Origins The
Mishnah tractate
Megillah contains the law that a town can only be called a
city if it supports ten men (
batlanim) to make up the required
quorum for communal prayers. Similarly, every
beth din ('house of judgement') was attended by a number of pupils up to three times the size of the court (
Mishnah, tractate
Sanhedrin). According to the
Talmud, adults generally took two months off every year to study, these being
Elul and
Adar, the months preceding the
pilgrimage festivals of
Sukkot and
Pesach (called
Yarḥei Kalla, Aramaic for '
Months of Kallah'). The rest of the year, they worked.
Geonic period (from
Beit Hatefutsot) The Geonic period takes its name from
Gaon, the title given to the heads of the three yeshivas which existed from the third to the thirteenth century. The Geonim acted as the principals of their individual yeshivot, and as spiritual leaders and high judges for the wider communities tied to them. The yeshiva conducted all official business in the name of its Gaon, and all correspondence to or from the yeshiva was addressed directly to the Gaon. Throughout the Geonic Period there were three yeshivot, each named for the cities in which they were located:
Jerusalem,
Sura, and
Pumbedita; the yeshiva of Jerusalem would later relocate to
Cairo, and the yeshivot of Sura and Pumbedita to
Baghdad, but retain their original names. Each Jewish community would associate itself with one of the three yeshivot; Jews living around the
Mediterranean typically followed the yeshiva in Jerusalem, while those living in the
Arabian Peninsula and modern-day
Iraq and
Iran typically followed one of the two yeshivot in Baghdad. There was no requirement for this, and each community could choose to associate with any of the yeshivot. The yeshiva served as the highest educational institution for the
Rabbis of this period. In addition to this, the yeshiva wielded great power as the principal body for interpreting
Jewish law. The community regarded the Gaon of a yeshiva as the highest judge on all matters of Jewish law. Each yeshiva ruled differently on matters of ritual and law; the other yeshivot accepted these divisions, and all three ranked as equally orthodox. The yeshiva also served as an administrative authority, in conjunction with local communities, by appointing members to serve as the head of local congregations. These heads of a congregation served as a link between the congregation and the larger yeshiva it was attached to. These leaders would also submit questions to the yeshiva to obtain final rulings on issues of dogma, ritual, or law. Each congregation was expected to follow only one yeshiva to prevent conflict with different rulings issued by different yeshivot. The yeshivot were financially supported by a number of means, including fixed voluntary, annual contributions; these contributions being collected and handled by local leaders appointed by the yeshiva. Private gifts and donations from individuals were also common, especially during holidays, consisting of money or goods. The yeshiva of Jerusalem was finally forced into exile in Cairo in 1127, and eventually dispersed entirely. Likewise, the yeshivot of Sura and Pumbedita were dispersed following the
Mongol invasions of the 13th century. After this education in Jewish religious studies became the responsibility of individual
synagogues. No organization ever came to replace the three great yeshivot of Jerusalem, Sura and Pumbedita.
To 19th century After the Geonic Period Jews established more Yeshiva academies in Europe and in Northern Africa, including the
Kairuan yeshiva in Tunisia (Hebrew: ישיבת קאירואן) that was established by Chushiel Ben Elchanan (Hebrew: חושיאל בן אלחנן) in 974. Traditionally, every town
rabbi had the right to maintain a number of full or part-time pupils in the town's
beth midrash (study hall), which was usually adjacent to the synagogue. Their cost of living was covered by community taxation. After a number of years, the students who received
semikha (rabbinical ordination) would either take up a vacant rabbinical position elsewhere or join the workforce.
Lithuanian , "mother of the yeshivas" ,
Russian Empire in
Bnei Brak,
Israel Organised
Torah study was revolutionised by
Chaim Volozhin, an influential 18th-century Lithuanian leader of Judaism and disciple of the
Vilna Gaon. In his view, the traditional arrangement did not cater to those looking for more intensive study. With the support of his teacher, Volozhin gathered interested students and started a yeshiva in the town of
Valozhyn, located in modern-day
Belarus. The
Volozhin yeshiva was closed some 60 years later in 1892 following the Russian government's demands for the introduction of certain secular studies. Thereafter, a number of yeshivot opened in other towns and cities, most notably
Slabodka,
Panevėžys,
Mir,
Brisk, and
Telz. Many prominent contemporary
yeshivot in the United States and
Israel are continuations of these institutions, and often bear the same name. In the 19th century,
Israel Salanter initiated the
Mussar movement in non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jewry, which sought to encourage yeshiva students and the wider community to spend regular times devoted to the study of Jewish ethical works. Concerned by the new social and religious changes of the
Haskalah (the Jewish
Enlightenment), and other emerging political ideologies (such as
Zionism) that often opposed traditional Judaism, the masters of Mussar saw a need to augment
Talmudic study with more personal works. These comprised earlier classic Jewish ethical texts (
mussar literature), as well as a new literature for the movement. Early educational institutions on the European model were
Midrash Bet Zilkha founded in 1870s Iraq and
Porat Yosef Yeshiva founded in Jerusalem in 1914. Also notable is the
Bet El yeshiva founded in 1737 in Jerusalem for advanced Kabbalistic studies. Later Sephardic yeshivot are usually on the model either of Porat Yosef or of the Ashkenazi institutions. The Sephardic world has traditionally placed the study of
Kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) in a more mainstream position than in the European
Ashkenazi world. This difference of emphasis arose as a result of the
Sabbatean heresy in the 17th century, that suppressed widespread study of Kabbalah in Europe in favour of Rabbinic Talmudic study. In Eastern European Lithuanian life, Kabbalah was reserved for an intellectual elite, while the mystical revival of Hasidism articulated Kabbalistic theology through Hasidic thought. These factors did not affect the Sephardi Jewish world, which retained a wider connection to Kabbalah in its traditionally observant communities. With the establishment of Sephardi yeshivas in Israel after the
immigration of the Arabic Jewish communities there, some Sephardi yeshivas incorporated study of more accessible Kabbalistic texts into their curriculum. The European prescriptions to restrict advanced Kabbalistic study to mature and elite students also influence the choice of texts in such yeshivas.
19th century to present Conservative movement building in
Manhattan In 1854, the
Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau was founded. It was headed by
Zecharias Frankel, and was viewed as the first educational institution associated with "positive-historical Judaism", the predecessor of
Conservative Judaism. In subsequent years, Conservative Judaism established a number of other institutions of higher learning (such as the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City) that emulate the style of traditional yeshivas in significant ways. Many do not officially refer to themselves as "yeshivas" (one exception is the
Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem), and all are open to both women and men, who study in the same classrooms and follow the same curriculum. Students may study part-time, as in a kollel, or full-time, and they may study
lishmah (for the sake of studying itself) or towards earning rabbinic ordination.
Nondenominational or mixed Non-denominational yeshivas and kollels with connections to Conservative Judaism include
Yeshivat Hadar in New York, whose leaders include
Rabbinical Assembly members
Elie Kaunfer and
Shai Held. The rabbinical school of the
Academy for Jewish Religion in California is led by Conservative rabbi Mel Gottlieb. The faculty of the
Academy for Jewish Religion in New York and of the Rabbinical School of
Hebrew College in
Newton Centre, Massachusetts also includes many Conservative rabbis. See also
Institute of Traditional Judaism. More recently, several non-traditional, and nondenominational (also called "transdenominational" or "postdenominational") seminaries have been established. These grant semikha in a shorter time, and with a modified curriculum, generally focusing on leadership and pastoral roles. These are
JSLI,
RSI,
PRS and
Ateret Tzvi. The
Wolkowisk Mesifta is aimed at community professionals with significant knowledge and experience, and provides a tailored program to each candidate.
Reform and Reconstructionist seminaries Hebrew Union College (HUC), affiliated with
Reform Judaism, was founded in 1875 under the leadership of
Isaac Mayer Wise in Cincinnati, Ohio. HUC later opened additional locations in New York, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem. It is a rabbinical seminary or college mostly geared for the training of rabbis and clergy specifically. Similarly, the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College of
Reconstructionist Judaism, founded in Pennsylvania in 1968, functions to train its future clergy. Some Reform and Reconstructionist teachers also teach at the non-denominational seminaries mentioned above. In Europe, Reform Judaism trains rabbis at
Leo Baeck College in London, UK and
Abraham Geiger Kolleg in Potsdam, Germany. None of these institutions describes itself as a "yeshiva".
Contemporary Orthodox World War II and the
Holocaust brought the yeshivot of Eastern and Central Europe to an end; although many scholars and rabbinic students who
survived the war established yeshivot in Israel as well a number of Western countries. the greatest number of yeshivot, and the most important were centered in Israel and in the U.S.; they were also found in many other Western countries, prominent examples being
Gateshead Yeshiva in England (one of the
descendants of Novardok) and the
Yeshiva of Aix-les-Bains, France. The
Chabad movement was particularly active in this direction,
as above; see
Talmudic academies in Eretz Yisrael. More recent examples include the
Great Academy of Paris (c. 1280); the
Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue (since the mid-1500s); the
Bet El yeshiva (operating since 1737); and
Etz Chaim Yeshiva (since 1841). Various yeshivot were established in Israel in the early 20th century:
Shaar Hashamayim in 1906, Chabad's
Toras Emes in 1911,
Hebron Yeshiva in 1924,
Sfas Emes in 1925,
Lomza in 1926. After (and during) World War II, numerous other Haredi and Hasidic Yeshivot were re-established there by survivors. The Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem – today the largest Yeshiva in the world – was established in 1944, by Rabbi
Eliezer Yehuda Finkel who had traveled to Palestine to obtain visas for his students; Ponevezh similarly by Rabbi
Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman; and
Knesses Chizkiyahu in 1949. The leading Sephardi Yeshiva, Porat Yosef, was founded in 1914; its predecessor, Yeshivat Ohel Moed was founded in 1904. From the 1940s and onward, especially following immigration of the Arabic Jewish communities, Sephardi leaders, such as
Ovadia Yosef and
Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel, established various yeshivot to facilitate Torah education for Sephardi and
Mizrahi Jews (and alternative to Lithuanian yeshivot). The
Haredi community has grown with time – In 2018, 12% of Israel's population was Haredi,) Kollel studies usually focus on deep analysis of Talmud, and those Tractates not usually covered in the standard "undergraduate" program; see below. Some Kollels similarly focus on halacha in total, others specifically on those topics required for
Semikha (Rabbinic ordination) or
Dayanut (qualification as a Rabbinic Judge). The certification in question is often conferred by the Rosh Yeshiva.
Mercaz Harav, the foundational and leading
Religious-Zionist yeshiva was established in 1924 by Ashkenazi
Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. Many in the
Religious Zionist community today attend a
Hesder yeshiva (discussed
below) during
their national service; these offer a kollel for Rabbinical students. (Students generally prepare for the
Semikha test of the
Chief Rabbinate of Israel; until his recent passing (2020) commonly for that of the
posek R.
Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.) Training as a
Dayan in this community is usually through
Machon Ariel (
Machon Harry Fischel), also founded by Rav Kook, or
Kollel Eretz Hemda. Women in this community, as above, study in a
Midrasha. High school students study at
Mamlachti dati schools, often associated with
Bnei Akiva.
Bar Ilan University allows students to combine Yeshiva studies with university study;
Jerusalem College of Technology similarly, which also offers a Haredi track; there are
several colleges of education associated with
Hesder and the
Midrashot (these often offer specializations in
Tanakh and
Machshavah – discussed
below). See .
United States , Lakewood, New Jersey – largest yeshiva outside Israel. in Brooklyn The first Orthodox yeshiva in the U.S. was
Etz Chaim of
New York (1886), modeled after Volozhin. It developed into the
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (1896; "RIETS") and eventually
Yeshiva University in 1945. It was established in the wake of
the immigration of Central and Eastern European Jews (1880s – 1924).
Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, founded in 1907, was led by Rabbi
Moshe Feinstein from the 1940s through 1986;
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, est 1904, was headed by Rabbi
Yitzchok Hutner from 1943 to 1980.
Many Hasidic dynasties have their main Yeshivot in America, typically established in the 1940s;
the Central Lubavitcher Yeshiva has over 1000 students. The postwar establishment of Ashkenazi yeshivot and
kollelim parallels that in Israel; as does the educational pattern in
the American Haredi community, although more obtain a secular education
at the college level.
Beth Medrash Govoha in
Lakewood,
New Jersey with 3,000 students in the early 2000s was founded in 1943 by R.
Aaron Kotler on the "rigid Lithuanian model" that demanded full-time study; by Rabbi Haim Benoliel. (In 1988, the yeshiva opened a branch in Israel, Mikdash Melech Jerusalem, to serve English-speaking Sephardic students.) There are over today 600 junior and high schools, typically a
Mesivta or
Bais Yaakov; see
Torah Umesorah.
Modern Orthodox typically spend a year, often two, post-high school in a yeshiva (sometimes
Hesder) or
Midrasha in Israel. Many thereafter, or instead, attend
Yeshiva University, undertaking a dual curriculum, combining academic education with Torah study; see
Torah Umadda, and
S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program. (A percentage stay in Israel, "making
Aliyah"; many also go on to higher education in other American colleges.) Semikha is usually through RIETS, although many
Modern Orthodox Rabbis study through
Hesder, or other Yeshivot in Israel such as
Yeshivat HaMivtar,
Mizrachi's Musmachim program, and Machon Ariel. RIETS also houses several post-semikha kollelim, including one focused on
Dayanut. Dayanim also train through Kollel Eretz Hemda and Machon Ariel; while Mizrachi's post-semikha
Manhigut Toranit program focuses on leadership and scholarship, with the advanced semikha of
"Rav Ir". Communities will often host a
Torah MiTzion kollel, where
Hesder graduates learn and teach, generally for one year. There are numerous
Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools, typically offering a
beit midrash /
metivta program in parallel with the
standard curriculum, (often) structured such that students are able to join the first
shiur in an Israeli yeshiva. The US educational pattern is to be found around the Jewish world, with regional differences; see
:Category:Orthodox yeshivas in Europe and
:Category:Orthodox yeshivas by country. ==Structure and features==