Rambam Mesivta

Last updated
Rambam Mesivta
Location
Rambam Mesivta

Information
Type Private School
MottoTorah, Midos, Excellence
Religious affiliation(s) Jewish
Established1991
Sister school Midreshet Shalhevet (former)
School districtLawrence (District 15)
Faculty55
Grades9th - 12th
GenderAll Male
Enrollment150-200
Campus typeSuburban
Color(s)Red and Black
   
Mascot Raven
Accreditation Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
NewspaperThe Rambam Onion, The Rambam Reverie, Rambam Record, Hamasmid
Website http://www.rambam.org

Rambam Mesivta is a private Jewish High School in Inwood, New York. [1] Rambam Mesivta was founded in 1991, designed with an all-boys Mesivta program that offers classes in religious Jewish studies and college preparatory studies. Students attend from Queens, Brooklyn, Five Towns, West Hempstead, and Greater Long Island. [2]

Contents

Rav Zev Meir Friedman serves as Rosh HaMesivta and Rabbi Yotav Eliach (author of Judaism, Zionism, and the Land of Israel) [3] serves as Principal.

History

Rambam Mesivta was founded in 1991.

In 2006 Rambam Mesivta entered into a partnership with longtime rival HAFTR High School, called the "Torah Institute". This move was intended to pool resources and to raise the standard of religious education in HAFTR and secular education in Rambam. [4] It also helped create Rambam's sister school, the now-defunct Midreshet Shalhevet. [5] This deal ended partially as a result of the 2008 financial crisis and was due to a large deficit Shalhevet created. This was a result of increased distribution of need-based scholarships. In the end, HAFTR refused to fund the deficit thus ending the deal. [6] Shalhevet though was able to cover the deficit through a fundraising campaign and was able to remain open.

In 2020 due in part to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the sister school Shalhevet was forced to close permanently. [7]

In the fall of 2022, just after the beginning of the school year, Rambam Mesivta moved to a newly built facility in Inwood.

Awards and recognitions

Rambam Mesivta was honored with the National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence in 2015 [8] and 2021 [9] for its high scholastic performance, as measured by SAT scores and other standardized tests, as well as its incredibly high level of daily attendance and nearly 100% graduation rate.

Rambam was the second yeshiva on Long Island to have ever been honored with this prestigious award and the only one in the state to win it twice. [10] Out of a possible 13,300 public, private, and parochial schools that could apply for the award, only 39 Jewish, yeshivas, or community schools have qualified to date. [11]

Athletics

Rambam Mesivta has multiple athletic teams including hockey, basketball, flag football, soccer, tennis, and softball.

Rambam's strongest sport is currently hockey, as the Varsity team has made it to the playoffs several times during the past decade, most recently in the 2021–2022 season. However, historically, Rambam has also achieved notable milestones in other sports. In 1997, the Rambam varsity basketball team won the MYHSAL championship, defeating Flatbush in the championship game at the Meadowlands Arena. Rambam's varsity basketball team also won Yeshiva University's Saracheck Tournament Tier I championship in both 1996 and 1997, [12] defeating YULA in the championship game in consecutive years. And on the baseball diamond, Rambam's varsity softball team won MYHSAL championships in both 1996 and 1997.

Academic Teams

Rambam Mesivta has multiple academic teams that compete in local and national competitions, of both secular and Judaic nature. Rambam's current strongest academic teams include their Yeshiva League Chess team, the Robotics team [13] [14] (FIRST Tech Challenge, RobocupJr. USA), the Mock Trial team, and the Debate Team.

Activism

Rambam Mesivta is notable for encouraging its student body to be involved with "Jewish activism and political awareness". [2]

Congresswomen Kathleen M. Rice, in recognizing the school for achieving the Blue Ribbon award, stated as follows: [15]
"within days of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Southeast Asia, which killed more than 250,000 people, students from Rambam Mesivta raised more than $6,000 to help rebuild schools and buy school supplies in Sri Lanka. Following the tragic 2014 terrorist attack at the Har Nof synagogue in Jerusalem, in which four Jewish worshipers were killed, a group of 10th graders from Rambam Mesivta responded immediately with a campaign to raise money for the victims' families. Within a day of the attack, the students had raised nearly $20,000, and within 10 days, they raised over one million. Nearly two months after they launched their campaign, this passionate and caring group of students raised over two million dollars."

Students at Rambam were among the picketers in front of the Polish consulate in NY to protest Polish action against a historian documenting Polish collusion with the Nazis during WWII. [16] The protest led to a meeting between the dean of the high school, Rabbi Friedman, and the Polish consul-general, Urszula Gacek, attempting to find common ground. [17] In the end, they were successful and Jakiw Palij was deported to Germany. [18]

Staff

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshiva</span> Jewish educational institution for Torah study

A yeshiva is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha, while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The studying is usually done through daily shiurim as well as in study pairs called chavrusas. Chavrusa-style learning is one of the unique features of the yeshiva.

Yeshiva of Far Rockaway is a yeshiva located at 802 Hicksville Road, Far Rockaway, Queens in New York City. It comprises a high school, beis medrash, and Kollel. The school was founded by the current rosh yeshiva (dean), Rabbi Yechiel Yitzchok Perr, and by Rabbi Nachman Bulman. It has intensive Talmudic studies, and features the rosh yeshiva's musar (ethics) lectures in the Novardok tradition. The yeshiva also has a kollel, Kollel Ner Rochel Leah, for married students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin</span> Yeshiva school in the United States

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin is an American Haredi Lithuanian-type boys' and men's yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brisk tradition and Soloveitchik dynasty</span> School of Jewish thought and tradition

The Soloveitchik dynasty of rabbinic scholars and their students originated the Brisker method of Talmudic study, which is embraced by their followers in the Brisk yeshivas. It is so called because of the Soloveitchiks' origin in the town of Brisk, or Brest-Litovsk, located in what is now Belarus. Many of the first Soloveitchik rabbis were the official rabbis of Brisk, and each in turn was known as "the Brisker Rov". Today, Brisk refers to several yeshivas in Israel and the United States founded by members of the Soloveitchik family, including: ‘Brisk Proper’(Now run by R’ Abraham Yehousua Soloveitchik),R’ Dovid’s, Tomo(Toras Moshe), and others.

Rosh yeshiva is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and the Torah, and halakha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaim Soloveitchik</span> Belarusian rabbi

Chaim (Halevi) Soloveitchik, also known as Chaim Brisker, was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the Brisker approach to Talmudic study within Judaism. He was also a member of the Soloveitchik dynasty, the son of Yosef Dov Soloveitchik.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim</span> Orthodox yeshiva based in Queens, New York

Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim is an Orthodox yeshiva based in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, New York, United States. It is primarily an American, non-chasidic ultra-orthodox Talmudic yeshiva. The yeshiva is legally titled Rabbinical Seminary of America (RSA) but is often referred to as just Chofetz Chaim as that was the nickname of its namesake, Yisroel Meir Kagan. It has affiliate branches in Israel and North America.

Hershel Reichman is an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy</span> Private, yeshiva, day school in New York, NY, United States

The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, also known as Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB), MTA or TMSTA, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school and the boys' prep school of Yeshiva University (YU) in the Washington Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is the brother school to the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elchonon Wasserman</span> Belarusian Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva (1874–1941)

Elchonon Bunim Wasserman was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) in prewar Europe. He was one of the closest students of Yisrael Meir Kagan and a noted Talmid Chacham. In the interwar period, he served as rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Ohel Torah-Baranovich. He was murdered during the Holocaust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Rosensweig</span>

Michael Rosensweig is a Rosh Yeshiva at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University and the Rosh Kollel of the Beren Kollel Elyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshivat HaHesder Yerucham</span>

Yeshiva Yerucham

<i>Mesivta</i> Orthodox Jewish yeshiva secondary school for boys

Mesivta is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva secondary school for boys. The term is commonly used in the United States to describe a yeshiva that emphasizes Talmudic studies for boys in grades 9 through 11 or 12; alternately, it refers to the religious studies track in a yeshiva high school that offers both religious and secular studies.

The Talmudical Academy of Baltimore or TA is a K–12 yeshiva founded in 1917. Its present campus, located at 4445 Old Court Road, includes a pre-school building, an elementary school building, a middle school building, a high school building, three gymnasiums, a dormitory, two computer labs, and two study halls which double as prayer sanctuaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshivas Ohr HaChaim</span>

Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim is a Haredi yeshiva located in Kew Garden Hills, Queens, New York City. The yeshiva also has a kollel, and operates in conjunction with its high school Mesivta Yesodei Yeshurun which is located next door to Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim. The current Rosh Yeshiva is Rabbi Doniel Lander and the Rosh Kollel is Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovici. Both are former students of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik of Yeshiva University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshivas Itri</span> Yeshiva school

Yeshivas Itri is an Orthodox yeshiva in southeast Jerusalem. Founded in 1968 by Rabbi Mordechai Elefant, the yeshiva has several branches in Israel and the United States, and spawned several educational programs for Diaspora Jews.

Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy, commonly known as RTMA or JEC High School, is a Yeshiva high school located in Elizabeth, New Jersey and a branch of the Jewish Educational Center. Founded in 1955 by Rabbi Pinchas Mordechai Teitz, RTMA adheres to the tenets and practices of Orthodox Judaism. It is one of the country's earliest and leading Modern Orthodox Yeshiva high schools. RTMA's dual curriculum offers courses in Torah studies, as well as college preparatory academics. Most of its students reside in the Orthodox Jewish communities of New Jersey and New York. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 2008 and is accredited until January 2024.

Shmuel Halevi Schecter was a Canadian–American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, educator, and author. Born in Quebec and raised in Baltimore, he traveled to Eastern Europe to study at the Mir Yeshiva as a teenager and at the Kelm Talmud Torah as a young married man. In 1940 he returned to the United States, where he was a co-founder of the first kollel in America, Beth Medrash Govoha, in White Plains, New York. He was a Torah educator in New York and Boston for more than 50 years, and served as dean of Mesivta Toras Emes in Brooklyn. He published a commentary on Orchot Chaim LeHoRosh, a musar work.

Mesivta Ateres Yaakov is an Orthodox Jewish, all-male high school in Lawrence, New York. Founded in 1987 as a part of the Yeshiva of South Shore, the Mesivta became both financially and administratively independent in 2003. By 2010, a rapidly expanding student body saw the Mesivta move to a 27,000-square-foot (2,500 m2) campus in Lawrence, New York, where it currently operates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeshivas in World War II</span>

After the German invasion of Poland in World War II and the division of Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union, many yeshivas that had previously been part of Poland found themselves under Soviet communist rule, which did not tolerate religious institutions. The yeshivas therefore escaped to Vilnius in Lithuania on the advice of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. In Lithuania, the yeshivas were able to function fully for over a year and many of the students survived the Holocaust because of their taking refuge there, either because they managed to escape from there or because they were ultimately deported to other areas of Russia that the Nazis did not reach. Many students, however, did not manage to escape and were killed by the Nazis or their Lithuanian collaborators.

References

  1. "Rambam Mesivta". Rambam.org. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 "About Rambam". Rambam.org. Archived from the original on 2016-11-12.
  3. 1 2 Eliach, Yotav (20 March 2018). Judaism, Zionism and the Land of Israel. ISBN   978-0914153344.
  4. "Yeshivas join forcesHAFTR and Rambam HS to pool resources". Herald Community Newspapers. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  5. "Machon Hatorah: HAFTR, Rambam and Shalhevet". The Jewish Star. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  6. "HAFTR and Rambam to split". The Jewish Star. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  7. "Midreshet Shalhevet H.S. in North Woodmere to close permanently". Herald Community Newspapers. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  8. "Award Winners". National Blue Ribbon Schools. Archived from the original on December 29, 2015.
  9. "All 2021 National Blue Ribbon Schools" (PDF). Blue Ribbon Schools. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 18, 2022.
  10. "Lawrence yeshiva is named National Blue Ribbon School". Newsday.com.
  11. "Rambam Mesivta wins Blue Ribbon distinction". Thejewishstar.com.
  12. http://www.5tjt.com/25th-annual-sarachek-tournament/
  13. Junior, Menachem Lotwin. "Rambam Rambots Robotics Qualify For Long Island FTC Regional Championships". Queens Jewish Link | Connecting the Queens Jewish Community. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  14. "FTC Event Web : Team 17384". ftc-events.firstinspires.org. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  15. "RECOGNIZING RAMBAM MESIVTA, WINNER OF A NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON AWARD". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  16. "Jewish high schoolers picket Polish consulate in NY to protest 'Holocaust whitewash'". Jta.org. 5 May 2016.
  17. "Polish Consul Meets with Rambam Activists". 5tjt.com. 30 June 2016.
  18. Nir, Sarah Maslin; Winston, Ali (22 August 2018). "'This Man Deserves What He Gets': In Queens, a Nazi's Long Flight from Justice Ends". The New York Times.
  19. "National Blue Ribbon Schools Historic Database" (PDF).

40°37′00″N73°43′39″W / 40.61667°N 73.72750°W / 40.61667; -73.72750