The yeshiva was originally organized in 1905 as a synagogue, known as Congregation Tifereth Jerusalem, at 115 Hester Street on the Lower East Side of New York City. In 1907, the congregation moved to 87 Eldridge Street and opened the yeshiva originally calling it "Talmud Torah Tifereth Jerusalem Yeshiva." This makes it one of the oldest yeshivas in New York City. The congregation hired Yehuda Sachs Wolpert to administer the institution as he previously served as Rabbi in
Libau, part of the
Zamut region of Lithuania. Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem (MTJ) moved to a few temporary locations including 240 Madison Street, the
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at 9-11 Montgomery Street, and 147 East Broadway. In 1917, the board of directors purchased 145 East Broadway and combined it with the 147 East Broadway property where they built a new permanent building. Originally an elementary school, a high school was established in the late 1920s, and a post–high school yeshivah was later added. MTJ now offers a full range of classes, from pre-kindergarten through post-high school. Yosef Adler served as
rosh yeshiva (dean) and in 1936, hired his cousin
Moshe Feinstein to start a Beis Medrash and
semikhah (rabbinic ordination) program at the yeshiva. In 1938, after Adler died of a heart attack while swimming, Feinstein became the rosh yeshiva. Michel Barenbaum became the
mashgiach ruchani (student supervisor) in the late 1940s (he died on March 4, 2003). Following Feinstein's death, MTJ was led by his son
Dovid Feinstein until his death in November 2020. The school is now led by the latter's son Berel Feinstein. MTJ was involved in a money laundering scandal in the 1980s. ==Yeshiva of Staten Island==