem that specializes in training dayanim (religious court judges). The institute was founded in 1931 by the American philanthropist Ha ...

in the Bucharian neighborhood of Jerusalem. In the early 1990s the Yeshiva moved to the center of

in a building founded by the Dean of Yeshivas Novhardok, Rabbi Ben-Zion Brook. In 2009 the yeshiva moved to its own, permanent home in the Sanhedria Murchevet neighborhood. The new three-story building includes a

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 ...

, dining hall, dormitories, and basketball court.

Staff

*Rosh yeshiva: Rabbi

*''

Mashgiach ruchani A mashgiach ruchani (; pl., ''mashgichim ruchani'im''), sometimes mashgiach for short, is a spiritual supervisor or guide. They are usually a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yesh ...

'': Rabbi Elchonon Meir Fishman, a student of

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 ...

, the Navardok yeshiva, and of Rabbi

Tzvi Kushelevsky Tzvi Kushelevsky (; born 3 March 1936) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and Talmudic scholar. He is the founder and the rosh yeshivah of Heichal HaTorah BeZion, a yeshiva in Jerusalem. Early life and education Kushelevsky was born on 3 March 1936 t ...

, Rabbi

Shlomo Wolbe Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe (August Wilhelm, 1914 – April 25, 2005) was a Haredi rabbi born in Berlin in the early part of the twentieth century. He is best known as the author of ''Alei Shur'' (), a musar classic discussing dimensional growth as it pe ...

and Rabbi Shlomo Brevda. The senior faculty also include another student of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik: Rabbi Michel Shurkin, as well as Rabbi Yehuda Abramowitz, a student of Rabbi Nochum Partzovitz, and Rabbi Zev Klein, a student of Rabbi

Abba Berman Abba Mordechai Berman (; 1919–2005) was a Talmudist and rosh yeshiva (dean) of Yeshivas Iyun HaTalmud. Early life Abba Berman was born on Tu BiShvat 5679 (1919) in Łódź, Poland, to Shaul Yosef Berman, rosh yeshiva of Toras Chesed in Lodz ...

. Rabbi Shurkin has written three volumes of transcriptions of the Talmud lectures of Rabbi

Joseph Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic d ...

. One of the senior faculty, Rabbi Mosheh Twersky, was murdered along with four others in a terrorist attack on the morning of 18 November 2014 while praying in the Kehilat Bnei Torah

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

Har Nof Har Nof () is a neighborhood on a hillside on the western boundary of Jerusalem with a population of 20,000 residents, predominantly Orthodox Jews. History In Talmudic times, Har Nof was an agricultural settlement that served Jerusalem. Remains o ...

, in the

2014 Jerusalem synagogue massacre On the morning of 18 November 2014, two Palestinian men from Jerusalem entered Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue, in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem, and attacked the praying congregants with axes, knives, and a gun. They killed four dual-na ...

Studies

Students

All of the students are English-speaking. The vast majority come from all parts of the United States. There is also a large amount of English boys, and some South Africans and Canadians. Reb Reuven Schwartz who is a author of over 70 Seforim is Alumni. In keeping with the yeshiva's philosophy of building personal connections between staff and students, many alumni remain connected to the yeshiva after graduation. Some yeshiva lecturers send copies of their ''

shiurim 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 ...

'' (Torah lectures) to current and former students, while the yeshiva hosts regular reunions and fund-raising gatherings. In 2009 the yeshiva took both current and former students on a trip to the former Torah centers of Brisk and

Volozhin Valozhyn or Volozhin (, ; ; ; ; ) is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Valozhyn District. It is located northwest of the capital Minsk, on the Valozhynka River in the Neman, Neman River basin, and the begi ...

to mark the 80th anniversary of the arrival of Rabbi Moshe Soloveitchik in America.

Curriculum

Institutional Philosophy

Toras Moshe emphasizes full-time immersion in Torah study. Toras Moshe is not per se opposed to college studies so long as they are purely for vocational purposes, and many of its alumni hold jobs that require a college or other

vocational degree Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

. The schedule is standard for a traditional orthodox yeshiva. The students study for ten and a half hours daily, which includes

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 ...

, Mussar, and

Halacha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mi ...

. In addition to this, most students learn an extended amount of time on their own or with study partners ('' chavrusas'') beyond the required amounts. Several times a week the students hear a lecture, or ''vaad'', from the ''mashgiach'' in Mussar or a lecture in Halacha from either Rabbi Sinowitz, Rabbi Raymon, or Rabbi Weiner. The academic philosophy is founded on the classic concept of Torah Lishmah and is centered on mastery of the Talmud. There are many different classes for a student to choose from in the yeshiva. The yeshiva is split into two tracks for three years worth of courses, though many stay longer. After three years students can apply for a

Bachelor of Liberal Arts A Bachelor of Liberal Arts (BLA or ALB) is a type of undergraduate bachelor's degree. Harvard University confer the degree of "Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies" on those who completed Harvard Extension School undergraduate degree prog ...

degree. Toras Moshe also offers a

graduate program Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

designed for students who have finished many years of Talmudic study and are preparing for a career in Judaic and/or Talmudic studies.

References

External links

Yeshiva Toras Moshe websiteYeshiva Toras Moshe website of shiurim
{{authority control 1982 establishments in Israel Educational institutions established in 1982 Toras Moshe Lithuanian-Jewish culture in Jerusalem