The Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, known as "Philly", is a Haredi Litvish yeshiva. Its roshei yeshiva ("deans") are (the late) Rabbi Elya Svei, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, Rabbi Yehudah Svei and Rabbi Sholom Kaminetsky. Its campus is located in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia.
The yeshiva was founded in 1953 at the behest of Rabbi Aaron Kotler, the Rosh Yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ. It was among the first yeshivas in the United States. The yeshiva was first headed by Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky and Rabbi Dov Schwartzman. In 1955, Rabbi Schwartzman left the yeshiva and was replaced by the late Rabbi Elya Svei.
From 1965 until 1985 Rabbi Yisrael Mendel Kaplan was one of the Yeshiva's senior lecturers.
The yeshiva consists of both a high school containing a total of about 100 students in four grade levels, and a beit midrash for the continuing education of college-aged students. Both the High School and beit midrash curriculums are weighted heavily towards Talmudic studies, although the High School provides its graduates with a fully accredited secular education. A majority of the student body hails from outside the state, mainly from the New York area, and virtually all students live in the dormitory located in close proximity to the main buildings.
The yeshiva is well known for providing its students with a strong background in Talmudic and Rabbinical studies. Many of its graduates choose to continue to other yeshivos and higher places of Jewish learning. Historically, there has been a minority of students who continue their studies in undergraduate and graduate schools across the United States. Its graduates hold key positions in both the lay and religious leadership of contemporary Orthodox Jewry.
moshe jaroslawitz