That’s how most of us who attended the Hebrew Theological College refer to it. Simply, “The Yeshiva”. Or just plain ‘Skokie’. And I have had a love hate relationship with it for many years. I have a deep and abiding love for the institution that nurtured my Yiddshkeit for an entire decade. My son attended it for high school and my three sons in law attended it. One of my sons in law still does, as an Avreich. But I am disappointed in the direction it has taken Hashkafically in recent years. It has taken a decidedly right turn. And it now sells itself that way.
It has not always had this Hashkafa. Far from it. It was founded 84 years ago with the intent of making a yeshiva whose philosophy was that of Torah uMada. Although that term had not been coined yet, that is in essence what the founding fathers wanted it to be. The goal was to have a Makom Torah for the modern world and produce Frum Baalei Batim knowledgeable in both Torah and secular subjects and to Rabbanim that could deal with and relate to the new world of American culture. But the path to getting there was never smooth. In fact it never really reached that goal.
Back in the early sixties, when my parents told me they were moving from Toledo to Chicago and that they wanted to transfer me from Telshe to Skokie, I couldn’t wait. I had been most impressed by the Rabbanim sent over the years by the Yeshiva to my father’s shul for the Yomim Noraim. These were my role models. I wanted to be just like them, even when I was in Telshe. I could not wait to go to the school which produced such people.
The Yeshiva had always been involved in controversy. I’m sure it was there long before I started attendfed it. And the controversy was almost always generated by the left. The earliest controversy, that I know about was the creation of Rose Cohen College for Women. That was the school that never was. The city fathers would not allow it. That’s because it was to be located right next to the Yeshiva and was supposed to have dorms, if I recall correctly. The building was built on campus about a block away from the Yeshiva. But that school never happened. That building became Hillel Torah, the Modern Orthodox day school here.
There were many other such events during my tenure there. There was the inception of the Traditional movement with the imprimatur of Rabbi Chaim David Regnesberg, a most respected Rosh Yeshiva and immense Talmud Chacham, originally from Lithuania, who encouraged Musmachim to take Non-Mechitza Shuls. He was L’Shama. But the city fathers and just about every Rav and Posek in the world disagreed with him. This of course caused a great deal of controversy with the effects still being felt today.
Then there was the firing of various Roshei Yeshiva: Rav Chaim Zimmerman, Rav Aharon Soloveichik, (technically he wasn’t fired, his contract was just not renewed when it came up) and Rav Dovid Castle. In short the school was in a downward spiral with a bullet. It had even been put in Cherem for some of these firings. At least that’s what we had all heard as students there at the time.
The most important period of its development as it relates to this issue began right after Rav Aharon was fired. The board of directors then consisted of mostly Traditional shul members some of whom were not even Frum… and their Traditional rabbis, who were all Frum. They could not wait to be rid of Rav Aharon (there were some very notable and courageous exceptions who fought for Rav Aharon).
They were then free to run the school the way they chose. But the school fell apart. At one point in the early eighties it became almost exclusively a Yeshiva for the children of Iranian Jews, refugees from the Islamic revolution of Ayatolah Khomeini. This was not the kind of school the board really wanted. The president of the school who was originally rejected by Rav Aharon because he was Traditional Rabbi, was now himself let go. He went on to found Davka.
With no where to go but up, the religious members of the board had convinced the other members that the only way to become a successful Yeshiva again was to hire a president who knew what a Yeshiva was. That man, Rabbi Don Well proceeded to do so. He immediately hired a top notch staff of Rebbeim, some of whom are still there. And he hired a high school principal who turned out to be the most effective and popular principals the school ever had, Rabbi Irwin Pollack, now of Michlala.
They started attracting decent students. But after a while the school hit a plateau. It had reached the state of being a good religious high school but was not yet a Yeshiva. No night seder. No dorm requirements. Optional Sunday afternoon Seder. The borad decided to evaluate the Yeshiva and set up a board committee to do so. I was on that committee. We studied the situation and came up with recommendations. One of those recommendations was to get a Rosh HaYeshiva and to give him complete control over the Yeshiva. This is the one thing that caused Rav Aharon to be fired. He was originally given such control but the board took it away from him as a condition of his contract renewal. Rav Aharon rejected that and he was let go. But it was felt that this would be the only way to gain respectabilty as a Yeshiva and to get things done.
By now the board now consisted of mostly Frum Jews. And they were now willing to give a Rosh Yeshiva such power. At this point in time I approached the President, Rabbi Well, as a board member and asked him about the feasibility of getting Rav Aharon back. He agreed to let me explore the possibility. I made it my mission to do get Rav Aharon to return as Rosh HaYeshiva. By this time Rav Aharon was the Rosh HaYeshiva at Brisk, which was floundering. He was also giving Shiurim at Yeshiva University... commuting from Chicago to New York every week.
I made an appointment to see my Rebbe. We sat and spoke for over three hours trying to figure out a way to get him back into the Yeshiva. It was a tough row to hoe. He demanded all of his power back. And, understandably he demanded all the Rebbeim at Brisk be hired.
After the meeting, I made the rounds. I spoke to every influential board member I could. I soon found out, there was no great interest in bringing him back and certainly not in adding an entire high school staff… a staff they already had. Needless to say, it didn’t happen. It couldn’t happen. But they still needed a Rosh Yeshiva.
Rabbi Well had brought in an Israeli Kollel a few years before so as to create an instant Beis Hamedrash presence. Since the school had a Mizrachi orientation, they chose an Israeli Kollel. It came intact and complete with a Rosh Kollel, Rav Shlomo Morgentstern, who could not speak English. The board was getting desperate. They could not find anyone who was willing to become the Rosh HaYesihva there. Rabbi Morgenstern’s Kollel was supposed to return to Israel and he was determined to go back home, to Israel. The board turned to Rabbi Morgenstern, the Israeli Rosh Kollel and offered him the position as Rosh HaYeshiva. After a bit of negotiation and promises of full power, he accepted. But not before he asked his Rav, Yosef Sholom Elyashiv. Rav Elyashiv agreed.
And that's the situation now. A protégé of Rav Elyashiv is running the Yeshiva. He has complete control. …comlpete and unchallengeable power. The only thing the board demanded in return was that the college program remain and become accredited. He agreed. And this happened. Rabbi Well in the meantime had his authority as president transferred to Rabbi Morgenstern, which was actually against the consitution of the school. He was originally hired as the CEO and the power was to flow through him. He did not accept the new terms working under a Rosh Yeshiva so he too was let go. In fact the position of President was left vacant to avoid any possibility of a clash. A new position was created: Chancellor. He would be the defacto president but work under the Rosh Yeshiva.
The Yeshiva grew under Rav Morgenstern but it veered strongly to the right. And that is where it sits today. It has a Charedi Hashkafa and a Charedi Rosh HaYeshiva who is a Talmid of Rav Elyashiv. He even sought and received approval as a recognized RW Yeshiva from Rav Elia Svei (when he was still healthy). The Yeshiva has thrived under Rav Morgenstern, who has since learned to speak English very well. But Torah UMada is anathema there now. The college is there, but it’s purpose is utilitarian. And it has no intention of expanding. People like Dr. Eliezer Berkovits would never be allowed to teach there today. In fact, people like Rav Aharon wouldn’t even be hired today. The Rebbeim are firmly Charedi. The Kollel is Charedi. The Beis Hamedrash is populated by Charedim. Those in the college program view it mostly as B’Dieved and strictly for Parnassa purposes.
There is really only one school that represents Centrist Hashkafa, Yeshiva University. The world could have used another school like that. It didn’t really need another Charedi Yeshiva. There are plenty of those, two more right here in Chicago. And that’s really a shame.
