Mesivta (also 'metivta'; Aramaic: מתיבתא, "academy") is an Orthodox Jewishyeshivasecondary school for boys. The term is commonly used in the United States to describe a yeshiva that emphasizes Talmudic studies for boys in grades 9 through 11 or 12; alternately, it refers to the religious studies track in a yeshiva high school that offers both religious and secular studies.[1][2]
The comparable term in Israel for the former is Yeshiva Ketana (Hebrew: ישיבה קטנה, lit. "small yeshiva"),[3] for the latter Yeshiva Tichonit (ישיבה תיכונית, "yeshiva high-school").[4] This article focuses on the US; see Chinuch Atzmai and Mamlachti dati for respective discussion of these Israeli institutions.
After graduation from a mesivta, students progress to a beth midrash, or undergraduate-level, yeshiva program.[5] In practice, yeshivas that call themselves mesivtas are usually a combination of mesivta (high-school) and beth medrash (post-high-school) programs.[6] Students in the beth medrash program are often called upon to mentor those in the mesivta.[7]
The term metivta first appears in the Talmud, where it refers to a yeshiva of Talmudic sages. Abba Arika learned in the metivta in Sepphoris under Judah the Prince, his son, and grandson.[8] Under the leadership of Rav and Samuel of Nehardea, the Talmudic Academy of Sura during the Babylonian Exile was called a sidra, but under Rav Huna, the second dean of the Academy of Sura, the yeshiva began to be called a metivta and Huna was the first to hold the title of resh metivta (corresponding to rosh yeshiva).[9] According to Graetz, the metivta convened in certain months of the year.[10]Metivta frameworks continued to operate throughout the era of the Geonim, a period of approximately 1000 years.[11]
As regards the more intensive Talmudic studies program, Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz introduced the concept of a mesivta for boys aged 14 and older in New York in 1926. Until that time, religious boys attended Talmud Torah (elementary school) until their bar mitzvah and then went on to public high school and college, where their level of Torah observance and commitment were sorely tested. The only post-bar mitzvah religious education available at the time was at Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchonon's Talmudical Academy (founded 1916),[12][13] which prepared students for a career in the rabbinate.[14] When Mendlowitz, who had begun teaching at the Yeshiva Torah Vodaas elementary school in 1923, suggested the innovation, he was met with widespread resistance. An editorial in the Yiddish Morgen Journal stated:
Just as the Reform have a rabbinical Seminary in Cincinnati, and the Conservative have the Solomon Schechter Seminary in New York, so should Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchonon suffice [to produce Orthodox rabbis].[15]
With the support of three Torah Vodaas board members – Binyomin Wilhelm, Ben Zion Weberman, and Abraham Lewin – Mendlowitz successfully opened Mesivta Torah Vodaas in its own building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in September 1926. The mesivta opened with four classes of post-bar mitzvah students and 11 students in the advanced, beth midrash program. The mesivta went on to graduate generations of students who became Torah scholars and leaders in the American Jewish world.[16]
Mendlowitz also influenced the administration at Yeshivas Chaim Berlin to expand beyond eighth grade and open a mesivta as well. Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin opened in the 1930s.[17] Other mesivtas founded in the 1930s and 1940s were Mesivta Tifereth Jerusalem, Kaminetzer Mesivta of Boro Park, and Rabbi Jacob Joseph School. In the 1950s, the latter four mesivtas had their own basketball league.[18][19]
In 1937 Mendlowitz founded Camp Mesivta, the first yeshiva summer camp in America, in Ferndale, New York. This became the summer camp of choice for thousands of students from other yeshivas[15] and a prototype for yeshiva learning camps in later decades. Mendlowitz instituted the practice of inviting Gedolim to visit the camp for a few days or a few weeks, giving campers the experience of seeing Torah greats in action. The Gedolim who regularly stayed at Camp Mesivta included Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, Rabbi Shlomo Heiman, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, and Rabbi Avraham Kalmanowitz. Camp Mesivta operated until the early 1960s; in 1966, it was succeeded by Camp Ohr Shraga-Beis Medrash LeTorah in Greenfield Park, New York, headed by Rabbi Zelik Epstein and Rabbi Nesanel Quinn.[20]
Today
Today mesivtas are located in cities throughout the United States that have a sizable Orthodox Jewish population. Since the 1980s, the number of mesivtas in the New York/New Jersey area has mushroomed. Whereas before there were at most a handful of schools to choose from, today every city with a religious Jewish population and nearly every township has a yeshiva high school. Because of the proliferation, mesivtas have developed reputations that reflect the academic level of their students. There are schools for metzuyanim (top learners), schools for average students, and schools for students with "serious scholastic and/or yirat shamayim (religious belief) challenges". Some mesivtas operate different "tracks" to satisfy a diverse student body.[21]
Mesivtas, like yeshivas, do not follow the public education schedule of terms and vacations, but organize the school year according to the Hebrew calendar. School is in recess during Jewish holidays, and the term ends in the month of Av, the traditional break for yeshivas since the days of the Talmud.[22] There is also a dress code: whereas in elementary school, boys wear more casual clothes to school, upon entering mesivta, they are expected to dress in dark pants and white shirts.[23]
Astor, Yaakov. "Harry Herskowitz: A legend who made a different world and a world of difference" in Daring To Dream: Profiles in the growth of the American Torah community, Agudath Israel of America, May 2003, pp. 16–45.
Heilman, Samuel C. (July 2006). Sliding to the Right: The Contest for the Future of American Jewish Orthodoxy. University of California Press. p. 87. ISBN0-520-23136-8.
Singer, Isidore; Adler, Cyrus (1925). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. Funk & Wagnalls.
Sorski, Aharon (1982). Giants of Jewry. Vol. 1. Chinuch Publications.
External links
Mesivtas of Greater America Official Website
April 28, 2023
mesivta, also, metivta, aramaic, מתיבתא, academy, orthodox, jewish, yeshiva, secondary, school, boys, term, commonly, used, united, states, describe, yeshiva, that, emphasizes, talmudic, studies, boys, grades, through, alternately, refers, religious, studies, . Mesivta also metivta Aramaic מתיבתא academy is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva secondary school for boys The term is commonly used in the United States to describe a yeshiva that emphasizes Talmudic studies for boys in grades 9 through 11 or 12 alternately it refers to the religious studies track in a yeshiva high school that offers both religious and secular studies 1 2 Torah Vodaas Mesivta Harry Herskowitz School Haredi Mesivta student Gemara class Hasidic yeshiva Bet Midrash Yeshiva Tichonit Yeshiva University High School For Boys Mesivta Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin Yeshiva Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem The comparable term in Israel for the former is Yeshiva Ketana Hebrew ישיבה קטנה lit small yeshiva 3 for the latter Yeshiva Tichonit ישיבה תיכונית yeshiva high school 4 This article focuses on the US see Chinuch Atzmai and Mamlachti dati for respective discussion of these Israeli institutions After graduation from a mesivta students progress to a beth midrash or undergraduate level yeshiva program 5 In practice yeshivas that call themselves mesivtas are usually a combination of mesivta high school and beth medrash post high school programs 6 Students in the beth medrash program are often called upon to mentor those in the mesivta 7 Contents 1 History 1 1 In Talmudic and Geonic eras 1 2 Modern day concept 2 Today 3 See also 4 References 5 Sources 6 External linksHistory EditIn Talmudic and Geonic eras Edit The term metivta first appears in the Talmud where it refers to a yeshiva of Talmudic sages Abba Arika learned in the metivta in Sepphoris under Judah the Prince his son and grandson 8 Under the leadership of Rav and Samuel of Nehardea the Talmudic Academy of Sura during the Babylonian Exile was called a sidra but under Rav Huna the second dean of the Academy of Sura the yeshiva began to be called a metivta and Huna was the first to hold the title of resh metivta corresponding to rosh yeshiva 9 According to Graetz the metivta convened in certain months of the year 10 Metivta frameworks continued to operate throughout the era of the Geonim a period of approximately 1000 years 11 Modern day concept Edit The dual curriculum high school was pioneered by the Manhattan Talmudical Academy of Yeshiva University now known as Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy in 1916 Tachkemoni was active in Poland and then Israel at approximately that time ALMA was established in Jerusalem in 1936 and ha Yishuv in Tel Aviv in 1937 See Religious Zionism Educational institutions As regards the more intensive Talmudic studies program Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz introduced the concept of a mesivta for boys aged 14 and older in New York in 1926 Until that time religious boys attended Talmud Torah elementary school until their bar mitzvah and then went on to public high school and college where their level of Torah observance and commitment were sorely tested The only post bar mitzvah religious education available at the time was at Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchonon s Talmudical Academy founded 1916 12 13 which prepared students for a career in the rabbinate 14 When Mendlowitz who had begun teaching at the Yeshiva Torah Vodaas elementary school in 1923 suggested the innovation he was met with widespread resistance An editorial in the Yiddish Morgen Journal stated Just as the Reform have a rabbinical Seminary in Cincinnati and the Conservative have the Solomon Schechter Seminary in New York so should Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchonon suffice to produce Orthodox rabbis 15 With the support of three Torah Vodaas board members Binyomin Wilhelm Ben Zion Weberman and Abraham Lewin Mendlowitz successfully opened Mesivta Torah Vodaas in its own building in Williamsburg Brooklyn in September 1926 The mesivta opened with four classes of post bar mitzvah students and 11 students in the advanced beth midrash program The mesivta went on to graduate generations of students who became Torah scholars and leaders in the American Jewish world 16 Mendlowitz also influenced the administration at Yeshivas Chaim Berlin to expand beyond eighth grade and open a mesivta as well Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin opened in the 1930s 17 Other mesivtas founded in the 1930s and 1940s were Mesivta Tifereth Jerusalem Kaminetzer Mesivta of Boro Park and Rabbi Jacob Joseph School In the 1950s the latter four mesivtas had their own basketball league 18 19 In 1937 Mendlowitz founded Camp Mesivta the first yeshiva summer camp in America in Ferndale New York This became the summer camp of choice for thousands of students from other yeshivas 15 and a prototype for yeshiva learning camps in later decades Mendlowitz instituted the practice of inviting Gedolim to visit the camp for a few days or a few weeks giving campers the experience of seeing Torah greats in action The Gedolim who regularly stayed at Camp Mesivta included Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky Rabbi Shlomo Heiman Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and Rabbi Avraham Kalmanowitz Camp Mesivta operated until the early 1960s in 1966 it was succeeded by Camp Ohr Shraga Beis Medrash LeTorah in Greenfield Park New York headed by Rabbi Zelik Epstein and Rabbi Nesanel Quinn 20 Today EditToday mesivtas are located in cities throughout the United States that have a sizable Orthodox Jewish population Since the 1980s the number of mesivtas in the New York New Jersey area has mushroomed Whereas before there were at most a handful of schools to choose from today every city with a religious Jewish population and nearly every township has a yeshiva high school Because of the proliferation mesivtas have developed reputations that reflect the academic level of their students There are schools for metzuyanim top learners schools for average students and schools for students with serious scholastic and or yirat shamayim religious belief challenges Some mesivtas operate different tracks to satisfy a diverse student body 21 Mesivtas like yeshivas do not follow the public education schedule of terms and vacations but organize the school year according to the Hebrew calendar School is in recess during Jewish holidays and the term ends in the month of Av the traditional break for yeshivas since the days of the Talmud 22 There is also a dress code whereas in elementary school boys wear more casual clothes to school upon entering mesivta they are expected to dress in dark pants and white shirts 23 See also EditBais Yaakov Jewish education List of mesivtas List of Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools Yeshiva GedolahReferences Edit Helmreich 2000 p xii National Council for Jewish Education 1978 p 29 Berezovsky 2001 p 211 See the Hebrew Wikipedia s ישיבה תיכונית Kramer 1984 p xiv Helmreich 2000 p 26 Helmreich 2000 p 85 Holder 2004 pp 141 142 Singer and Adler 1925 p 492 Graetz 1893 p 547 Sorski 1982 p 333 first Jewish High School in America Talmudical Academy 1916 E Neufeld 1922 The Jewish Forum Volume 5 p 67 William B Helmreich 2000 The World of the Yeshiva An Intimate Portrait of Orthodox Jewry ISBN 0881256420 Rosenblum 2001 pp 76 77 a b Astor 2003 pp 16 45 Rosenblum 2001 pp 83 84 Rosenblum 2001 p 258 Helmreich 2000 p 369 note 25 Blau 2006 p 138 Rosenblum 2001 pp 275 276 Blum Shimmy 2 February 2011 Navigating the Mesivta Maze Mishpacha pp 34 42 Archived from the original on 24 March 2012 Retrieved 4 September 2011 Heilman Samuel C 2006 p 87 Kamen 1985 p 86 Sources EditAstor Yaakov Harry Herskowitz A legend who made a different world and a world of difference in Daring To Dream Profiles in the growth of the American Torah community Agudath Israel of America May 2003 pp 16 45 Berezovsky Rabbi Sholom Noach 2001 Nesivos Sholom ISBN 1 58330 495 9 Blau Yosef 2006 The Conceptual Approach to Jewish Learning Yeshiva University Press ISBN 0 88125 907 1 Graetz Heinrich 1893 History of the Jews Vol 2 Cosimo ISBN 978 1 60520 943 2 Heilman Samuel C July 2006 Sliding to the Right The Contest for the Future of American Jewish Orthodoxy University of California Press p 87 ISBN 0 520 23136 8 William B Helmreich February 2000 The World of the Yeshiva An intimate portrait of Orthodox Jewry Ktav Publishing House ISBN 978 0 88125 641 3 Holder Meir March 2004 History of the Jewish people from Yavneh to Pumbedisa Mesorah Publications ISBN 0 89906 499 X Kamen Robert Mark 1985 Growing up Hasidic Education and socialization in the Bobover Hasidic community AMS Press ISBN 0 404 19411 7 Kramer Doniel Zvi 1984 The Day Schools and Torah Umesorah The seeding of traditional Judaism in America Yeshiva University Press Jewish Education Volumes 46 47 National Council for Jewish Education 1978 Rosenblum Yonoson 2001 Reb Shraga Feivel The life and times of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz the architect of Torah in America Mesorah Publications ISBN 1 57819 797 X Singer Isidore Adler Cyrus 1925 The Jewish Encyclopedia Vol 6 Funk amp Wagnalls Sorski Aharon 1982 Giants of Jewry Vol 1 Chinuch Publications External links EditMesivtas of Greater America Official Website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mesivta amp oldid 1145115038, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
