| Beth Medrash Govoha | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1943 |
| Type | Yeshiva (Orthodox) |
| Location | Lakewood Township, NJ, USA |
| Campus | Urban |
Beth Medrash Govoha (Hebrew: בית מדרש גבוה) (lit: Higher, or advanced, House of Study) is a Haredi yeshiva located in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. It is commonly known as BMG, or Lakewood Yeshiva.
Founded in 1943 by Rabbi Aharon Kotler, the yeshiva currently has nearly 6,000 students, making it one of the largest yeshivas in the world.[1] Over the years, the roshei yeshiva of BMG have all been associated with the Kotler family, beginning with Rabbi Aharon Kotler from 1943 until his death in 1962; Rabbi Shneur Kotler, his son, who led the yeshiva from 1962 until his death in 1982; and the present roshei yeshiva, Rabbi Malkiel Kotler (son of Rabbi Shneur), Rabbi Yerucham Olshin, Rabbi Dovid Schustal, and Rabbi Yisroel Neuman; the latter three are married to grandchildren of Rabbi Aharon Kotler.
To manage the huge enrollment, the four roshei yeshiva divide up the times they deliver shiurim (Torah lectures) in the various battei medrash (study halls) on campus. They have also appointed dozens of roshei chabura (heads of small study groups) to take responsibility for groups of students.[2]
Contents |
The campus consists of four main buildings containing over eight study halls and numerous residence halls.
The yeshiva is licensed by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and accredited by the Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools.[3] It is authorized to grant bachelor's and master's degrees in Talmudics, as well as two post-master's diplomas in Talmudic studies.
Although the yeshiva grants degrees, students do not study there for the sole purpose of attaining a degree. Many students stay on studying in the yeshiva after they are already eligible to receive their degree. What students seek in Beth Medrash Govoha is to at first attain the skills necessary to properly understand and analyze the Talmud and to be able to do research on scholarly levels and to then use these skills to become accomplished Talmudic scholars.
Beth Medrah Govoha offers all levels of undergraduate study. A level of skill and context in understanding the Talmud is required even for the undergraduate level studies, and as such, those with a weaker background in Talmud may require extra assistance, and some may be better off beginning their studies at another Yeshiva for a year or two until they are sufficiently prepared to handle BMG's rigorous program.
The yeshiva studies are based on classical Torah study traditions using the Talmud, Rishonim, Shulchan Aruch, Responsa and Rabbinic literature as texts and sources.
Although all students study the talmud regardless of whether they just joined the yeshiva or have already been studying for well over a decade, when students first arrive they study the official mesechta (book of the talmud that deals with a general subject) of the yeshiva. This mesechta will always be one of eight that deal with all areas of civil jurisprudence.
The official mesechta of the yeshiva is studied by about half of all of the students. Some students will stay on learning these subjects for many years, developing a very great expertise in these areas, and others will move on to study other areas of the talmud. Because of the large size of the student body in the Lakewood Yeshiva there are groups studying virtually any subject in the talmud. Beth Medrash Govoah is unique in the world of yeshivohs in this aspect that a student can study any subject in the talmud that he wants to. Some students focus not on the talmud but on the practical application of the laws based on the conclusions of the Shulchan Aruch which is the Code of Law that is based on the talmud. Because of the vastness of the talmud there are some students that have spent well over two decades studying at the yeshiva.
The daily schedule consists of three sedorim (or study sessions), a morning session, an afternoon sesion and an evening session in which a total of 10 hours of each day is spent studying. For each session there is a limud (subject) which is a chapter of the mesechta that that group is learning. The morning session is the most important of the sessions and is the subject that students will devote their after-hour time to and which they are most likely to write papers on and is also what the lectures that are given will be on.
All learning is done within a system of chaburahs (groups) where 10-150 scholars form a chaburah (group) to study together. Every chaburah has a Rosh Chaburah (head/leader of the study group). It is the Rosh Chaburah's responsibility to arrange enough seats for the members of his chaburah, to decide the topic of study for the semester, and to make sure that there is a lecture given on the subject studied at least once a week. Many "chaburos" require members to prepare and give lectures on a rotating basis. These are in addition to the Rosh Chaburah's weekly lecture.
Three zmanim (semesters) exist in a year, based on the Hebrew calendar:
The three zmanim span two official semesters. The Fall semester runs through the Winter zman. The Spring semester includes the Summer zman and Elul zman.
Applications to enroll into the yeshiva are accepted twice a year, before the summer and winter semesters. There are no enrollments for the fall semester. The deadlines vary, and they are generally close to the 1st of Elul for the winter enrollment, and the 1st of Adar for summer enrollment.
This is generally a four part process. Only applicants who have received a "bechina (entrance exam) card" authorizing them to advance will be able to proceed with these steps:
After acceptance, tuition is negotiated. The policy of the yeshiva is that no eligible student is denied the opportunity to study torah because of their inability to pay tuition. The accepted student must also complete steps required by the State of New Jersey of all students entering dormitories and post-secondary schools in New Jersey. Additionally, in a signed acceptance agreement, the matriculating student agrees to abide by the rules of the institution.
Upon acceptance to the Yeshiva, the student must sign a document stating that he will not date for his first three months at the yeshiva. These three months are known colloquially as "The Freezer". This minimizes the student's distractions during the crucial first few months of his studies and allows him to be better integrated into the Yeshiva as a whole.
The ban ends twice a year; for students entering for the winter term, they can begin dating on Tu B'Shevat. For students entering for the summer term, the date is 17 Tammuz.
An exception to the non-dating rule is that the student may continue to date a girl, if he started seeing her before the semester started. A more recent exemption (starting in 2010) is that a student is permitted to date a girl older than himself at any time.
If a student is found to have broken the rule, the senior faculty (The Roshei Yeshiva) will generally not attend the wedding (which is considered an honor), and there may be other disciplinary consequences, such as the suspension of student from Yeshiva indefinitely. Additionally this may prohibit a student from receiving stipends (about $100 a week) if they continue to study in Lakewood.
"Tumult day" refers to the time that chavrusos (study partners) must be arranged and students arrange entry into a particular "chaburah", or study group. Among other things, students discuss with potential study partners what subjects they would like to study, and also make sure that the study partnership has the potential to succeed, both on a personal level and on an intellectual level.
When Beth Medrash Govoha was opened in 1943 a stipend of $40 a week was given to married students, which at the time was enough to live on. Although providing for a family today is beyond the budget of the yeshiva, as the yeshiva has over 5000 married students, the yeshiva still gives a stipend called a Kolel check. There is a base amount, plus an additional bonus for those that are punctual in arriving on time for the study sessions, that comes to a little more than $100 a week.
Rabbi Aharon Kotler served as the founding rosh yeshiva from 1943 until his death in 1962. He was succeeded by his son, Rabbi Shneur Kotler, then 44 years old, who led the yeshiva until his death in 1982.[4] Rabbi Shneur Kotler's son, Rabbi Malkiel Kotler, then assumed leadership of the yeshiva together with Rabbis Yerucham Olshin, Dovid Schustal, and Yisroel Neuman, who are all married to grandchildren of Rabbi Aharon Kotler.
Rabbi Nosson Meir Wachtfogel served as mashgiach ruchani of the yeshiva from 1941 until his death in 1998, carrying out Rabbi Aharon Kotler's goals for the yeshiva and helping to build it into a world-class Torah institution.[5] Rabbi Matisyohu Salomon, who succeeded Rabbi Wachtfogel, is the present mashgiach ruchani.
|
||||||||
|
|||||