Eitz Chaim Schools

Eitz Chaim Schools
Location
Toronto, Ontario  Canada
Coordinates	Coordinates: 43°47′02″N 79°26′44″W / 43.7839338°N 79.44550809999998°W / 43.7839338; -79.44550809999998
Information
Type	Elementary
Established	1915 (1915)
Principal	Rabbi Shlomo Schwartz
Grades	Nursery-8
Website	eitzchaim.com

Eitz Chaim (Hebrew: ישיבת עץ חיים‎‎) is a private, Orthodox Jewish elementary school in Toronto and Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. The school receives funding from the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

History

The school was first established in 1915 under the name Poylishe Talmud Torah and was located at the Beth Jacob Congregation on Elm Street,^[1] which had formerly been a church.^[2] The school’s first building on Chestnut Street was inaugurated in August 1916, with additional classes held at a branch on Simcoe Street. Poylishe Talmud Torah was then renamed Talmud Torah Eitz Chaim because the name was more inclusive to all Orthodox Jews. In 1917, due to rapidly increasing enrollment, Eitz Chaim purchased the Italian Club at 68 D’Arcy St. In 1926, a separate girls’ class was formed and the first female teacher was hired; before then, the school had been all boys. In 1927, the building was destroyed by a fire, and a new, larger building was constructed on the same site. Th new building was dedicated on December 30, 1927.^[3] After the dedication of the new building, enrollment increased dramatically. In 1929, the school had 300 students, and it grew to 400 in 1931, 503 in 1933, and 600 in 1938. In 1942, the school started a kindergarten. In 1956, the Torath Emeth Jewish Center was established on 1 Viewmount Avenue. By 1958, in response to the geographical shift of the Jewish population northward, the Tanenbaum Building was added to the complex, followed by the Korolnek Building in 1961, both at 1 Viewmount Avenue. One of Eitz Chaim's girls campuses still exists at that address today. In 1966, the Board of Directors purchased land at Patricia and Bathurst streets. Patricia and Bathurst Streets served as the temporary location for portable units until the large, permanent building was completed in 1970, and has been Eitz Chaim's business office and only boys' campus ever since. Upon graduating Eitz Chaim, the boys usually continued on to Jewish high schools, and the girls tended to move on to public high schools. Eitz Chaim's Spring Farm campus in Thornhill, named for the farm formerly on that site, opened its doors in 1988. In the campus's early days, many people were skeptical that it would be well-attended, but in 2016, enrollment was so high that they built mobile classroom units behind the building.

Curriculum

In 2009, Eitz Chaim implemented two tracks that boys have the option of choosing: Maharal or Traditional. The Maharal track follows the education style of the Maharal. During the time of the Maharal, children were taught subjects like Gemara from a very young age. The Maharal strongly believed that this was wrong and that children should only be taught according to their intellectual maturity, and only if the child is developmentally capable of fully comprehending what he is being taught. Therefore, boys in the Maharal track start learning Gemara in the beginning of grade six. Boys in the traditional track follow traditional Jewish education methods, for example, starting Gemara in the beginning of grade five.

In addition to the regular Ontario curriculum, the school teaches various Jewish-related topics including Chumash, Navi, Mishna, Gemara, and Dinim.^[4] Some Hebrew language is also taught, particularly with the girls.

Upon completing grade 8, students mostly feed into Yeshiva Darchei Torah or Tiferes Beis Yaakov, however as of the last few years, Bnei Akiva Schools have been seeing increased popularity from Eitz Chaim students.

Congregation Minyan Sephard, a sephardi minyan, is housed in the Patricia campus on Shabbat and Jewish Holidays.

Notable alumni

• Abie Rotenberg
• Baruch Levine
• Moshe Tanenbaum (Uncle Moishy)
• Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky.^[5]

References