Yeshivah of Flatbush

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Yeshivah of Flatbush
ישיבה דפלטבוש
Motto אם אין קמח אין תורה
Im ein kemach ein Torah
Without work (literally: flour) there is no Torah.
Established 1927
Type Private elementary and secondary
Principal Rabbi Ronald Levy
Founder Joel Braverman
Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Raymond Harari
Students 2,100
Grades PreK–12
Location 919 East 10th Street (elementary)
1609 Avenue J (secondary)
Brooklyn, New York USA
Colors Maroon and gold
Yearbook Summit
Newspaper The Phoenix
Website www.flatbush.org

The Yeshivah of Flatbush is a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, New York which includes both an elementary school and a high school.

Contents

[edit] History and mission

Yeshivah of Flatbush was founded in 1927 by Dr. Joel Braverman, among others. At first, the school consisted only of an elementary school, located on East 10th Street in Flatbush. A high school was founded in 1950 to complement the elementary school, and was built a few blocks away on Avenue J. Note: The HS was originally in a building built next to the ES, on East 10th Street. It wasn't until after I graduated from the HS, in 1962, that the new HS building was built on Avenue J and the original HS building began to be used for the expanded ES. ADK Davidk6 16:22, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

The institution, which celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2007, aspires to provide a Torah education combined with an secular education to both boys and girls. The school philosophy is a synthesis of Judaic studies, liberal arts and extracurricular activities that places great emphasis on the students' character development.[1]

The school's has two mottos: "The Standard of Excellence" and "Im ein kemach ein Torah", which roughly translates to, "Without work (literally: flour) there is no Torah".

[edit] Teaching philosophy

One of the Yeshivah of Flatbush's fundamental tenets is its "Ivrit b'Ivrit" (literally "Hebrew in Hebrew") philosophy of teaching. This means that every Judaic studies class is conducted completely in Hebrew regardless of the level or ability of the students.[2] With this technique, the Yeshivah of Flatbush aims to enable most students to become fluent in the Hebrew language at a relatively young age.[3]

[edit] Student demographics

The Yeshivah of Flatbush is made up of Jewish students and teachers from a variety of backgrounds. In the past, more than half of the students were Ashkenazi Jews, whose families originated from communities in Germany, Poland, Eastern Europe and Russia. In recent years, the majority has shifted to students of Sephardic descent, mainly those whose families originated from Middle Eastern countries. The large number of Sephardic students can be attributed to the presence of a large Syrian community in Flatbush. There are also a number of Yemenite and Ethiopian Jews enrolled.

[edit] Post-High school

More than 30% of graduating seniors attend a yeshiva in Israel for the following year or two before returning to America for university study. In recent years, graduates of the Yeshivah of Flatbush have been accepted at many top universities. Some universities, including City University of New York and Yeshiva University, give college credits to the students who study in Israel for the year, allowing them to not lose out on a year of college.

A large number of students graduate with as many as 30 college credits due to the many Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses offered in the Junior, Senior, and more recently Sophomore years of high school.

[edit] Leadership

Rabbi Dr. Raymond Harari is the rosh yeshiva, or "head of school", for the high school. Rabbi Ronald Levy is the principal of the high school, and Mr. Joel Littman and Mrs. Jill Sanders are associate principals. Each principal, along with his or her general duties, is assigned specifically to one grade (freshman, sophomore, and junior). Seniors have their own 'Senior Principal', a position currently filled by Rabbi Joseph Beyda.

Rabbi Lawrence Schwed is the principal of the elementary school. Within the elementary school, Mr. Leonard Zeplin and Rabbi David Hertzberg are principals of the lower school (grades Pre-K through 5) and the middle school (grades 6-8), respectively.

Rabbi Dr. David Eliach is now principal emeritus, following a decades-long tenure as principal of the high school.

[edit] Student government

Every year the student body of the Yeshivah of Flatbush High School elects four students in their junior year to positions in the Student Government Organization (SGO). These students assume their respective SGO positions the following year. The SGO plans trips and events for students throughout the year, along with various other student activities.

[edit] Community interaction

Each year, the school holds many events that cater to the Jewish community in the New York area. The largest ones include the annual Yom HaShoah (Holocaust day) and Yom Ha'atzma'ut (Israel Independence Day) programs, which customarily feature performances by the Yeshivah of Flatbush High School Choir, under the direction of Daniel Henkin, who is leaving the school to direct the Ramaz Chorus at the end of this school year.

Recognizing the religious needs of the Flatbush Sephardic community, the Yeshivah of Flatbush, in conjunction with Young Sha'are Zion, published the first Sephardic Passover Haggadah in North America, Minchat Cohen, as a 'Senior Project' in the late 70s.[citation needed]

[edit] Sports

Flatbush's team name is the Flatbush Falcons. Flatbush fields a number of competitive athletic teams throughout the school year, such as basketball, volleyball, softball, hockey, swim, tennis and soccer. In most cases, their teams are members of the Yeshiva High School Athletic League which represents many of the Jewish day schools throughout the New York metropolitan area. Every year is the Thomas Hausdorff Memorial Basketball Tournament, a competition between several Jewish day school basketball teams that takes place at the Yeshivah of Flatbush.

[edit] Academic teams

Flatbush's academic teams compete in debate, College Bowl, mock trial, Model Congress, chess, mathematics, Model United Nations and Torah Bowl.

[edit] Controversy

Rabbi Alan Stadtmauer left his position as principal of the High School in June 2005. A few months later, news spread that his decision to leave was due in part to his sexuality. He later admitted in an email to a former student, that he is a homosexual, and had decided to leave the high school, the Rabbinate, and Orthodoxy due to pressures. The Yeshivah subsequently issued a statement saying that “There have been no allegations of inappropriate behavior during his tenure at the Yeshivah.”[4][5][6] Despite this sentiment, the DVD retrospective for the Class of 2005 was delayed for 18 months, in order to allow for the deletion of any reference to the former Principal.[citation needed] Rabbi Stadtmauer notified the school in November 2004 that he was not going to return the following school year. In doing so, he left a vacuum in the educational leadership of the school. After a failed effort to find a suitable replacement, the school's adminstration decided to split his position as principal into two positions: Head of School and Principal. (see LEADERSHIP)

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ Yeshivah of Flatbush Mission Statement, accessed July 27, 2006
  2. ^ Ivrit B’Ivrit: A Discussion in Ten Da’at, Ten Da’at, Volume IV, Number 2, Spring 1990.
  3. ^ Message from the President, Jack Rahmey, accessed February 25, 2007
  4. ^ Ex-Yeshiva Head Outs Himself, Leaves Fold, The Forward, September 23, 2005
  5. ^ From a Flatbush Boy Whose Teacher Has Told Him Goodbye, The Forward, October 7, 2005
  6. ^ Jewish Access Article, "Ex Yeshiva Head Outs Himself", accessed November 28, 2006
  7. ^ a b Portrait of Joseph Telushkin, Hadassah Magazine, April 2000

[edit] External links

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