Yeshivas Ner Yisroel

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This page in a nutshell: Ner Israel is a Yeshiva in Baltimore, Maryland

New emblem

Yeshivas Ner Yisroel (Hebrew: ישיבת נר ישראל) officially the Ner Israel Rabbinical College or NIRC, is a prominent yeshiva in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1933 by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, a disciple of Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, dean of the Slabodka yeshiva in Lithuania. It is currently headed by Rabbi Aharon Feldman, a disciple of Rabbi Ruderman.

The yeshiva is an all-male Lithuanian (Litvish)-style Haredi Talmudic college and is politically affiliated with Agudath Israel. It presently consists of a high school numbering over 250 students, an undergraduate Beis Medrash program numbering about 400 students, and a kollel post-graduate rabbinical division numbering about 180 students^{[citation needed]}.

The yeshiva is on a self-contained campus located at Mt. Wilson Lane, Pikesville, Maryland, just northwest of the Baltimore city limits. Ner Yisroel has two central study halls, one for the high school and one much larger for the beis medrash and the kollel (also doubling as the main prayer sanctuaries). The campus also includes lecture halls, classrooms, libraries, a dining hall, dormitories, faculty housing and much outdoor recreational space.

History & Past Leadership

Ner Yisroel Beis Medrash

Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman, the son-in-law of Rabbi Sheftel Kramer, founded the yeshiva in 1933 with six students. He had a vision, to build a yeshiva in the European style on American soil.

The yeshiva was named after Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin Salanter ^[1], the founder of the mussar movement and teacher of Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel.

Rabbi Dovid Kronglass, also of the Mirrer Yeshiva in Europe was the yeshiva's first mashgiach until his passing in 1973.

Rabbi Herman N. Neuberger, also son-in-law of Rabbi Sheftel Kramer and an alumnus of the Mirrer Yeshiva in Europe, was president of Ner Israel, from 1940 until his passing in 2005. He was also a lay leader at large in the American Jewish community.

Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg served on the Ner Yisroel faculty for nearly 50 years. Rabbi Weinberg held the position of Rosh Yeshiva from Rabbi Ruderman's passing in 1987 until his own passing in 1999. Rabbi Weinberg was married to Chana Ruderman, the only child of Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman.

Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky, a disciple of Rav Shlomo Heiman and long time lecturer in the college, served as the Rosh Yeshiva from Rabbi Weinberg's passing in 1999 until his passing in 2001.

Other notable Rabbis who have served on the faculty include Rabbi Shimon Schwab zt"l, later rabbi of the German-Jewish Frankfurt Kehillah/community in Washington Heights N.Y., Rabbi Simcha Zissel Broide zt"l of the Chevron Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Rabbi Ephraim Eisenberg zt"l, the son-in-law of Rabbi Mordechai Gifter zt"l, and ybl"c Rabbi Moshe Eisenmann, presently retired, who has served as Ner Yisroel's second mashgiach ruchani and Rabbi Moshe Heinemann who is currently Rav of the Agudath Israel of Baltimore and Star-K.

Present leadership

The yeshiva today is headed by Rabbi Aharon Feldman, who serves as the rosh yeshiva and is also a council member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, Rabbi Beryl Weisbord, the yeshiva's mashgiach ruchani and the husband of Dr. Aviva Weisbord, daughter of Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg, and Rabbi Sheftel Neuberger, the menahel (president) of the yeshiva; he succeeds his father, Rabbi Herman N. Neuberger, who held the same position. Rabbi Tzvi Berkowitz teaches the largest shiur, which numbers over 100 students. The menahel (principal) of the mechina (high school) is Rabbi Yosef Tendler. Rabbi Simcha Cook, a teacher in the mechina for over 35 years is now the assistant principal of the High School.

Accreditation

Ner Yisroel is also a Maryland state accredited college, and has agreements with Johns Hopkins University, Towson University, Community College of Baltimore County, Loyola College in Maryland, University of Baltimore, and University of Maryland, Baltimore County allowing under-graduate students to take night courses at these colleges and universities in a variety of academic fields. The agreement also allows the students to receive academic credits for their religious studies. The studies are limited by yeshiva policy excluding freshmen from the arrangement and demanding that all older students complete a six-month waiting period before commencing academic study and even then is limited to a bi-weekly and summer basis.

Curriculum

A student studying inside the Bais Medrash

The yeshiva's studies are primarily Talmud texts and relevant rabbinic literature .The yeshiva has a rotating cycle of eight different tractates it covers in the course of eight years.

Degrees granted by Ner Yisroel are a Bachelor of Talmudic Law (four years), Master of Talmudic Law (six years), Doctorate in Talmudic Law (ten years and authoring a commentary on Talmudic or Rabbinic texts). Rabbinic ordination (Semichah) can also be conferred in Ner Yisroel.

Ner Yisroel's Machon program trains future religious educators for Jewish communities and schools. Students earn a Torah Umesorah recognized certification. Today, there are a large number of congregational rabbis, Jewish educators & administrators who studied in Ner Yisroel and graduated from the Machon.

Student Body

Drawn from all over the world, Ner Yisroel attracts students from Australia, Belgium, England, Israel, South Africa, Russia and many other countries. The bulk of the yeshiva, however, is from Baltimore, the New York area, and the rest of the United States and Canada. Due to Rabbi H. Neuberger's close association with the Persian-Jewish community and assistance in helping them leave Iran and re-settle in the United States, Ner Yisroel possesses many students of Persian background. South American Jewry is also well represented in the yeshiva.

Most undergraduate students in Ner Yisroel will have studied in Israel for two or three years prior to their arrival, or plan to upon completion of their studies in Ner Yisroel. Yeshivos most commonly attended are the Mirrer Yeshiva, Toras Moshe, Mercaz Hatorah, Birchas Mordechai, Kerem B'Yavneh, Kol Torah, Bais Yisroel, and Rav Tzvi Kaplan's yeshiva.

Major student projects include "PROJECT YAHUD", a spring break fundraising effort where older students disperse across North America to Jewish communities to raise funds for the religious schools in the impoverished and primarily Sephardic city in Yahud, Israel, and "PROJECT SEED", a summertime outreach effort in smaller communities in which groups of six to eight students along with a Kollel family study as a group in the morning, with individual community members at night, and engage in recreational activities in the afternoon.

Prominent alumni

• Mr. Jeff Ballabon (political consultant and prominent community activist)
• Rabbi Tzvi Berkowitz (maggid shiur, Ner Israel)
• Rabbi Shmuel Bloom (Past President of Agudath Israel of America)
• Rabbi Eliezer Breitowitz (rosh yeshiva, Darchei Torah, Toronto)
• Rabbi Moshe Brown, (maggid shiur, Yeshiva of Far Rockaway)
• Rabbi Abba Cohen, (Washington Director and Counsel, Agudath Israel of America)
• Rabbi Hillel David, (Rabbi, Khal Sharei Tefillah, Brooklyn, New York)
• Rabbi Aharon Feldman (rosh yeshiva, Ner Israel & council member, Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah)
• Rabbi Emanuel Feldman (Rabbi Emeritus of Beth Jacob Congregation of Atlanta, noted lecturer and author)
• Rabbi Ilan Feldman (Rabbi of Beth Jacob Congregation of Atlanta)
• Rabbi Yissocher Frand (maggid shiur, noted lecturer, Ner Israel)
• Mr. Howard Friedman (Past President of AIPAC)
• Rabbi Eliezer Gibber (rosh yeshiva, Providence Yeshiva )
• Rabbi Menachem Greenblatt (rosh kollel, St. Louis Kollel)
• Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt (Chief Rabbi of Moscow)
• Rabbi Avrohom Horowitz (Chief Rabbi of Chile)
• Rabbi Shmuel Irons (rosh Kollel, Kollel Avreichim of Detroit)
• Rabbi Mordechai Jofen (rosh yeshiva, Novardok yeshiva, Brooklyn)
• Rabbi Joseph Kalatsky (Dean, Yad Avraham Institute, New York)
• Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky (rosh yeshiva, Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia & council member, Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah)
• Rabbi Daniel N. Korobkin (Rabbi, Kehillat Yavneh, Los Angeles, and author of the foremost translation of the Kuzari)
• Rabbi Avraham Kosman (maggid shiur, Slabodka Yeshiva, Bnei Brak)
• Rabbi Zalman Leff (rosh kollel, Boston Kollel)
• Rabbi Pesach Lerner (President, National Council of Young Israel)
• Rabbi Yeruchem Uziel Milevsky zt"l (Former Dean, Ohr Somayach, Toronto)
• Rabbi Dr. Chaim Milikovsky (Dean, Talmudic studies, Bar-Ilan University, Israel)
• Rabbi Nota Schiller (rosh yeshiva, Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem)
• Rabbi Mordechai Schwimmer (mashgiach, Mercaz Hatorah, Jerusalem)
• Rabbi Avi Shafran (Director of public affairs, Agudath Israel of America, author)
• Rabbi Moshe Sherer zt"l (Past President of Agudath Israel of America)
• Rabbi Avraham Steinberg (maggid shiur, Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood)
• Rabbi Baruch Taub (Past director of NCSY, rabbi of Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto)
• Rabbi Shalom Tendler (rosh yeshiva, Mesivta Birkas Yitzchak, Los Angeles)
• Rabbi Noach Weinberg zt"l (rosh yeshiva, Aish HaTorah)
• Rabbi Gershon Weiss (maggid shiur, Yeshiva of Staten Island)
• Rabbi Mordechai Wolmark (rosh yeshiva, Shaarei Torah, Monsey)
• Rabbi Yochanan Zweig (rosh yeshiva, Yeshiva Bais Moshe Chaim, Miami)

Branching out

In 1959 Rabbi Sholom Gold established a branch of Ner Yisroel in Toronto. In 1964, Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg became the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel of Toronto until 1971. This branch still serves Toronto's Jewish community, but is no longer affiliated with its founder.

In recent years Ner Yisroel has sent married men and their families to numerous kollelim across the United States and several have founded their own institutions. Locations include Atlanta, Carteret, Cincinnati, Columbus, Miami, Phoenix, Providence and St. Louis. Due to the large number of Ner Yisroel alumni, while no formal connection exists, these institutions are perceived as closely connected with Ner Yisroel.

In Popular Culture

In the book "The Forgotten" by Faye Kellerman the son of protagonist Rina Lazarus applies to Ner Israel.

References