The Yeshiva Gedola Lubavitch, London (Lubavitch Talmudic
Academy) is part of an international group of Yeshivas that had
their origins in Russia in the late 19th century.
The first such Yeshiva was founded in the town of Lubavitch in
1897 by Rabbi Sholom Ber Schneersohn, the fifth Rebbe of the
Lubavitch dynasty whose ethos is predicated on the cardinal Torah
principle of “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Inaugurating the Yeshiva, Rabbi Schneersohn said that he wanted
a Yeshiva where the time-honoured traditional texts were studied
combined with the study of Chabad philosophy and esoteric
disciplines, so that the graduates would be distinguished “both in
the study halls and in the market place.” They would achieve not
only academic excellence but a refinement of their personal
development, so that wherever they went, they would illuminate
their environment with deeds of goodness and kindness, serving
as a good influence to others.
Due to religious persecution in the early 20th century, the location
of this Yeshiva moved, first to Riga and then to Poland.
In 1940, the Lubavitch headquarters relocated to New York, USA,
where under successive leaderships over the next 50 years,
particularly under that of Rabbi Menachem M Schneerson, the
seventh Rebbe of the dynasty, it grew until it has become the
largest international educational establishment with kindergartens,
schools, seminaries and Yeshivos throughout the USA and on
every continent in the world. Its publishing branch produces
religious books in many languages. Its centres worldwide, catering
for the complete spectrum of Jewish men, women and children
regardless of their affiliation or background, have achieved an
unrivalled reputation for providing formal and informal education,
and care and concern, both spiritually and materially, for the
communities they serve.
In 1978, as a mark of honour, by a Joint Resolution of the US
Senate and Congress and approved by President Jimmy Carter,
Rabbi Menachem M Schneerson’s birth date was proclaimed as
“Education Day USA.” Again, in 1989, a similar Resolution was
approved by President George Bush, nominating the Rebbe’s birth
date as Education Day 1989 and 1990 in recognition of “his
promotion of education that embraces moral and ethical values
and emphasises their importance.”
In 1995, the Rebbe was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal,
an honour bestowed to only 100 Americans, for “outstanding and
lasting contributions towards improvements in world education,
morality and acts of charity.”
It was under Rabbi Schneerson’s patronage and guidance that the
Lubavitch Foundation of Great Britain (a registered charity) was
founded at the end of the first half of the 20th century.
It has since grown into a national organisation covering the whole
of the United Kingdom with, amongst its other centres, a schools
system for boys and girls from kindergarten to senior schools.
October 1982 saw the opening of the Yeshiva Gedola Lubavitch,
London, an autonomous division of the Lubavitch Foundation and
part of the international Lubavitch Yeshivos network.
In the thirty years since its inauguration, the Yeshiva has grown in
size and has achieved a reputation for both academic excellence
and refinement of character that now attracts more applications
from students at home and abroad than it can at present
accommodate.
The teaching staff consists of full-time and part-time lecturers and
tutors. All the teaching staff have Rabbinical Ordination, a
considerable period of post-qualification study, a high standard of
knowledge of their subjects and broad experience in the field of
education.
They are under the leadership of the Dean , הראש ישיבה Rabbi Y. M. Hertz שליט”א
a renowned Talmudic scholar and Rabbi, himself a scion of the
Lubavitch Yeshiva network. Rabbi Hertz also serves as the Mara Deasra
for Ana’sh in North-west London, as well as a Rov moreh horah for
the התאחדות קהילות החרדים, (Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations)
Rabbi Mendel Gordon, who has been a driving force in the Yeshiva since
its inception serves as the Mashpia Roshi, concerning himself with the
welfare of the students. Rabbi Gordon can be reached at his home number:
442084550385
Rabbi Yosef Zilbershtein serves as a Maggid shuir for Chassidus
Rabbi Gedaliah Liberman serves as the ‘ר’ם שיעור ב
Rabbi Yosef Schtroks serves as the ‘ר’ם שיעור א
Rabbi Mendel Jacobs serves as the Mashgiach