Torah Umesorah – National Society for Hebrew Day Schools

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Torah Umesorah – National Society for Hebrew Day Schools (or Torah Umesorah תורה ומסורה‎) is an

independent private Jewish day schools
.

In the early 21st century, some 760 day schools teach more than 250,000 children. Torah Umesorah have established

Jews.[2] Rabbi Joshua Fishman served from 1980 as executive vice-president[3] until his retirement in June 2007. The current Menahel ("principal") or national director, is Rabbi David Nojowitz.[1]

History

Torah Umesorah, the National Society for Hebrew Day Schools, was the first national Jewish organization in the United States to pioneer Jewish day schools within the country. It started to develop these in 1944,

Axis Powers and Europe's Jews were being consumed by the Nazi genocide of the Holocaust. Challenging the prevailing mood of the times, Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz and other rabbis founded Torah Umesorah to develop a network of Jewish day schools across North America.[7]

Rabbi Mendlowitz was born in Hungary

Columbia Teachers College.[10]

In 1944 there were few Orthodox

Beis Yaakov
schools. [11] The afternoon/Talmud Torah system was deemed "failing to transmit Yiddishkeit in a compelling manner to students who arrived tired in the afternoons and were constantly subjected to assimilationist influences in American culture."[2]

By the end of the twentieth century, Torah Umesorah had developed more than 600 yeshivas and day schools in the United States and Canada, enrolling more than 170,000 Jewish students.

Hebrew
, יש עתיד.

Planning Torah Umesorah

The founders of Torah Umesorah wanted to establish a different model of education. At the time, Jewish parents generally sent their children to non-sectarian

secularizing forces in their mixed communities, encountering the larger American society and culture in public school, on the street, and at home. There were only four or five Jewish day schools outside New York City.[14]

The rabbis intended their new school system to have a dual-

ordained
rabbi who would serve as the headmaster or principal. He would recruit a "general studies" associate principal (also known as the "English principal"), preferably someone who was also loyal to the traditions of Judaism. The associate would recruit, assist, supervise and guide the teachers who would teach the secular subjects generally taught in the public schools.

Post-war conditions

American Jews were shocked as they learned the overwhelming scale of Jewish deaths due to

US armed forces
; some participated in the liberation of the concentration camps, or worked with the millions of displaced people in camps after the war, including Jews trying to find out if any of their families had survived.

Many American Jews were sympathetic to the rabbis' appeals to ensure a moderate Jewish education for their children, at least until the

Bar Mitzvah age (12-13). In addition, most Jews in the United States felt pride when the new State of Israel was established, due in part to fierce fighting by the many European Zionist Jews who had immigrated there when it was Mandate Palestine. The United States was the first nation to officially recognize the new Jewish state. With a renewed commitment to Judaism, American Jews wanted to ensure that their children learned the Hebrew language, connected with the core of Judaism
and religious studies, and had the opportunity to learn secular subjects at a high level.

The new Jewish days schools were believed to be a means to accomplish the new goals of all-day Jewish schooling—or, all-day schooling under Jewish religious auspices. Parents believed that having their children study in the Cheders and Talmud Torahs had failed to gain their commitment to Judaism and practicing as religious adults.[2]

After Torah Umesorah was established, and its affiliated schools were attracting students, the parents of its students were encouraged to enroll them in Jewish high schools, to maintain students' commitment to Judaism. Transferring Jewish students to public high schools in adolescence was considered a risk, as they were subject to many outside influences.

Other Orthodox efforts

In the

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson
, the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the United States in the postwar years were often strong supporters of the Orthodox Jewish day schools. They wanted their children to identify as Jews and practice the religion so that it could continue. For instance, the

Jewish worship. The new institutions thrived in their own right and mostly followed the guidelines of their own rosh yeshivas and rebbes
.

Late 20th century to present

As noted, Dr. Joe Kaminetsky served from 1945 until 1980 as operational head of Torah Umesorah. In 1945 when there were few Jewish day schools outside New York City. In 1946 New York had an estimated 7,000 students in 27 yeshivos of various sizes, and there was one yeshiva in each of Baltimore, Chicago, and Jersey City.[14]

By the time of his death in 1999, Kaminetsky had set up hundreds of Jewish day schools across the country, in which 160,000 children were enrolled.[10]

Rabbi Joshua Fishman succeeded Kaminetsky, and served as executive vice-president until retiring in June 2007. He was a disciple of Rabbi

Yitzchok Hutner (1906–1980), who was among the leaders of Agudath Israel of America
.

The current

Melbourne, Australia, for 25 years. In 2008 Torah Umesorah had an annual budget of $39 million; this was "the last year for which it made its tax documents public."[1]

Toward the latter part of the twentieth century, Torah Umesorah officials found that teachers and rabbis from the Haredi and Hasidic schools were consulting with its staff for training to improve classroom management, enhance classroom discipline and learn up-to-date teaching skills and techniques which they often did not receive during yeshiva training. They began to set up regular classes for training of teachers and principals.

Torah Umesorah has worked to find funding to establish

rabbis and rebbetzins (their wives) have taken full- and part-time positions as Jewish educators in the local day schools. They also frequently serve in local Orthodox synagogues
as "pulpit rabbis." In some instances they have founded new Jewish day schools and synagogues of their own.

Relationship with Modern Orthodox groups

Main articles: Modern Orthodox Judaism and Yeshiva University

By the 1980s and 1990s, some

coeducation
beyond the beginning of adolescence (or earlier). Although most Jewish day schools have both boys and girls as students, with some, but not all, classes conducted separately, the rabbis did not approve of co-ed high schools.

The rabbis and the

Beis Yaakov
("Beth Jacob") type schools. Modern Orthodox schools are served by Prizmah (which also services Community, Conservative and Reform day schools) and the Torah Educators Network (which also services yeshivish schools).

Partners in Torah

Under the guidance of Rabbi Eli Gewirtz, Torah Umesorah began a new initiative to promote Jewish

study partners
for up to an hour a week of interactive study by phone or Skype and, if possible, in person.

By 2009, the international Partners in Torah had more than 30,000 members, as documented in Gerwitz's book.[15] By July 2017 it had connected over 72,000 Jewish adults for weekly study. In 2017. Partners in Torah became an independent organization and continued to expand its scope.[citation needed]

In early 2019, an anonymous donor challenged Partners in Torah to use technology to drastically increase its reach and impact, reduce costs, and collect data on participant activity. Blessed with a significant grant to support this effort, Partners in Torah successfully launched the first version of a technology platform in early 2020, just before the onset of Covid. The platform, which algorithmically matches participants with a suitable study partner, has a built-in follow-up system and provides real-time, transparent data on participation and satisfaction.[citation needed]

Project SEED

Under Project SEED,

American Camping Association
. The counselors provide Torah-oriented experience in an environment where they and the campers are strictly separated by gender. Project SEED pays most yeshiva students a stipend to defray much (but not all) of the cost of their stay at their destination, air-fare, room and board, trips and other transportation.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Josh Nathan-Kazis, "Why Did a Jewish Schools Charity Loan $2.3M to Failing Hedge Fund?", Forward, 14 September 2016; accessed 26 September 2016
  2. ^ a b c "This Day In History 18 Sivan/June 24". HaModia. June 23, 2016.
  3. ^ ""terrible shortage" of Orthodox Rabbis and Educators is Deplored".
  4. ^ "National Society For Hebrew Day Schools".
  5. ISBN 0-8276-0565-X
    .
  6. ISBN 0-87495-113-5
    .
  7. ^ "Torah Umesorah". JewishVirtualLibrary.org.
  8. ^ "RABBI SHRAGA FEIVEL MENDLOWITZ 1886–1948".
  9. ^ "Rav Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz zt"l, On His Yahrtzeit, Today, 3 Elul". August 21, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Jonathan Rosenblum, "Dr. Joe, we owe you (Tribute to Dr. Joe Kaminetsky)", Jerusalem Post, 26 March 1999; via Jewish Media Resources; accessed 26 September 2016
  11. RJJ
    , Torah Vodaas, Chaim Berlin
  12. ^ a few years later: "about 200,000 are presently enrolled in some 900 Jewish day schools" "Sivan 18". aish.com.
  13. ^ "an in between count was 760 schools
  14. ^ a b Dovid Sussman (March 16, 2011). "In the Land of No, He Said YES".
  15. ISBN 978-1-56871-505-6. Archived from the original
    on 2009-07-31.

External links
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