Yeshivat Chochmei Tsfat


Yeshivat Chochmei Tsfat

Advanced Talmudic Study Center For The Gifted

“I envision a yeshiva that will rival and surpass any university in America.” ~Rabbi Meir Shapira, founder of the Daf Yomi and Yeshivat Chochmei Lublin in Poland

The vision of a World Center for Torah Learning geared to the gifted was the brainchild of Rabbi Meir Shapira, founder of the Daf Yomi. In the 1920s, he revolutionized the concept of yeshiva in Eastern Europe at a time when young boys who wanted to learn Torah were forced to live far from home in abject conditions. He yearned to establish a Torah study center overflowing with the same vitality and prestige that existed at the height of the Jewish Temple era millennia ago. He introduced the concept of dormitories for the first time to the yeshiva world, convinced this was the only way a pupil could focus on his studies without worry. In turn, this would attract those most suited and motivated for advanced Torah study. He built Yeshivat Chochmei Lublin in Poland, which opened its doors in 1930. Immediately, it became a magnet for the brightest minds of Europe filled with boys who had the potential for becoming great leaders of Israel. It operated for nine years until it was taken over and converted into Nazi headquarters during the war.

Rabbi Meir Shapira passed away suddenly in 1933 at the age of 46. Incredibly, he was on his way to Israel where he planned to build an international Torah learning center in the Holy City of Tsfat. He envisioned that this center would likewise gather the best and brightest minds from across the Jewish world and produce the next generation’s great leaders.

For eighty years, his dream lay dormant and unrealized. Today, Nachal Novea Mekor Chochma is planning the construction of a Torah Center according to Rabbi Meir’s vision. The center will be a place for gifted young scholars, aged 16-19, particularly suited to Torah study and service to the Jewish people. “Yeshivat Chochmei Tsfat” will set a completely new standard for Torah learning and yeshivot in the Jewish world—in Tsfat, a city famed for distinction and excellence in Torah.


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