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A souvenir journal in honor of the twentieth anniversary of the Hebrew Theological College Chicago (1922-1942), with articles in Hebrew,Yiddish and English. Some of the articles include: "40 years of Torah--a retrospect" by Harry A. Lipsky, "Bernard Revel" by Dr. Leo Jung, "Space and time problems in Judaism" by R. Jacob H. Greenberg and many others. Also included are pictures of the Yeshiva building, R. Silber, the board of directors at the tenth anniversary, etc. |
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The Hebrew Theological College, also known as Beit HaMidrash LaTorah, also colloquially known as "Skokie Yeshiva," is a private university located in Skokie, Illinois. It was chartered in 1922 as one of the first Modern Orthodox Jewish institutions of higher education in America, and is therefore also one of the oldest Jewish institutions in the United States outside of the New York area.
Hebrew Theological College's primary purposes are to prepare students for the assumption of formal roles as educators, as well as to train eligible students to meet the requirements and demands of rabbinic ordination. As its secondary purpose, Hebrew Theological College endeavors to provide its students with broad cultural perspectives and a strong foundation in the Liberal Arts and Sciences to facilitate a creative synthesis of general and Jewish knowledge. In so doing, the College also provides an excellent background for the pursuit of advanced professional training... The school was founded in the city of Chicago in 1921 by R.Chaim Tzvi Rubinstein and R.Saul Silber. R.Rubinstein (1872-1944) was an alumnus of Volozhin Yeshiva who arrived in America in 1917. R.Silber (1876-1946) was a pulpit Rabbi in Chicago and served as president of the school for the first twenty-five years.
R.Nissan Yablonsky, an alumnus of Slabodka served as the first Rosh Yeshiva for the first few years. He was followed, after his untimely death, by R.Chaim Korb. R.Chaim Kreiswirth served as Rosh Yeshiva from 1947 to 1953.
Throughout the history of Hebrew Theological College its leadership has been shared by its Rosh Yeshiva and its Chief Executive Officer, formerly known as the President, currently known as the Chancellor. The founding president was R.Saul Silber (1922-1946) He was followed by R. Oscar Z. Fasman (1946-1964) and R.Simon G. Kramer (1964-1970). R.Kramer dismissed Rosh Yeshiva R.Chaim Zimmerman and hired Rosh Yeshiva R.Aaron Soloveitchik. Under his stewardship Hebrew Theological College reached its greatest enrollment, with approximately 300 students in the high school and 200 in the college. For a time in the early 1970s Hebrew Theological College was left without a president, and was controlled by a lower level executive administration. After differing with this administration there on certain key issues, R. Soloveitchik left this post in 1974 and began his own Yeshiva as the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Brisk in Chicago, which claimed to be an American incarnation of the Brisk yeshivas and methods. Although for a short time both institutions flourished, they ultimately both suffered decline. Yeshiva Brisk currently exists only as a synagogue, while Hebrew Theological College has failed to increase enrollment for many years, despite various attempts.
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