Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva

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Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva
ישיבת חכמי לובלין
Jeszywas Chachmei w Lublinie.JPG
Religion
AffiliationOrthodox Judaism
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusActive
LeadershipMeir Shapiro (Rosh Yeshiva 1930-1933)
Aryeh Tzvi Frumer (Rosh Yeshiva 1934-1939)
StatusYeshiva (1930-1939)
Synagogue (2007- )
Location
LocationLubartowska 85 Lublin, Poland
Geographic coordinates51°15′28″N 22°34′22″E / 51.2578°N 22.5727°E / 51.2578; 22.5727Coordinates: 51°15′28″N 22°34′22″E / 51.2578°N 22.5727°E / 51.2578; 22.5727
Architecture
Completed1930

Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva (Hebrew: ישיבת חכמי לובלין‎, "Academy of the Sages of Lublin"; Polish: Jeszywas Chachmej Lublin) was a yeshiva which operated in Lublin from 1930 to 1939.[1] At the time, it was one of the largest in the world.

History[]

On May 22–28, 1924, the cornerstone laying ceremony took place for the construction of the yeshiva building. Approximately 50,000 people participated in the event.[2]

The opening ceremony took place on June 24–25, 1930. Apart from thousands of local Jews, around 10,000 people arrived from all over Poland and abroad.

When the German Army took Lublin during World War II, they stripped the interior and burned the vast library in the town square. An officer who witnessed the event reported that a brass band played while a Jewish throng loudly wept as the books burned. The building became the regional headquarters of the German Military Police.[3] After the war, in the autumn of 1945, the property was taken over by the state as an abandoned possession and assigned to the newly established Marie Curie-Skłodowska University. It was used by the Medical University of Lublin.

In the 1964, the yeshiva, reestablished in Michigan after the war, was reimbursed for the building,[4] receiving $177,042.25.[5]

In 2003 the building was returned to the Jewish community. Its synagogue, the first to be entirely renovated by the Jewish community of Poland since World War II, was reopened on February 11, 2007.[6] Also, under current plans, the first Museum of Hasidism in Europe will be located in the renovated building.

As of October 2013, a four-star hotel named Hotel Ilan was opened in the building.[7]

Reputation[]

Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva

In order to pass the entrance exams for the yeshiva, candidates had to meet very high standards both in terms of knowledge (memorizing 400 pages from the Talmud) and moral conduct. The youngest candidates could attend a preparatory course called Mechina. The students were divided into two age groups: younger (14–17 years) and older (from 17 years upward). The course of study lasted four years. The curriculum encompassed exclusively studies of the Talmud, its codifications and commentaries. The core of everyday instruction was memorizing the daily folio of the Talmud, and then studying pertinent commentaries by scholars from the medieval and modern period. Four times a week, the rector offered a 3-hour-long lecture presenting the methods of interpretation of Talmudic issues. During these lectures discussion was allowed. At the end of every semester, each student was examined by the rosh yeshiva on his newly acquired knowledge. More talented students gained additional knowledge necessary to perform the function of a rabbi.[8]

Re-establishment in Bnei Brak[]

A yeshiva with the same name was established in Bnei Brak by Rabbi Shmuel Wosner who was a student of the original yeshiva in Lublin.

Notable alumni[]

  • Rabbi Pinchas Hirschprung, Chief Rabbi of Montreal.
  • Rabbi Shmuel Wosner.
  • Rabbi , Chief Rabbi of Mexico.

Return to Lublin[]

Today, Jews visiting Poland often visit the yeshiva in Lublin, the Project Mesorah tours with Rabbi Paysach Krohn included. In January 2020, a Siyum HaShas was held in the yeshiva building, where the first Siyum Hashas had been held, almost 100 years earlier. Speakers included Rabbi Noach Isaac Oelbaum of Queens, Rabbi Yuir Adler of Toronto, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Lau of Netanya, and Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich of Poland.[9]

See also[]

  • Synagogue in Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva

References[]

  1. ^ Hellman, Gershon (27 December 2017). "News Bits". Ami Magazine. No. 348. p. 32.
  2. ^ 1924 interview with Rabbi Meir Shapiro The Jewish Chronicle: London (29 August 1924)
  3. ^ Freund, Michael (24 June 2009). "Fundamentally Freund: Preserving Poland's Jewish heritage". The Jerusalem Post.
  4. ^ "Jesziwa zwrócona dwa razy?" (in Polish). Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  5. ^ "CPI Inflation Calculator". data.bls.gov. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  6. ^ Urbaniak, Mike (31 January 2007). "Famous Lublin Yeshiva reopens after half a century". . Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  7. ^ Hotel opening in former Lublin Yeshiva jewish-heritage-europe.eu (26 August 2013)
  8. ^ Trzciński, Andrzej (2007). "History of Yeshiva". lublin.jewish.org. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007.
  9. ^ Hoffman, Rafael; Goldschmiedt, Yossi (1 January 2020). "Siyum HaShas in Lublin, HaRav Meir Shapiro's Dreams Live On". Hamodia.

External links[]

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