Iconic Williamsburg: Yeshiva of Brooklyn

Saving America’s Children  

In our foray thus far into the history of old Williamsburg we have mentioned the original Jewish community on Moore Street, and some of the big shuls around that area—including Chevra Kaddisha, on Moore Street near Graham Avenue. These large synagogues may have served as a sanctuary for the adults, but to ensure the future, educational institutions were a dire necessity. 

On Yom Kippur of the year 1907, one Yid stood up at davening and courageously declared that the children of Brooklyn would have a full-day yeshiva to serve the young generation which was falling away from the path of Torah. Zundel H. Neuman—a Torah teacher— lived at 201 Stockton Street, and had a minyan in his home, where he initially floated the idea. His remarks about the existential necessity of a yeshiva are commemorated in the ledger begun in 1913, and remains in the yeshiva’s possession for posterity: 

“The great city of Brooklyn, he said, “is home to 100,000 Jews. It is a city in which ten thousand Jewish children study every day diligently in gentile schools, learning to be part of the society, good citizens of the land of their birth, a new and blessed land. While they learn about the great thinkers and founders of this country, its history and literature…. There is not one fixed institution in this city for studying our holy Torah sheb’al peh, an institution in which they will learn about the spirit of our people, and learn to repsect our spiritual heroes over the thousands of years of our history. Ignorance is growing among the children of our People. 

“There are, of course, individual here and there who learned Gemara from private teachers. And it is true that the Talmud Torah of Meserole Street (this was a large Talmud Torah founded in the year 1889) tried to open a Gemara division, but was forced to close it after a year; others have also attempted similar efforts, which have likewise failed.” 

Throughout that winter of 1907-1908, Reb Zundel and his small group of activists toiled to organize and raise funds. They would meet at Adas Bnei Israel, at 51 Graham Avenue—which agreed to allow them to use the shul for its first two months, free of charge. 

Humble Beginnings

On Rosh Chodesh Iyar, 1908, the yeshiva was launched with seven children, on two different levels of learning. By the end of that semester, the enrollment had risen to twelve boys. Reb Ozer Simon was hired as the principal for the new school. His name appears in the annals of the history of a number of yeshivos of that era, including Yeshiva RJJ. 

One of the primary askonim for the yeshiva was Rev Yaakov Tzvi Welblowsky, the founder of the Beis Hamedrash Hagadol of Williamsburg, and his son Yeshayahu, great philanthropists of the Williamsburg community of yore (Jacob left $5000 for the yeshiva at his passing in 1913). 

In 1920, the legendary building at 655 Willoughby Street—which holds so much history within it, and has now served Jewish children for one century—was purchased. In 1933, we find Rabbi Daniel Shapiro (whom we have profiled a number of weeks ago) a great askan in Torah education in Brooklyn, as part of the board of Directors. The chairman of the Board of Education was Rav Aaron David Burack, a legendary rov and marbitz Torah about whom we will write another time, be’ez”H. 

In History of Brooklyn Jewry from the year 1933, we read about the expansion of the activities—including “post-Bar-Mitzva classes for advanced pupils… it caters to bright pupils and makes every effort to attract them to the school. It emphasized quality over quantity… the principal is Rabbi Chaim E. Moseson who is also principal of the Yeshiva of Rabbi Salanter (a legendary institution, in Harlem) in the morning (He was also a mechanech at Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin in Brownsville).

“While the depression made many inroads into the income of the Talmudical School, the organization has always succeeded in collecting enough money from dues and tuition to pay its teachers and secretary. It also derives income from its synagogue (this shul within the yeshiva served the landmark Pirchei of Williamsburg for many years).” 

The Hope of Williamsburg’s Gedolim

Over the years, the yeshiva was privileged to have extremely important Rabbonim and mechanchim serving its students—and all the prominent Rabbonim of Williamsburg gave their wholehearted support to the yeshiva throughout the decades. There are many newspaper articles attesting to appeals that these Gedolim gave in the Williamsburg shuls, seeing in this institution the hope for America’s children. One of them was the great Rav Yisroel Dusowitz, a neighbor of the yeshiva (he was the rov of the large Tiferes Yisroel Shul across the street, and a heroic warrior in the battle for Shabbos). His great-grandson later learned at Yeshiva of Brooklyn in Flatbush. 

Reb Shea Wilhelm, a son of the legendary Rav Binyomin, founder of Torah Vodaath, operated a branch of the hardware store in the vicinity of the yeshiva. He would encourage all his customers to enroll their children in the yeshiva—and the tradition begun by that early group of men and women who sacrificed so much for the yeshiva’s wellbeing was continued for the ensuing century by likeminded people of generous heart.  

But no one more than the legendary Rav Menachem Manis Mandel, zt”l, who dedicated his life to Yeshiva of Brooklyn—a tradition bequeathed to him by his saintly mother, and his rebbi, Rav Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, zt”l, who instructed him to take the reins of the yeshiva in 1943. He would faithfully uphold this mission for more than six decades while expanding the yeshiva to unforeseen horizons. Our future installment will be dedicated to Rav Manis, zt”l, and his larger than life impact on the chinuch landscape begun so many years ago in old Williamsburg.