Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim

Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim (also known as the Rabbinical Seminary of America) is an Orthodox yeshiva based in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, New York, United States. It is primarily an American, non-chasidic Haredi Talmudic yeshiva.^[1] The yeshiva is legally titled Rabbinical Seminary of America (RSA) but is often referred to as just Chofetz Chaim as that was the nickname of its namesake, Yisroel Meir Kagan. It has affiliate branches in Israel and North America.

Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim
Address
76-01 147th St Kew Gardens Hills, Queens , New York United States
Information
Type	Private elementary, middle school, high school, and beis medrash
Established	1933
Founder	Rabbi Dovid Leibowitz
Principal	Rabbi Dovid Harris, Rabbi Akiva Grunblatt
Number of students	~450

History

Brooklyn

The Yeshiva was established in 1933 by Rabbi Dovid Leibowitz, a great-nephew of the Chofetz Chaim. Leibowitz was a disciple of Nosson Tzvi Finkel and he also studied under Naftoli Trop at the Yeshiva in Radun, Belarus.

The yeshiva was named for Leibowitz's great uncle, Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan, who had died that year. It is officially named Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen, but is often referred to simply as Chofetz Chaim^[2] (Hebrew: חָפֵץ חַיִּים), which is commonly used as a name for Kagan, after his book with the same title. Chofetz Chaim means "desires life" in Hebrew.

The Yeshiva's first building was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Queens

In December 1955 it relocated to Forest Hills, Queens. Most recently, at the start of the 2003 academic year, the Yeshiva relocated to Kew Gardens Hills, Queens.^[3][4][5][1]

Leadership

After Leibowitz died in December 1941, he was succeeded as head by his son, Henoch Leibowitz, a role held in the 21st century by Dovid Harris^[6] and Akiva Grunblatt.^[7]

The yeshiva houses a boys' secondary school or Mesivta, Yeshiva Preparatory High School, headed for many years by Rabbi Zechariah Fendel, an undergraduate yeshiva, and a rabbinical school that grants Semicha (ordination). Rabbinical students at the yeshiva often spend a decade or more there, studying a traditional yeshiva curriculum focusing on Talmud, mussar ("ethics"), and halakha ("Jewish law").

Affiliates and branches by location

The network of affiliated schools was selectively built over many decades by Henoch,^[6] including, in 1964, the first Israeli branch.^[7]

United States

• California:
  • Valley Torah High School, Los Angeles
  • Torah High Schools of San Diego, San Diego
  • Yeshivas Ner Aryeh
  • Yeshivas Ohev Shalom, Los Angeles
  • Chofetz Chaim of Los Angeles, Los Angeles
  • Yeshiva Ketana of Los Angeles
• Florida:
  • Yeshiva Toras Chaim Toras Emes, North Miami Beach- Rabbi Binyomin Luban, Rosh Yeshiva
  • JEC of South Florida, Boca Raton, Florida
  • Torah Academy of Boca Raton
  • Yeshiva Tiferes Torah of Boca Raton
  • Orlando Torah Academy, Orlando, Florida
• Illinois:
  • Torah Academy of Buffalo Grove (day school)
  • Suburban Alliance for Jewish Education (outreach organization)
  • Jewish Family Interactive Experience Hebrew School
• Kentucky
  • Montessori Torah Academy, Louisville, KY
• Missouri:
  • Missouri Torah Institute, St. Louis
• New Jersey:
  • Foxman Torah Institute, Cherry Hill serving the Greater Philadelphia region
• Nevada:
  • Ahavas Torah Center
  • Las Vegas Kollel
  • Mesivta of Las Vegas
  • Yeshiva Day School of Las Vegas
• New York:
  • Huntington
  • Yeshiva Zichron Yaakov, Monsey (closed 2013)
  • Yeshiva Tiferes Yisroel, Brooklyn
  • Mesivta Tiferes Yisroel, Brooklyn
  • Kew Gardens Hills, Queens (main school, described in this article)
  • Yeshiva Zichron Paltiel, Staten Island
  • Talmudical Institute of Upstate New York, Rochester
  • Yeshiva Zichron Aryeh, Bayswater (Far Rockaway)
  • Mesivta Tiferet Torah, Kew Gardens
  • Yeshivas Ma'ayan Hatorah, NY, Richmond Hill
• Ohio:
  • Yeshiva of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
• Texas:
  • Texas Torah Institute, Dallas
• Wisconsin:
  • Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study, Milwaukee
• Washington:
  • Torah Academy of the Pacific Northwest, Seattle, Washington

Canada

• British Columbia:
  • Pacific Torah Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia (Moved to Las Vegas, 2019)
• Ontario:
  • Ottawa Torah Institute, Ottawa, Ontario

Israel

• Jerusalem area
  • Chofetz Chaim Jerusalem
  • Zichron Aryeh Yerushalayim
  • Ramat Beit Shemesh - Yeshivas Nachalas Yisroel Yitzchok

Notable alumni

• Baruch Chait, composer and Rosh Yeshiva of Maarava in Moshav Matisyahu, Israel.
• Dovid Harris, co-Rosh Yeshiva (dean) at the Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir HaKohen.
• Binyomin Luban, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Toras Chaim in Miami
• Elyakim Rosenblatt, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Kesser Torah
• Abie Rotenberg, musician and composer
• Solomon Sharfman, former rabbi of the Young Israel of Flatbush

References

1. "Suri Kasirer, Bruce Teitelbaum". New York Times. April 6, 1997. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
2. "Petira of Alter Chanoch Henoch Leibowitz ZT"L". Beyond BT. 15 April 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
3. Horowitz, Rebbetzin Faigie. "Jewish Forest Hills: Resilient and resurgent". Hamodia Magazine. December 13, 2012, pp. 8–11.
4. "More Police Near Seminary Asked". New York Times. June 29, 1979. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
5. "If You're Thinking of Living In/Middle Village, Queens; Where Generation Follows Generation". New York Times. April 23, 2000. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
6. "Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim, dies.,Shlomo Greenwald, Jewish Press Staff Reporter". 2009-06-18. Archived from the original on 2009-06-18. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
7. "A Life of Sanctity". www.5tjt.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.

External links

• Official website

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