Carteret Yeshiva
Encyclopedia
Yeshiva Gedola of Carteret (Hebrew: ישיבה תפארת יהודה אריה) informally, "YGOC", also called Yeshiva Tiferes Yehuda Aryeh, is a yeshiva
and non-profit organization located in Carteret, New Jersey
.
graduates of Yeshiva of Far Rockaway
and Ner Israel Rabbinical College of Baltimore
. With the backing of Rabbi Aharon Feldman
, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow
, and Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky, among others, Rabbis Brown and Mayer decided to open a yeshiva in the unlikely place of Carteret, which had had a Jewish community with two synagogue
s in the 1950s but whose Jewish presence had dwindled to one elderly couple by 2005. Both synagogues had closed, and a Jewish Community Center
that had operated in one of the synagogues had closed in 2002. The son of the elderly couple, a Washington
lawyer who desired to preserve Jewish life in Carteret in homage to all the Jews who had built the community previously, was instrumental in transferring the former synagogue building and an adjoining five-bedroom rabbi's residence to the yeshiva.
The yeshiva opened with 14 students. Initially, Brown's wife Donya and Mayer's wife Chani handled the food preparation and bookkeeping for the fledgling institution, and each family hosted all the students in their home for one Shabbat
meal. As yeshiva enrollment grew and the students stayed in the yeshiva full-time, the Browns and Mayers took an active role in each student's education, helped them with shidduch
im (marriage proposals), and hosted their sheva brachot
(festive meals held during the week after the wedding).
-style Talmud
ic college. Currently, it consists of a beis medrash
(undergraduate) program, as well as a kollel
(post-graduate) division for its married students. The beis medrash program is divided into two groups: a post-high school constituency which consists of primarily first-, second-, and third-year students (following which it is common for students to spend a year or more of study at yeshivas in Israel), and a senior group which consists mainly of students who have completed their study in Israel and who act as mentors towards younger students.
The kollel
is a recent addition and consists entirely of married students who were previously in the beis medrash program. The kollel members live in Carteret, near the yeshiva.
ic texts and rabbinic literature. The yeshiva has a cycle of various tractates it covers over a span of about eight years. Three large chunks of each day (sedarim
, or sessions) are applied to the study of Talmud at varying degrees of depth. In addition to Talmudic study, small sections of time each day are allotted for mussar (Jewish ethical literature) and practical Halacha (Jewish law).
The focus of each day is the shiur (main lecture), which takes place at the end of first seder.
. Several hundred guests came to Carteret for the procession, including several eminent Torah figures. Noe Street was barricaded off to outside traffic as the crowd wound its way to the yeshiva building accompanied by live music and dancing.
In September 2011, the yeshiva held a kesivas osios (Sefer Torah-writing ceremony) in Lakewood
for a new Torah scroll, to be dedicated after Sukkot
2011.
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
and non-profit organization located in Carteret, New Jersey
Carteret, New Jersey
Carteret is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 22,844.Carteret was created as the borough of Roosevelt on 11 April 1906, incorporating Woodbridge Township, and was a result of a referendum on 22 May 1906...
.
History
The yeshiva was founded in 2006 by Rabbis Azriel Brown and Yaakov Mayer, bothgraduates of Yeshiva of Far Rockaway
Yeshiva of Far Rockaway
Yeshiva of Far Rockaway is a Haredi yeshiva located on 802 Hicksville Road, Far Rockaway, Queens in New York City. It comprises a high school and beis medrash, or seminary. The school was founded by the current rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Yechiel Yitzchok Perr, and by the late Rabbi Nachman Bulman...
and Ner Israel Rabbinical College of Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. With the backing of Rabbi Aharon Feldman
Aharon Feldman
Aharon Feldman is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore, Maryland. He has held this position since 2001....
, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow
Yaakov Perlow
Rabbi Yaakov Perlow is a Hasidic rebbe and rosh yeshiva living in Boro Park, Brooklyn. He is the current Novominsker Rebbe and serves as rosh of the American Agudath Israel of America, a Haredi communal organization...
, and Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky, among others, Rabbis Brown and Mayer decided to open a yeshiva in the unlikely place of Carteret, which had had a Jewish community with two synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s in the 1950s but whose Jewish presence had dwindled to one elderly couple by 2005. Both synagogues had closed, and a Jewish Community Center
Jewish Community Center
A Jewish Community Center or Jewish Community Centre is a general recreational, social and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities...
that had operated in one of the synagogues had closed in 2002. The son of the elderly couple, a Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
lawyer who desired to preserve Jewish life in Carteret in homage to all the Jews who had built the community previously, was instrumental in transferring the former synagogue building and an adjoining five-bedroom rabbi's residence to the yeshiva.
The yeshiva opened with 14 students. Initially, Brown's wife Donya and Mayer's wife Chani handled the food preparation and bookkeeping for the fledgling institution, and each family hosted all the students in their home for one Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
meal. As yeshiva enrollment grew and the students stayed in the yeshiva full-time, the Browns and Mayers took an active role in each student's education, helped them with shidduch
Shidduch
The Shidduch is a system of matchmaking in which Jewish singles are introduced to one another in Orthodox Jewish communities for the purpose of marriage....
im (marriage proposals), and hosted their sheva brachot
Sheva Brachot
Sheva Brachot literally "the seven blessings" also known as birkot Nesuim , "the wedding blessings" in Jewish religious law are blessings that are recited for a bride and her groom as part of nissuim...
(festive meals held during the week after the wedding).
Program
The yeshiva is an all-male Lithuanian (Litvish)History of the Jews in Lithuania
The history of the Jews in Lithuania spans the period from the eighth century to the present day. There is still a small community in that country, as well as an extensive Lithuanian Jewish diaspora in Israel, the United States and other countries. For more detail, see Lithuanian Jews.-Early...
-style Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic college. Currently, it consists of a beis medrash
Beth midrash
Beth Midrash refers to a study hall, whether in a synagogue, yeshiva, kollel, or other building. It is distinct from a synagogue, although many synagogues are also used as batei midrash and vice versa....
(undergraduate) program, as well as a kollel
Kollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
(post-graduate) division for its married students. The beis medrash program is divided into two groups: a post-high school constituency which consists of primarily first-, second-, and third-year students (following which it is common for students to spend a year or more of study at yeshivas in Israel), and a senior group which consists mainly of students who have completed their study in Israel and who act as mentors towards younger students.
The kollel
Kollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
is a recent addition and consists entirely of married students who were previously in the beis medrash program. The kollel members live in Carteret, near the yeshiva.
Curriculum
YGOC’s studies are primarily TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic texts and rabbinic literature. The yeshiva has a cycle of various tractates it covers over a span of about eight years. Three large chunks of each day (sedarim
Seder
Seder is a Hebrew word meaning "order" or "sequence", and can have any of the following meanings:For Jewish holidays*Passover Seder, a ritualized dinner observed during Passover...
, or sessions) are applied to the study of Talmud at varying degrees of depth. In addition to Talmudic study, small sections of time each day are allotted for mussar (Jewish ethical literature) and practical Halacha (Jewish law).
The focus of each day is the shiur (main lecture), which takes place at the end of first seder.
Faculty
- Rabbi Azriel Brown, rosh yeshivaRosh yeshivaRosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
- Rabbi Yaakov Mayer, rosh yeshiva
- Rabbi Yehoshua Heber, mashgiach ruchaniMashgiach ruchaniMashgiach ruchani or mashgiach for short, means a spiritual supervisor or guide. It is a title which usually refers to a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students' lives.The position of mashgiach ruchani arose with the...
- Rabbi Simcha Hexter, mashgiach
Hachnasat Sefer Torah
In December 2008, the yeshiva celebrated a Hachnasat Sefer Torah, the traditional festivity upon the completion of a new Torah scrollSefer Torah
A Sefer Torah of Torah” or “Torah scroll”) is a handwritten copy of the Torah or Pentateuch, the holiest book within Judaism. It must meet extremely strict standards of production. The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish services...
. Several hundred guests came to Carteret for the procession, including several eminent Torah figures. Noe Street was barricaded off to outside traffic as the crowd wound its way to the yeshiva building accompanied by live music and dancing.
In September 2011, the yeshiva held a kesivas osios (Sefer Torah-writing ceremony) in Lakewood
Lakewood Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 60,352 people, 19,876 households, and 13,356 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,431.8 people per square mile . There were 21,214 housing units at an average density of 854.8 per square mile...
for a new Torah scroll, to be dedicated after Sukkot
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
2011.