A Generation Comes and A Generation Goes

Correction: After attending a presentation at the NYPL on their Yiddish sheet music collections, I learned that Pinchos Jassinowsky was not a student of RIETS at the time. Rather, he was a prolific composer. So this raises the question of what his composition is doing in this student publication. [March 19, 2025].

A Description of the Mission of RIETS from 1900

יודישע גאזעטען, 29 יוני 1900

דיא צוקונפט פון יודענטהום

עס איז געװען א צײט ווען אידען האבּען בּעטראַכט אַמעריקא פאַר אַ סטאַנציע דורךְ װעלכער זייא פאָהרען נאר דורךְ, און וואו זיי בּלייבּען נור אויף אַ וױילע. אַלס אכסניה האבּען זײא ניט בּעדאַרפט פערזארגען דיעזעס לאַנד מיט אַלעס װאס אידען דאַרפען האבּען אין זײערע לענדער. זײא האבּען זיךְ ניט בּעדארפט קימערן וועגען דעם צוּקוּנפט פוּן יודענטהום אין אּמעריקא, װייל מען האט ניט גערעכענט אַז אידען װעלען דאָ האבּען אַ צוּקוּנפט. 

יענע צײט איז שױן לאַנג אַװעק. אַלע אידען וואס זיצען יעצט אין אמעריקא און אלע װאָס קומען אַהער, וױיסען אז דא איז אײן אײבּיגע הײם פאַר אידען. דער צוּשטאנד אין אײראפּא און די פרײהייט און דיא רעכטע אין אַמעריקא בּעװייזען אַז בּיז מיר וועלען זיךְ אַלע אומקעהרען אין ארץ ישראל, וועט אַמעריקא זיין דער אײנציגער פּלאטץ װאוהין דיא אידען װעלען זיךְ רעטען פוּן זייערע פערפאָלגער. 

דיא אידישע קהילה אין דער נייער וועלט איז אלזאָ געגרינדעט צוּם עקסיסטירען, זיא וועט װאַקסען און שטײגען מיט דעם וואוקס פוּן דער איינװאַנדערוננ און מיט דעם נאַטירליכען פּראָגרעסס פוּן דער אידישער בּעפעלקערונג. 

אלס עטאבּלירטע קהילה, אלס אַ פאָלק מיט אַ וױיטען צוּקוּנפט אין דער נייער װעלט, ליעגט אויף אונז אַ חוב צוּ עטאבּלירען זיךְ מיט אַלעס װאס מיר האבּען נעטהיג פאַר דעם קיום הלאומי, און פאַר דער עקסיסטענץ פוּן אונזער נאציאן. מיר מוּזען דא גרינדען אלע אידישע אינסטיטוטען אונד אַלעס װאס האַלט דעם ‎יודענטהום פריש און געזונד. 

און וויא מיר זעהען ערפיעלען אידען פיעלע פוּן דיעזע פּפליכטען. מיר בּויען דאָ שוהלען, האספּיטאלס, הכנסת אורחים'ס אונד אַנדערע עהנליכע אידישע איינריכטונגען. מען שרייבּט היער ספרי תורות אונד מען וועבּט היער טליתים, מען דרוקט דא חומשים און מען איז דא מסדר סדורים. ליידער מוּזען מיר דא זאגען, דאס איין זאךְ, דיא וױכטיגסטע זאךְ פאר דעם אידענס צוּקוּנפט אין אמעריקא װערט היער פערנאכלעסיגט, און דאס איז דיא ערציעהונג פוּן עכט אידישע רבּנים, אויף דעם אמעריקאנישען בּאָדען. 

רבּנים זיינען דיא זיילען וואס האבּען אויפגעהאלטען דעם יודענטהום און דעם ערסטען און דעם צווייטען גלות, ווען מיר ערציעהען קײנע איינעגע רבּנים אויף דעם לאַנד אויף װעלכען מיר זיצען, קענען מיר ניט זעהן וויא אזוי דיא צוּקוּנפט וועט זיין קלאהר און ריין פאַר דעם יודענטהום אין אמעריקא. מיר זיינען איבּערצײגט אַז די אימפּאָרטירטע רבּנים פוּן אויסלאַנד זיינען זאגאַר פאַר דיעזען דור קיין ערפאָלג, און מיר קענען זיךְ שוין פאָרשטעלען וואס פאַר איין ערפאָלג אַ אימפּאָרטירטער רב פוּן אײראפּא װעט האבּען אונטער אונזערע קינדער, אדער אונטער אונזערע אײניקלאךְ, וואס האבּען זיךְ ערצויגען אין דיעזען לאנד. 

מאנכע וועללען זאגען, אַז רבּנים װערען ערצָאגען אין סינסינאטי, אַז רבּנים ווערען ארויסגעלאָזען פוּן דער נויארקער .סעמינאר, מיט דיפּלאָמען און טיטולען. יא, פיר יוצא וועגען, פיר רבּנים אויף אַ שאָוּ, וױא אַ דאָל אין אַ ווינדע, זיינען דיא תלמידים פוּן דיעזע סעמינאריומס פיעללייכט נענוג. אבּער פיר אמת'ע רבּנים, פיר רבּנים צוּ וועלכע דאס יודענטהום איז געװאָהנט, רבּנים לומדים, גאונים, וואס זיינען בּקי אין ש"ס און פּוסקים וױא מיר זיינען געװאָהנט, קען מען פוּן זייא ניט ערװאַרטען, דיעזע רבּנים דאַרפען ערסט ערצאָגען װערען. 

צווישען דיא אידישע קינדער וואס ווערען געבּארען אין דיעזען לאַנד געפינען זיךְ פיעלע וואס זיינען געבּארען געוואָרען מיט די קעפּ און דיא פעהיגקײטען, וואס האבּען געמאַכט גרויסע רבּנים אין דער אידישער וועלט. עס ווערען געבּארען עלוים, חריפים און צדיקים.ווען מען זאל אבּער ניט ארויסרופען זייערע פעהיגקייטען, ווען מען זאל זײא ניט אויפזוכען, ווען מען זאל זײא ניט געבּען דיא געלעגענהייט צוּ ענטוױקלען דיעזע פעהיגקייטען מוזען זייא פערלאָרען געהן אַלס פּעדלער, אַפּערייטארס און פּאָליטישע סטאמפּ ספּיקערס, וואס קענען װעניג לייסטען פיר דאס יודענטהום. 

צו דיעזער איבּערצײגונג זיינען געקומען אייניגע עהרליכע אידען אין נויארק און זייא האבּען זיךְ אונטערנומען צוּ גרינדען איין אינסטיטוט פאַר אמת'ע אידישע רבּנים אין אמעריקא. דער צװעק פוּן דיעזען אינסטיטוט איז אויפצוהאָדעװען אין אַמעריקא גרויסע אידישע לומדים, וואס זאללען לערנען און קענען לערנען װיא דיא גרויסע אידישע לומדים אין דיא אלטע צייטען, און זאלען דערצוּ געניסען דיא קענטניסע פוּן דער לאַנדסשפּראכע און זאלען זיךְ אויפהאָדעװען אין אַמעריקא. דער נאמען פוּן דיעזען אינסטיטוט איז "ישיבת רבּ יצחק אלחנן", און ער געפינט זיךְ אין 34 לודלאוו סטריט, נויארק. 

דיא ישיבת רבּ יצחק אלחנן איז געגרינדעט געװאָרען צוּריק מיט 4 יאהר. עס איז אַ ישיבה װאו מען לערנט ש"ס פּוסקים אויף דעם זעלבּען שטייגער וױא מען לערנט איין װאַלאָזין און אין קאוונא. דער ראש הישיבה איז א מוּפלג בּתורה, וועלכער וואַר אַליין רב אין סלוצק, און ער לערנט יעדען טאג גמרא מיט תוספות צו זיינע תלמידים, און איז זײא מדריךְ איין אַ ריינעם אידישען וועג. אין דיעזער ישיבה געפינען זיךְ יעצט אַכטצעהן אידישע זיהן, אלע מיט, גוּטע שאַרפע קעפּ און רײנע אידישע הערצער וואס זיצען וויא טאג אַזוי נאכט אין לערנען בּהתמדה גדולה. אייניגע פוּן זיי זיינען עלױם, וועלכע וועלען מיט דער צייט אויסװאַקסען דיא גרעסטע אידישע לומדים. ניט לאַנג צוּריק האבּען דיא תלמידים פוּן דיזער ישיבה געזאגט הדרן און פּלפּולים אין בּית המדרש הגדול. און אַלע לומדים וואס האבּען זייא געהערט זיינען ענטציקט געװאָרן פוּן די לומדות, בּעזאנדערס וואַר אַ פערגניגען, צוּ הערען אַזאַ לומדות פון קינדער אין אמעריקא, און אַלע האבּען דאן מסכים געװען, אַז דיא ישיבת רבּי יצחק אלחנן טהוט אַ הייליגע אַרבּייט, דערמיט װאס זיא נעהמט אַװעק דיעזע עלוים פוּן דער גאַסס און זעצט זייא לערנען דיא תורה. 

די גרינדער פןּן דער ישיבת רבּי יצחק אלחנן פערזארגען דיא בני הישיבה מיט אַלע זייערע בּעדערפניסע. מען גיט זייא עסען און טרינקען און קליידער און אלעס װאס א מענש מוז האבּען אום אויסצוּאװאַקסען א מענש אין דער וועלט. עס װערט געהאַלטען אַ גוטער לעהרער װאס לערענט דיזע לומדים די ענגלישע שפּראַךְ און אנדערע װיסענשאפטען אום צוּ פעראייניגען תורה מיט חכמה. מאַנכע פוּן דיא תלמידים אין דער ישיבה וועלען ארויס דיא גרעסטע קענער, און מען וועט זייא קענען גלייכען צוּ אונזער אַמאָליגע גרויסע פאָרשטעהער וואס האבּען בּעזעסען אַלע װיסענשאַפטען, אַזוי וויא כל התורה. 

מיט רעכט קענען מיר זאגען, אַז דער צוּקוּנפט פוּן דעם ריינעם יודענטהום אין אַמעריקא איז אין דער ישיבת רבּי יצחק אלחנן. פוּן דאָרט וועלען מיט דער צייט ארויסגעהן אמת'ע אידישע לעהרער, אמת'ע אידישע רבּנים וועלכע וועלען אונז אויסהיילען פוּן דעם רעפאָרם פוּן איין זייט און דיא אונפּאַסענדע רעוורענדס פוּן צווייטע זייט, ליידער איז דיעזער אינסטיטוט, דיעזער נעסט פאַר אידישע לומדים, דיעזער רעטונגס פּלאַטץ וואס רעטעט קינדער פוּן די גאַסען, אין גרױס נויטה. ווייל דיא אויסגאַבּען פוּן דיעזען אינסטיטוט מוּזען זיין גרויס. מען מוּז דיעזע קינדער געבּען עסען און קליידער, ספרים און רבּנים און לעהרער, אבּער די אײננאהמע איז קליין. זעהר װעניג אידען זיינען בּעקאַנט מיט דיעזען אינסטיטוט, און זעהר וועניג געבּען איהם שטיטצע. דיא אורזאַכע דערפוּן איז, ניט ווייל אידען ווילען ניט אַזאַ אינסטיטוט, ניין, דאס קען ניט זיין, ווייל אידען האבּען געגרינדעט און האבּען אויפגעהאַלטען ישיבות אין יעדען לאַנד, װאס זייא האבּען געוועהלט פאַר זייער היים. דיא היכטיגע אורזאַכע דערפוּן איז, וואס דיא זשאַרגאָנישע  צייטונגען אינטערעסירען זיךְ וועניג מיט דיעזען אינסטיטוט, און קימערן זיךְ ניט וועגען לומדות און רבּנות. אבּער אום דיעזע ישיבה זאל ניט בּלײבּען בּעהאלטען פוּן אידען, אום צוּ בּרײנגען פאַר איהר דיא נעטהיגע הילפע, האבּען דיא גרינדער פוּן דער ישיבה בּעשלאסען אַרויסצוּשיקען אַ משולח איבּער דאס לאַנד, וואָס זאל אַגיטירען אין דיא שטאדט און אין דיא קאנטריס פאַר דער ישיבת רבי יצחק אלחנן און זאל קלייבּען שטיטצע פוּן אַלע עהרליכע אידען וואס אינטערעסירען זיךְ מיט דעם יודענטהום, אוּן וױלען געבּען זייער שטיטצע צוּ גוּטע אידישע זאַכען. דיעזער משולח וועט אנקלאפּען פּוּשקעס און וועט גרינדען מעמדות, דערמיט וואס ער וועט שאַפען מעמבּערס פיר דער ישיבה. 

אין נאמען פוּן דער ישיבה בּעטען מיר אלע רבּנים אין אלע ערטער זייא זאלען בּיישטעהן דעם משולח פוּן אונזער ישיבה און זאלען איהם העלפען מיט אַלעס וואס זייא קענען. מיר בּעטען אויךְ אַלע אידען מענער און פרויען זייא זאָלען פריינדליךְ און בּריעדערליךְ בּעהאַנדלען דיא וואס וועלען צוּ זייא קוּמען קלייבּען מיט דיא פּוּּשקעס פאַר דער ישיבה. יעדער סענט װאס אונזערע געשיקטע וועלען קריעגען וועט אנקוּמען צוּ דער ישיבה און וועט העלפען צוּ ערציעהען פאַר אונז אַ דור פוּן לומדים, רבּנים אױף וועלכע מיר װעלען זיךְ ניט דאַרפען שעהמען. 

ווען מיר ווילען בּלייבּען אידען אין אַמעריקא, מוזען מיר האבּען איין ישיבה וואו אַמעריקא זאל אַרויסגעבּען איהרע אייגענע רבּנים, לומדים, און דיעזע ישיבּה איז דיא ישיבת רבּי יצחק אלחנן. 

אַז דיא אידען אין אַמעריקא זיינען בּערייט צוּ שטיטצען ישיבת און אַז זייער האַרץ איז מיט דיא וואס לערנען תורה קען מען זעהן דערפוּן, וואס גרויסע סומען געלד געהן ארויס יעהרליךְ פוּן אמעריקא נאךְ דיא ישיבות פוּן אײראפּא. מיר פרעגען דאַרום, ווארום זאלען דיעזע גוּטהערציגע אידען ניט שטיטצען און אויפהאַלטען אַ ישיבה וועלכע געפינט אין זייער מיטע, אונטער זייערע, אויגען, און גיט אַ געלעגענהייט זייערע איינעגע קינדער צוּ ווערען לומדים און רבּנים. 

אַם ענדע ווילען מיר בּעמערקען אַז דיא ישיבת רבּי יצחק אלחנן איז ניט נור פיר נויארקער. דיא ישיבה נעהמט אויף אַלע אידישע קינדער, פוּן גאַנצען לאנד וואס קוּמען צוּ דער ישיבה. אַ קינד אַ עלױ פוּן אירגענד וועלכען געגענד קען קוּמען צוּ אונז און מיר וועלען איהם נעבּען עסען און קליידער, אום ער זאלל אויסארבּייטען זיינע פעהיגקייטען. 

עס איז דאַרום די פּפליכט פוּן יעדען אידען צוּ שטיטצען און העלפען דיעזער ישיבה.

ה. בּראמסאן, פּרעזידענט.

Jewish Gazette, 29 June 1900

The Future of Judaism 

There was a time when Jews considered America as a station through which they were just traveling through, and where they would remain in for a moment. As a temporary lodging they did not need to supply this country with all that Jews need in their countries. They did not need to concern themselves about the future of Judaism in American, because no one considered that Jews would have a future here. 

That time is already far away. All Jews that are now settled in America and all that are coming here, know that here is a permanent home for Jews. The situation in Europe and the freedom and the rights in America demonstrate that until we will all return to the land of Israel, America will be the only place to where the Jews will save themselves from their persecutions. 

The Jewish community in the new world is therefore established to continue existed, it will increase and grow with the growth of the immigration and with the natural progress of the Jewish population.

As an established community, as a people with a long future in the new world, an obligation is placed upon us to establish ourselves with all that we clearly have for the establishment of the nation, and for the existence of our nation. We must set up all the Jewish institutions here and all that keeps Judaism fresh and healthy. 

  And as we see, Jews are fulfilling all of these obligations. We are building schools here, hospitals, hostels and other similar Jewish establishments. Torah scrolls are written here and Taleisim are woven here, Chumashim are printed here and Siddurim are arranged here. Unfortunately, we must say here, that one thing, the most important thing for the Jews’ future in America has been neglected here, and this is the education of real Jewish rabbis, on American soil. 

Rabbis are the souls that have maintained Judaism in the first and second exile. If we educate not one rabbi in the land on which we are settled, we cannot see how the future will be clear and pure for Judaism in America. We are convinced that the imported rabbis from abroad are fit for this generation to not succeed, and we already can hide what kind of success an imported rabbi from Europe will have for our children or for our grandchildren, that have been educated in this country. 

Many will say that rabbis are educated in Cincinnati, that rabbis are produced from the New York Seminary, with diplomas and titles. Yes, for barely meeting the definition, for rabbis on a show, as a doll in a window, the students from these seminaries are perhaps enough. But for true rabbis, for rabbis that Judaism needs, rabbis, scholars, geniuses, that are experts in Talmud and codes as we have wanted, we cannot just expect this from them, these rabbis first need to be educated. 

Among the Jewish children that were born in this country are many that were born with the minds and the talents that have made great rabbis in the Jewish world. Geniuses have been born, sharp of intellect and righteous. If one should not even summon their talents, if one should not look for them, if one should not give them the opportunity to develop these talents, then they are forced to go lost as peddlers, operators and political stump speakers, who can mold little for Judaism. 

A few upstanding Jews in New York have arrived at these convictions and they undertook to found an institution for truly Jewish rabbis in America. The goal of this institution is to raise great Jewish scholars in America, that should study and can study like the greatest Jewish scholars in the olden times, and should therefore partake of the knowledge of the local language and should be raised in America. The name of this institution is “Yeshivas Rab Yitzchak Elchanan.” And it is located at 34 Ludlow Street, New York. 

The Yeshivas Rab Yitzchak Elchanan was founded four years ago. It is a Yeshiva where one studies Talmud and codes in the same manner as one studies in Volozhin and in Kovno. The Rosh Yeshiva is a distinguished scholar of Torah, who was the sole rabbi in Slutzk, and he teaches Gemara with Tosfos to his students every day, and he guides them in the pure Jewish way. In this Yeshiva there are now 18 Jewish boys, all with good sharp minds and pure Jewish hearts that sit day and night studying with great consistency. A few of them are geniuses, who will with time grow up to be the greatest Jewish scholars. Not long ago did the students of this Yeshiva recite hadran and pilpulim in Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, and all the scholars that listened to them were delighted with the scholarship, separately it was a pleasure to hear such scholarship from children in America, and everyone then agreed, that the Yeshivas Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan is doing a holy work in which it takes these geniuses away from the street and sits them to study the Torah. 

The founders of the Yeshivas Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan provide the students of the Yeshiva with all their needs. They are given food and drink and clothing and all that a person needs to grow up to a be person in the world. There is retained a good teacher that teaches these scholars the English language and other sciences to unite Torah with science. Many of the students in the Yeshiva will become the greatest knowledgeable people, and one can compare them to our great minds from long ago that possessed all the sciences just like all the Torah. 

We can say with certainty, that the future of pure Judaism in America is in the Yeshivas Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan. From there, with time, will go truly Jewish teachers, truly Jewish rabbis who will heal us from the reform from one side and the inappropriate reverends from the other side. Unfortunately this institution, this nest for Jewish scholars, this rescue place that saves children from the streets, is in great destitution. Because the expenditures of this institution must be large. These children must be given food and clothing, books and rabbis and teachers, but the investment is small. Very few Jews are familiar with this institution, and very few give it support. The reason for it is, not because Jews do not want such an institution, no, that cannot be, because Jews have founded and maintained Yeshivas in every land that they have chosen for their home. The correct reason for it is, that the Yiddish newspapers are barely interested in this institution and do not concern themselves with scholarship and the rabbinate. So this Yeshiva should not remain withheld from Jews, to bring for it the necessary help, the founders of the Yeshiva decided to send out an emissary across the country, who should advocate in the cities and in the countries for the Yeshivas Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan and should gather support from all upstanding Jews who are interested in Judaism, and want to give their support to good Jewish causes. This emissary will bang pushkes and will set up councils with which he will make members for the Yeshiva.

In the name of the Yeshiva, I ask all rabbis in all places that they should stand by the emissary from our Yeshiva and should help him with all that they can. We also ask all Jews men and women they should be friendly and brotherly when interacting with the one who will come to collect with the pushkes for the Yeshiva. Every cent that our emissary will collect will come to the Yeshiva and will help to educate for us a generation of scholars, rabbis for which we will not need to be ashamed.

If we want to remain Jews in America, we must have a Yeshiva from where America should distribute its own rabbis, scholars, and this Yeshiva is the Yeshivas Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan.

The Jews in America are ready to support Yeshivas and their heart is with those who study Torah. This can be seen from the large sums of money that go out yearly from America to the Yeshivas of Europe. Therefore, we ask, why should these goodhearted Jews not support and maintain a Yeshiva which exists in their midst, under their eyes, and give an opportunity for their own children to become scholars and rabbis. 

Finally, we want to remark that the Yeshivas Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan is not only for New Yorkers. The Yeshiva admits from all Jewish children, from the entire country, who come to the Yeshiva. A child a genius from any which region can come to us and we will give him food and clothing, so that he should train his talents.

It is therefore the duty of all Jews to support and help this Yeshiva.

H. Bramson, President. 

H. Bramson, “The Future of Judaism,” Jewish Gazette (New York, NY), June 29, 1900. https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/jewishgazette/1900/06/29/01/article/21 

The Bais Yaakov School of Washington, DC

The Orthodox Jewish community of the Greater Washington, DC area does not have a Bais Yaakov school. This lack of a Bais Yaakov high school was not an inevitability. During the post-war efforts to rebuild eastern-European orthodox Judaism in the United States, a young rabbinic couple attempted to build a Bais Yaakov in the District of Columbia. The husband, Yisrael Orlansky, was born in Poland in 1929¹ and fled to Lithuania with his family as Poland was about to be invaded. When the USSR captured Lithuania, they were sent into exile in Siberia for the duration of the war.² The wife, Rachel Finkel, was born in Germany in 1929, and she survived the Nazi concentration camps.³

After coming to the United States, Yisrael Orlansky studied in the Mirrer Yeshiva in New York and attained Semicha in 1949.⁴ There he met Rachel Finkel, and they married in 1949. The couple moved to Washington, DC in 1950 to work in Jewish education.

At first, the Orlanskys lived in an apartment at 1502 P St. NW, which was in the heart of the old Jewish community of Washington, DC. In the 1950 census, Yisrael Orlansky reported that he worked as a Hebrew Teacher at a private school, and Rachel Orlansky reported that she worked as a kindergarten teacher for a private school.⁵ They may have been working at the Hebrew Academy of Washington or at one of the Orthodox synagogues’ Hebrew schools in the area.

In October 1953, the couple bought a house at 222 Jefferson St. NW,⁶ which was closer to where many of the Orthodox synagogues had had been moving as their communities moved towards the suburbs. In the following year, fall of 1954, Rachel Orlansky opened a Nursery school in that house.⁷ The couple planned to develop this nursery school into a Bais Yaakov school for girls. Rachel Orlansky was working with Gittel Kaufman, the wife of Rabbi Harry J. Kaufman, rabbi of the Beth Sholom Talmud Torah Congregation.

In Fall 1955, Rachel Orlansky and Gittel Kaufman opened a kindergarten class for their new Beth Jacob School of Washington. Classes for the Nursery and Kindergarten may have been held in 702 Jefferson St. NW or 4904 Georgia Ave. NW.⁸ The sources from Fall 1955 conflict. The school’s business address was the Orlansky’s house, at 222 Jefferson St. NW. The kindergarten and pre-school classes were most likely co-ed classes that admitted both boys and girls. A 1958 registration advertisement describes the kindergarten and pre-school classes as “for boys and girls.”⁹

In the next academic year, the school added a first-grade class. This first grade class was only for girls in accordance with the general mission of Beth Jacob Schools to education Jewish girls.¹⁰ To signify the young school’s growth from a nursery school to an elementary school, they inaugurated the first board of directors in November 1956. A representative from the National Association of Hebrew Day schools, Rabbi Meir Belski, spoke at the ceremony. The ceremony was held in the Talmud Torah synagogue on 16th Street and Emerson.¹¹

As the school expanded into the elementary grades, it needed to take on more staff. Hannah Auerbach, the daughter of a rabbi in Alexanderia, and a student at George Mason University, taught at the Beth Jacob School in the Fall of 1957.¹² Like Rachel Orlansky, Hannah Auerbach was a refugee from Europe. When she was a baby, Auerbach fled Nazi Germany with her parents after Kristallnacht.¹³

In the Fall 1957 semester, the Beth Jacob School added a second-grade class. In September 1957, the school acquired a house at 1501 Gallatin Street NW to be used as a school building.¹⁴

The Beth Jacob School helped organize a dinner to honor a long time Jewish educator, Leib Eisenberg, for his 84th birthday.¹⁵ The articles associated with this celebration described him as a founder of the Beth Jacob school.¹⁶

In the summer of 1958, the Beth Jacob School ran a day camp.¹⁷ If things went well during the summer of 1958, the advertisement for camp registration would be the only piece of evidence that this camp even existed. Unfortunately, tragedy struck and produced news reports.

On July 31, 1958, Louis Kosberg, a driver employed by the Beth Jacob School, was driving 11 children home after day camp. He had already dropped off two children when he reached the intersection of Peabody Street and Georgia Avenue.¹⁸ Kosberg was heading east along Peabody Street with 9 children in his station wagon. He stopped at the stop sign before attempting to cross Georgia Avenue. The southbound traffic was backed up through the intersection, so he waited until someone gave him room pass through. Kosberg did not initially see anyone coming in the northbound direction, so he continued driving into the intersection.

Kenneth Buck was heading north on Georgia Avenue in his sedan at around 30 miles per hour. When both drivers noticed each other, Kosberg tried to accelerate out of the intersection and Buck slammed on the breaks. Kosberg could not accelerate fast enough, and Buck’s breaks did not slow him down in time. Buck’s sedan plowed right into the rear-right corner of the station wagon sending it spinning around. The three children seated in the rear facing bench of the station wagon were flung out of the car and sustained severe head injuries. Two of the three children died of their injuries, while the third recovered.¹⁹

Though this car crash was a terrible and saddening incident, the news reporting on it provides a glimpse into what kind of people were sending their children to the Beth Jacob School. The news reporting on the story provided the identities of all the passengers of the station wagon at the time of the crash. The two children who died were siblings 8-year-old Phyllis and 4-year-old Samuel Goldfeder. Their father, Harold Goldfeder, owned a pharmacy. Two of Yisrael and Rachel Orlansky’s children were in the car, 4-year-old Joseph Chaim and 5-year-old Moshe. Joseph Chaim was the third child thrown out of the back seat of the station wagon, but he recovered from his head injury and survived the crash. 4-year-old Irit Barak the daughter of the second secretary of the Israeli Embassy, Baruch Barak, was also in the car. 6-year-old Ira Davis, son of Rabbi Albert Joseph Davis, the rabbi of Ohev Shalom and previously the director of Bais Yaakov of Baltimore. The last three children for whom I could not determine the profession of their parents were 8-year-old Pamela Friedman and siblings 7-year-old Karen and 4-year-old Eddie Karl.²⁰

This carpool is by no means a representative sample of the 60 or so students who had been attending the Beth Jacob School in the previous academic year. Nor were all these students at the day camp necessarily students at the school the rest of the year. We can divide up these students by gender, age, and background. There were three girls in the carpool who were 7 or 8 years old. These are girls who could have attended the first and second grade classes at the Beth Jacob School in the 1957–1958 academic year. There were five boys and one girl between 4 to 6 years old. These six children could have attended the pre-school or kindergarten class in the previous academic year.

Six children’s parents were laymen and three came from rabbinic homes. One child was the daughter of an Israeli diplomat. To this day, Israeli diplomats have continued to send them children to the Jewish day schools in the area.

Though the car crash was horrific and tragic, the Beth Jacob School of Washington opened for classes in Fall 1958. The school was now offering pre-school and kindergarten classes for boys and girls and first through third grade classes for girls. The school took on Rabbi Simcha Sterzer as an administrator. In November 1958, Rabbi Simcha Sterzer hosted a television program in which students at the Beth Jacob School sang Hanukkah songs.²¹ Sterzer also served as a cantor for the high holidays at the Young Israel Shomrei Emunah synagogue in 1958–1961.²²

Over the course of the 1958-59 academic year, the Beth Jacob School had been renovating its building on 1501 Gallatin Street NW. The school hosted a dedication ceremony on June 7, 1959. As part of the ceremony, the school stated that it had grown to 100 students over the course of the five years of its existence.²³

In October 1959, the school appealed to the Board of Zoning Adjustment to allow the Beth Jacob School of Washington to establish “a day school consisting of nursery and kindergarten and all elementary grades.”²⁴ I’m not familiar with the legal environment of Washington, DC at the time. The Beth Jacob School had been operating out 1501 Gallatin Street NW since 1957. It took them two years before they appealed to the Board of Zoning Adjustment to have a permit to operate a school in a residential area. I don’t know if they were granted an adjustment after this appeal.

The Beth Jacob School of Washington reopened for the 1959–1960 academic year after they had renovated their house at 1501 Gallatin Street NW. I do not know if they were able to expand to have a fourth-grade class in 1959–1960, but as I will explain later there is reason to suspect they did not expand beyond third grade.

In January 1960, the PTA of the Beth Jacob School held a fundraising ‘package party.’ The announcement for the event described the event. “Admission will be by package. A gay evening of auctioning, door prizes, blintzes and other delicacies.”²⁵

In June 1960, the Beth Jacob School began to appeal for funds to close its budget deficit. Rabbi Yisrael Orlansky claimed that 40% percent of his 100 students were receiving tuition assistance.²⁶ The school also needed to fund renovations to its facility to comply with local regulations for schools. These pressures created a $10,000 gap in the budget.²⁷

Despite the budget difficulties the Beth Jacob School opened for the 1960–1961 academic year.²⁸ The parent teacher association of the Beth Jacob School held another package party fundraising event in February 1961.²⁹ In March 1961, the school hosted a Purim party for which the nursery and kindergarten performed a Purim play.³⁰

At the end of the 1960–1961 academic year, the Beth Jacob school appealed to Board of Zoning Adjustment once again. In this appeal, the Beth Jacob school only asked to create a school spanning pre-school through third grade for 60 students.³¹ This was a less ambitious appeal than the October 1959 appeal. The fact that the school anticipated having third grade as the highest grade in the school in 1961 implies that the school was unable to expand beyond third grade in 1959 and 1960.

The Beth Jacob School of Washington did not survive the summer of 1961. On July 28, 1961, the Beth Jacob school sold its building at 1501 Gallatin Street NW.³² The school did not reopen for the 1961–1962 academic year. The short period of its operation has faded from the communal memory of the Greater Washington Jewish community.

Rabbi Yisrael and Rachel Orlansky left Washington, DC after their Beth Jacob school closed. They sold their house at 222 Jefferson Street NW in August 1961.³³ By the mid-1960s the Orlansky family was living in Brooklyn. Rabbi Yisrael Orlansky worked as the Assistant Principal of the Bais Yaakov of Boro Park.³⁴ The Orlansky family moved to Israel sometime in the 1970s and Rabbi Yisrael Orlansky worked as an administrator for the Chinuch Atzmai school system.³⁵

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1. ^“Rav Israel Orlanksy,” geni.com https://www.geni.com/people/Rav-Israel-Orlansky/6000000002189223060 Accessed Jan. 14, 2025
2. ^See Chaim Tikotzki (ed.), lapid eish novahrdokai, Jerusalem: Yisrael Orlanksy, 1993.
3. ^“Rochel Orlansky (Finkel),” geni.com https://www.geni.com/people/Rochel-Orlansky/6000000002189170221 Accessed Jan. 14, 2025.
4. ^“English Letter With Signature of Rabbi Avraham Kalmanovitz of Mir,” Tiferet Auction House https://www.tiferetauctions.com/auction/289-%D7%AA%D7%A4%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%AA-49-%D7%9E%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%AA-he/lot-54-%D7%9E%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91-%D7%91%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%AA/ Accessed Jan. 14, 2025 [Letter is dated to August 23, 1950. It certifies that Rabbi Israel Orlansky graduated from the Mir Rabbinical College in February 1949.]
5. ^National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: 3071; Page: 79; Enumeration District: 1-502.
6. ^Document Number: 1953039899. Book Type/Roll: LAND/10066/605. DC Recorder of Deeds.
7. ^“Nursery Classes,” Washington Post (Washington, DC), Aug. 28, 1955.
8. ^“Beth Jacob Women Set Meeting Date,” National Jewish Ledger (Washington, DC), Nov. 25, 1955.
9. ^[Ad], “Beth Jacob School of Washington,” Washington Post (Washington, DC), June 15, 1958.
10. ^ibid
11. ^“School to Install,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), Nov. 16, 1956. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1956-11-16/ed-1/seq-49/ The article says 14th street, but compare with Lawrence Frenkel, American Synagogue Directory, New York: Frenkel Mailing Service, 1958. https://archive.org/details/americansynagogu00unse/page/14 which places Talmud Torah at 4901 16th St. NW.
12. ^“Ms. Auerbach Is Engaged,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), Nov. 17, 1957. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1957-11-17/ed-1/seq-87/.
13. ^Morton Isaacs, “Chana Auerbach Isaacs,” Rochester Holocaust Survivors Archive https://jewishrochester-chai-archive.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/individual%20Resource%20Folders/Isaacs%20Chana%20Auerbach/Isaacs%20Chana%20Auerbach2.html Accessed Jan. 14, 2025.
14. ^Document Number: 1957032354. Book Type/Roll or Frame/Page: LAND/10939/417. DC Recorder of Deeds.
15. ^“Synagogues Mark Brotherhood Week,” Washington Post (Washington, DC), Feb. 14, 1958.
16. ^“Eisenberg, 84, to be Honored,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), Feb. 15, 1958. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1958-02-15/ed-1/seq-8/.
17. ^[Ad], “Beth Jacob School of Washington,” Washington Post (Washington, DC), June 15, 1958.
18. ^“Day School Car Crash Kills Girl, Injures 8,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), Aug. 1, 1958. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1958-08-01/ed-1/seq-21/.
19. ^“Driver of Car Held Responsible in Death of Day Camp Children,” Washington Post (Washington, DC), Aug. 8, 1958.
20. ^“Collision of Camp Car Kills Child, Injures 8,” Washington Post (Washington, DC), Aug. 1, 1958.
21. ^“Churches on the Air,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), Nov. 29, 1958. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1958-11-29/ed-1/seq-10/.
22. ^“Yom Kippur to Begin at Sunset Tomorrow,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), Sept. 22, 1958. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1958-09-22/ed-1/seq-6/, “Jewish Yom Kippur Begins at Sundown,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), Oct. 11, 1959. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1959-10-11/ed-1/seq-51/, and “Rites Sunday to Open Rosh Hashanah Holiday,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), Sept. 8, 1961. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1961-09-08/ed-1/seq-44/.
23. ^“Beth Jacob Day School sets Dedication Rite,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), June 4, 1959. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1959-06-04/ed-1/seq-59/.
24. ^“Classified: Officials Notices: Board of Zoning Adjustment,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), Oct. 9, 1959. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1959-10-09/ed-1/seq-66/.
25. ^“Beth Jacob Party,” National Jewish Ledger (Washington, DC), Jan. 22, 1960.
26. ^“Funds to Meet Deficit Sought by Girls’ School,” Washington Post (Washington, DC), June 17, 1960.
27. ^“Jewish School Seeking Funds,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), June 17, 1960. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1960-06-17/ed-1/seq-2/.
28. ^[Ad], “Beth Jacob School of Washington,” Washington Post (Washington, DC), Aug. 28, 1960.
29. ^“Beth Jacob School Sets Package Party,” National Jewish Ledger (Washington, DC), Feb. 3, 1961.
30. ^“Purim Party Set,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), March 5, 1961. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1961-03-05/ed-1/seq-9/.
31. ^“Classified: Official Notices: Board of Zoning Adjustment,” Washington Post (Washington, DC), June 30, 1961.
32. ^Document Number: 1961022276. Book Type/Roll: LAND/11641/576. DC Recorder of Deeds.
33. ^Document Number: 1961023454. Book Type/Roll: LAND/11647/381. DC Recorder of Deeds.
34. ^[Ad], “Birkas Mazal Tov Beis Yaakov D’Boro Park,” Der Tog (New York, NY), Nov. 3, 1967. https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/dertog/1967/11/03/01/article/63.1.
35. ^“25 Million Dollar Children Torah Rescue Fund Proclaimed by Chinuch Atzmai Torah Schools,” Jewish Observer (New York, NY), February 1980. https://agudah.org/wp-content/uploads/1980/09/JO1980-V14-N06-7.pdf Accessed Jan. 15, 2025.

Songs of Volozhin

In around 2021, when I first got my hands on a copy of Abraham Zvi Idelson's Thesaurus of Jewish Music, I noticed a few melodies in the volume on Eastern European Jewish Folk music that were attributed to Volozhin. As I was studying in Yeshiva at the time, this of course piqued my interest. Many yeshivas are proud of their musical herritage, but few melodies seem to reliably originate in Volozhin. Beneath these melodies in Idelson's thesaurus, I noticed the citation Reshumoth V. 

What was Reshumot?  

Following WWI, Chaim Nachman Bialik, Alter Druyanov, and Yehoshua Chana Ravnitzky created a journal for Jewish enthnographic study, which they called Reshumot. Over the course of the 1920s they published at least six volumes. (After the creation of the state of Israel, the Reshumot journal was revived under a new generation of ethnographic and folklore scholars.)

In volume five of Reshumot, published in 1927, there is an article by Yitzchak Rivkind titled "From the Collections of the Volozhiner." This article has two parts, the first describes the closure of the Volozhin Yeshiva and theater art that was created in response to the closure. The second part is about the Songs of Volozhin. It contains four music scores of songs that were sung in the yeshiva along with some background information. 

The first song in this article is a tune for Chasal Siddur Pesach. The commentary describes how it was a regular practice for the Rosh Yeshiva to host yeshiva students at his house for the Pesach Seder. This version of Chasal Siddur Pesach was sung at these sedarim and it was very popular among the members of the Yeshiva. The author, Yitzchak Rivkind, believed that Rav Itzele Volozhiner either composed the tune or at least adapted the tune for Chasal Siddur Pesach. 

The second song is called Al Tirah Yisrael. It is an original song for which both the tune and the words were written by Rav Itzele Volozhiner. Rivkind suspects that he wrote this song after advocating for the Yeshiva to the Russian government. The song itself tells the Jewish people not to be afraid because of their vulnerable position as a persecuted minority. Instead they should celebrate the Torah and rely upon God. 

There are two more songs at the end of the article that have no commentary associated with them. One of them is called Gut Yom Tov, and is a tune with a repeating refrain of "gut yom tov." The last song is titled The Volozhiner Dance. 

I have scanned the portion of the article on the songs of Volozhin. 

Yitzchak Rivkind, "From the Collections of Volozhin: The Songs of Volozhin," Reshumot vol. 5 (1927): 376–382.

I have also transcribed the four scores and uploaded them to musescore. 

https://musescore.com/user/81422653/sets/12656116

I want to try to do more of these music transcriptions at some point in the future. There are a fair amount of hard to find collections of religious Jewish folk music that might benefit from this transcription. 

The Sabbath Visitor

Another newspaper of interest on the National Library of Israel's online collection is The Sabbath Visitor. This paper was published from 1874 to the late 19th century (I haven't been able to determine the extent of its run yet.) The Visitor was created by Rabbi Max Lilienthal as a forum to discuss Jewish education and produce educational materials. A copy of an issue from 1882 is available on the University of Pennsylvania Library's website. We can observe from this copy that the paper was published weekly and consisted solely of articles written by adults for the young readers of the paper. We also see that by 1882, Rabbi Jacob Voorsanger had taken over the paper from Lilienthal.

My main interest are in the issues digitized by the National Library of Israel. These issues are from 1887 and 1888 and offer a very different kind of paper from the 1882 issue. In 1887 we see that Isidor Wise had become the editor of the paper. The paper was now published monthly with each issue topping 70 pages. The paper continued to include educational material written by Jewish educators, but in its monthly form it also incorporated a significant amount of reader submitted content. Children who read the magazine could submit short stories, poetry, and other kinds of writing to a section called "Israel's Flower Garden." Another section called the "Letter Box" was filled with reader submitted letter in which they talked about whatever they wanted. Letters to the editor are very common in all kinds of papers and periodicals, but this section often topped 20 pages in length. Both user submitted sections were edited by a person who identified themselves as "Sadie." She would publish all the letters sent to her in the letter box and would occasionally directly respond to them. She also makes comments that suggest that she would forward privately addressed letters between readers that had previously submitted to the paper, allowing readers of the paper to communicate without having to know each other's addresses. 

Though Israel's Flower Garden is fascinating in of itself as a witness to creativity and interests of American Jewish children during these years, the Letter Box has really caught my attention through its striking similarity to modern day social media. Reading though each issue's large collection of letters feels like sifting through an old internet message board. Some readers just submit short letters announcing that they are there, others talk a little bit about life where they live, a few will send in long rants giving their personal take on the discourse of the day, and other's profess their love to Sadie asking her to marry them in ways that are eerily similar to how maladjusted men behave towards women on the internet today. Not all the people submitting letters will sign their real names on the letter, echoing the anonymous qualities of an internet username. A few examples of such 'usernames' are "Saw Bones," "Big Boy," and "Incognito." In manner of most letters to the editor, Sadie will print the city of origin for all submissions, including those with anonymous names. The people submitting really come from all across the United States, many of them from large cities like Cincinnati and Chicago, but also a significant number from small villages all across the country. Many of these small town readers would comment on how beneficial this magazine was to their Jewish identity being so far removed from large Jewish communities in the cities. 

There is a lot that can be learned from this fascinating publication. Though I don't currently have the time to dive deeper, I really hope to be able to some time in the near future.

A Yeshiva in Washington, DC? Part 2

Only a few months before the Beth Judah Institute of the Hebrew Academy opened registration in the Fall of 1953, a graduate of the Mirer Yeshiva and his wife had purchased a house at 1333 Emerson Street NW. In the following years Rabbi Nechemia and Nechama Malin would try to transform this house into the District of Columbia's first true Yeshiva. 

Nechemia was born in Brest Litovsk on December 24, 1918^[1] to Rav Isser Yehuda and Rachel Malin. Before the outbreak of WWII, Nechemia was studying in the Mirer Yeshiva. Nechemia accompanied his peers and tens of thousands Jewish refugees who fled to Lithuania and eventually to Japanese occupied Shanghai. Nechemia and his older brother Meir continued to study at the relocated Mirer Yeshiva in the crowded Shanghai Ghetto^[2]. After the war ended, the Malin brothers followed the Yeshiva to New York, where they continued studying for several years^[3]. 

At some point in the early 1950s, Nechemia married Elizabeth (Nechama) Bogner. Elizabeth was the daughter of Rabbi Arthur (Meir) Bogner, who fled Austria with his family in 1938^[4]. Rabbi Arthur Bogner worked as the Rabbi of the Ezras Israel Congregation of Northeast Washington, DC. 

The Malins moved to the District in 1953 and appear to have begun laying the groundwork for their Yeshiva as soon as they arrived. (It's certainly conceivable that Rabbi Bogner or others invited Nechemia to DC for this purpose.) 1333 Emerson St was put up for sale in Feburary 1953. On March 13, 1953, the owners of the house at 1333 Emerson, Luther and Ethel Iager, filed a petition with the zoning board to establish the "Or[-]Torah Rabbinical Seminary" in their home^[5].

The Iagers were not Jewish, so their involvement in the permitting of the Yeshiva is curious. A potential explanation may stem from the nature of the Iagers' sale of their house. The February 28 real estate advertisement for 1333 Emerson Street says that the "Owner [was] selling on doctor's orders."^[6] The Iagers' need to quickly sell the house may have led them to help their willing buyers, the Malins, to establish a Yeshiva on the property. 

The zoning board rejected the Iagers' appeal to form the Yeshiva on their property^[7]. Despite this, the Malins went through with the sale and signed the deed for 1333 Emerson St in June 1953. 

In mid August 1954, the National Jewish Ledger reported on a meeting that Rabbi Nehemia [sic] Malin held with other local Rabbis to discuss a fundraising drive for the "Rabbinical Seminary of Brisk". The Ledger also noted that both local and out-of-town students were already registered for the coming term.^[8]

Rav Moshe Feinstein sent a letter to R' Nechemia Malin that was dated to Motza'ei Shabbos Bereshis 5715 (October 23, 1954). The letter seems to have been carried by one of R' Nechemia's students on his was back to Yeshiva after Sukkos break.^[9]

In the winter of 1955, R' Nechemia Malin and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, R' Menachem Mendel Schneerson, exchanged a series of letters that are partially preserved in the published collections of the Rebbe's correspondences^[10]. Nechemia Malin appears to have written to the Rebbe asking him to advocate for him to receive some of German reparation funds that were being divvied by a small council of refugee Roshei Yeshiva who had escaped the Nazis with their Yeshivas. The Rebbe's advocacy seems to have been successful in getting R' Nechemia Malin's Yeshiva some of the money^[11].

By 1959 the Brisker Yeshiva seems to have begun an after school program to educate Jewish teens. This program mentioned in an article about a Shlomo Carlebach concert that the Yeshiva was hosting to raise funds for itself. The article noted that the Yeshiva was "a school which prepares high school students for advance studies to become Rabbis and other workers in the religious field."^[12]

In the Fall of 1960, the Brisker Yeshiva opened the first parochial Yeshiva high school in the District. An article from the school's first banquet in April 1961, described the school:

"Yeshiva High School which began its program with 15 students last September, is located at 1333 Emerson street N.W. The school teaches Jewish religious subjects in addition to regular high school courses. It is the only Jewish high school in the city."^[13]

The Yeshiva High School's success was very short lived. It's unclear if the school opened for a second year in the Fall 1961. A February 1962 advertisement for an estate sale at 1333 Emerson street listed school desks among the assorted furniture.^[14] The Malins sold the house on March 1, 1962. This seems to be the end of the Brisker Yeshiva in DC. 

The relationship between R' Nechemia Malin's Yeshiva High School of 1960 and the later Yeshiva High School that opened in 1964 is unclear. Certainly they did not share any of the same leadership, but it is possible that they shared the same demographic of parents who were interested in such a school. 

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^{[1] See Nechemia Malin's passport and other immigration documents: https://www.ebay.com/itm/154811749102 (Accessed January 19, 2023)}

^{[2] Yechiel Sever and Mordecai Plaut, "News: HaRav Nechemia Malin zt"l," Dei'ah ve'Dibur, October 17, 2013. http://www.chareidi.org/archives5774/vayeiro/armalinvyr74.htm}

^{[3] "The Last Stanzia — Part II," Hamodia, July 18, 2021. https://hamodia.com/frominyan/last-stanzia-part-ii/
[4] Moshe Weissberg, "Imma Shel Malkhut: haRabbanit Nechama Malin a"h," Bechadrei Charedim, September 8, 2011. https://www.bhol.co.il/news/87252
[5] "Official Notices: Board of Zoning Adjustment," Evening Star (Washington, DC), March 13, 1953. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1953-03-13/ed-1/seq-55/
[6] [Advertisement,] "Boss & Phelps Present 4 Attractive Home Values," Evening Star (Washington, DC), February 28, 1953. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1953-02-28/ed-1/seq-28/
[7] "Zoners Again Reject Chevy Chase Lot as Pepco Substation Site," Evening Star (Washington, DC), March 27, 1953. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1953-03-27/ed-1/seq-21/
[8] "Yeshiva to Expand," National Jewish Ledger (Washington, DC), August 20, 1954.
[9] "Letter from Rav Moshe Feinstein" https://www.kedem-auctions.com/en/content/letter-rabbi-moshe-feinstein-1
[10] Igros Kodesh Vol. 21, Page 283, Letter 8,041. https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=15914&st=&pgnum=302
[11] https://forum.otzar.org/viewtopic.php?t=15506#p279943
[12] "Israeli Singer to Give Concert," Evening Star (Washington, DC), June 7, 1959. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1959-06-07/ed-1/seq-19/
[13] "Jewish School Founders Feted," Evening Star (Washington, DC), April 25, 1961. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1961-04-25/ed-1/seq-5/
[14] [Classifieds] "Miscelaneous for Sale: Furniture—...1333 Emerson," Evening Star (Washington, DC), February 11, 1962. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1962-02-11/ed-1/seq-88/}

A Yeshiva in Washington, DC?

Having grown up in Silver Spring Maryland, I have a particular interest in the Jewish history of the Greater Washington area. The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington has been active for over 50 years and they have done important work in preserving significant parts of Jewish material culture and in recent years, facilitating important research into the early history of the Jewish community. The bulk of the JHSGW's published material is contained in their journal, The Record, which as far as I can tell only exists in its entirety in the JHSGW's library. At the moment of this post's composition, the JHSGW's library is inaccessible due to the ongoing construction of the new museum and archives facility.

Despite the tremendous amount of work done, in my experience, there still appears to be a large gab in the historical memory of many of the institutions in the Orthodox community. As an amateur researcher, I have made use of internet accessible digitized newspapers as the primary locus of my research into the subject.

I have been thinking about various options for making my research publicly available, and though I wish to have some of my research published in an official journal, in the meantime, while I am still an undergraduate student, I will be drafting some articles on this blog.

To give a taste of some of my future writing, I will briefly write about a topic who's full story has continued to allude me for some time.

Recently, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, has opened the Yeshivas Elimelech in Shepherd Park, a neighborhood in Northwest DC near downtown Silver Spring. Rabbi Herzfeld's vision for the Yeshiva is quite ambitious, and I wish him and his staff lasting success in their endeavor. One element of the early branding of the Yeshiva piqued my interest, while the vision was initially publicized. An article in the Washington Jewish Week from mid-December 2021 claimed that Yeshivas Reb Elimelech (as it was called at the time) would be the first Yeshiva in DC[1]. This claim seemed surprising to me, is it really true that Yeshivas Elimelech would be the first Yeshiva in the district?

The earliest institution in DC to call itself a Yeshiva was the Hebrew Academy. The school opened its doors to its first class of students in January 1944[2][3]. Its Hebrew name Yeshivat Beit Yehuda, is attested as early as 1945 in an advertisement for the United Yeshivos Foundation, a fundraising organization for American Jewish parochial schools that operated in the 1940s. The relevant text of the advertisement reads,

New Links in the Golden Chain: With a blessing of Shehecheyanu, we welcome the three new members of the United Yeshivos Foundation: The "Hebrew Parochial School of Chicago," "Yeshivat Beit Yehuda" in Washington D.C. and the "North Philadelphia Yeshiva."[4]

The Hebrew academy only offered instruction for elementary level grades, so it didn't really fit the definition of a Yeshiva that could ordain members of the clergy. In the Fall of 1953, shortly after the school's second annual commencement exercises, the Hebrew Academy opened its Beth Judah Institute[5]. The purpose of this branch of the school was to train and certify future Hebrew school teachers. The school would offer after-school Jewish studies classes to high school students who were graduates of an elementary Hebrew school program. Upon graduating high school, students at the Beth Judah Institute would become full-time students for two more years before gaining their Hebrew School teacher's certificate[6].

This plan doesn't seem to have to panned out as its visionaries hoped. The Fall 1955 registration season demonstrated a significant downsizing of the program for only Junior and Senior high school students marketing it as a way to "Continue Your Child's Jewish Education[7]." The Beth Judah Institute last appeared in print media for the Fall 1956 registration season[8], allowing for a liberal estimate of four academic years of operation. In all likelihood, the Beth Judah Institute never succeeded in graduating any Hebrew school teachers. 

The Hebrew academy's Beth Judah Institute never became a school that could train professional clergy, but its attempt to train Hebrew school teachers was the first time the Jewish community of DC came close towards establishing such an institution.

Stayed tuned for another chapter of this topic in which I will discuss the Brisker Yeshiva of Washington, DC.  

Footnotes:

[1] Rachel Kohn, "Can Proposed D.C. Yeshiva be Open and Orthodox?" Washington Jewish Week (Columbia, MD), Dec. 15, 2021. link.

[2] "Rabbi Rosenberg To Talk at Tea," Evening Star (Washington, DC), Oct. 15, 1943. link.

[3] "Hebrew Women Plan Purim Party," Evening Star (Washington, DC), Feb. 28, 1944. link.

[4] [Advertisement] "United Yeshivos Foundation," [Yiddish] Forward (New York, NY), Dec. 21, 1945. link.

[5] "Beth Judah Institute To Open Tomorrow," Evening Star (Washington, DC), Oct. 17, 1953. link.

[6] "Adult Class Registration Being Held For Varied Curricula This Week" National Jewish Ledger (Washington, DC), Oct. 9, 1953.

[7] [Advertisement] "Continue Your Child's Jewish Education: The Beth Judah Hebrew Institute," Evening Star (Washington, DC), Sept. 18, 1955. link.

[8] [Advertisement] "A Call To Jewish Parents," Evening Star (Washington, DC), Sept. 4, 1956. link.