Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2014) |
ישיבת רבינו יצחק אלחנן | |
Type | Private Rabbinical seminary |
---|---|
Parent institution | Yeshiva University |
Religious affiliation | Judaism (Orthodox) |
Dean | Menachem Penner[1] |
Location | , , 40°51′2.9″N 73°55′46.21″W / 40.850806°N 73.9295028°W |
Website | www |
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS /riːts/) is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University (YU). It is located along Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Named after
History
The first Jewish schools in New York were El Hayyim and Rabbi Elnathan's, on the
The high school, previously part of RIETS, became a separate entity, and RIETS became exclusively a college-level program, including granting of degrees via
RIETS scholar Joseph B. Soloveitchik strongly opposed the split, but Belkin prevailed and, following the split, remained both the official rosh yeshiva of RIETS and president of YU. Despite the separation, the identities have continued to be blended[citation needed] Both the religious seminary and the college undergraduate Talmudic department are called RIETS, and have the same faculty and students.
With the 2003 appointment of Richard Joel, a layman, as president of YU, the dual role ended. Joel's predecessor, Norman Lamm, continued as the official rosh yeshiva of RIETS with Richard Joel being the Chief Executive and responsible for fundraising and administrative issues.
Menachem Penner became the dean of RIETS in 2013 after Yona Reiss resigned to take the position as head of the Chicago Rabbinical Council. Previously, Penner had been the assistant dean of RIETS.
At the time of Reiss's appointment, RIETS absorbed the academic administration of the Undergraduate Torah Studies programs affiliated with Yeshiva College and Sy Syms School of Business on the Wilf Campus (Mazer Yeshiva Program, Stone Beit Midrash Program, Isaac Breuer College, and the James Striar School).
Program
The RIETS semikhah program is a structured four-year curriculum. The primary focus is on advanced Talmudic learning as well as developing a proficiency in deciding matters of classical and contemporary halakha (Jewish law; see Yeshiva § Jewish law). There are a variety of required ancillary courses, such as homiletics, pastoral counseling, and Jewish philosophy, that are intended to train students for careers as practicing rabbis. There is an honors track within the general semikhah program whereby students receive an extra stipend and are required to take additional courses. The current Director of Semikhah is Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz.[10][11]
The majority of students in the semikhah program are also enrolled in the Katz
Faculty
Members of the Brisker dynasty, Moshe Soloveichik and Joseph B. Soloveitchik were heads of RIETS, and Ahron Soloveichik and Aharon Lichtenstein lectured there for significant portions of their careers. Shimon Shkop taught at RIETS for a short period in 1929, as did Shlomo Polachek, Menachem Mendel Zaks, Moshe Shatzkes, Nisson Alpert, Dovid Lifshitz and Moshe David Tendler.[12]
Later roshei yeshiva include: Hershel Schachter, Eliyahu Ben Haim, Mordechai Willig, Michael Rosensweig, Mayer Twersky, Jeremy Wieder, Yaakov Neuburger, Baruch Simon, Zvi Sobolofsky, David Hirsch, J. David Bleich, and Daniel Stein, Hershel Reichman and Ezra Schwartz.
Chag Hasemikhah
Ordination can technically be conferred upon a student who completes all of the necessary requirements for semikhah at any point in time. Nonetheless, every three or four years, RIETS conducts a formal Chag Hasemikhah—an official celebration of the students who received rabbinic ordination since the previous Chag. It is traditionally held on or about the
Notable alumni
- Jacob Bosniak (1887–1963), rabbi of the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center in Brooklyn[14]
- Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland[15]
- Joseph Lookstein (1902–1979), rabbi and president of Bar-Ilan University[16]
- Avigdor Miller (1908–2001), right-wing rabbi and author[17]
- Emanuel Rackman (1910–2008), Modern Orthodox rabbi; President of Bar-Ilan University
- Yitzchok Scheiner (1922–2021), rosh yeshiva of the Kamenitz yeshiva of Jerusalem[18]
- Nosson Meir Wachtfogel (1910–1998), mashgiach ruchani (spiritual supervisor) of Beth Medrash Govoha
References
- ^ "Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary". Yeshiva University.
- ^ a b c "HISTORY". B'nai Abraham Chabad. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ Jewish Theological Seminary of America Archived 2005-12-03 at the Wayback Machine Jewish Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Clipping from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle - Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ a b "26 Apr 1925, Page 76 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ "14 May 1926, Page 14 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ "1 May 1927, Page 47 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
The first to be established in New York City was "El Hayyim" at 85 Henry street. The second was Rabbi Elnathan's, originally at 156 Henry street and later at 301 East Broadway. The latter is now consolidated with the college. Orthodox Jews are to have their own cultivation broadspread from a center that is at once dignified and impressive.
The buildings when completed will, in addition to the collegians, accommodate 2,500 high school pupils. There will be an athletic field. The faculty will offer temptations to draw Jewish scholars from around the world. Already the library is a rich storehouse of books and manuscripts that could not be replaced if destroyed. It was worth while for Mayor Walker to acclaim what is planned. It was worth while for Rabbi Simon Shkop to come from Grodno, Lithuania, to be present. It was worth while for President Frederick B. Robinson of the City College to deliver an address at the dedication. - ^ "8 Dec 1928, Page 11 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ "Contact Us Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary".
- ^ Rosenfeld, Jacob (February 14, 2019). "Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz Hired as RIETS Director of Semikha Program". The Commentator.
- ^ "Tendler, Moshe", Jewish Virtual Library. "He was rosh yeshivah at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and University Professor of Medical Ethics at Yeshiva University."
- ^ "Chag Hasemikha". Retrieved 23 March 2017.
- ^ Who's Who in American Jewry, 1926. New York, N.Y.: The Jewish Biographical Bureau, Inc. January 1927. p. 76 – via Google Books.
- ^ Safier, Dovi and Geberer, Yehuda (July 22, 2020) "'All For The Boss' Revisited", Mishpacha. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
- ^ Saxon, Wolfgang. "Joseph H. Lookstein Dead at 76; A Rabbi and Orthodox Educator; Responsibilities Increased", The New York Times, July 15, 1979. Accessed February 19, 2020. "He acquired his Jewish learning at the Rabbi Jacob Joseph School and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University, where he was ordained as a rabbi in 1926."
- ^ Alter, Yehuda (April 28, 2022) "Living Legacy: Rav Avigdor Hakohen Miller, zt'l", boropark24.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- Yeshiva World.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.