Binyomin Wilhelm
| Binyomin Wilhelm | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 14, 1886 Lodz, Poland |
| Died | 1972 |
| Occupation |
founder, Yeshiva Torah Vodaath (1918) founder, Mifal (1968) |
| Spouse(s) | Blima Wilhelm[1] |
| Parent(s) | Abraham & Chana Wilhelm[2] |
Binyomin Wilhelm (1886–1972)[3] was the founder of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas.[4]
Biography
Born in Lodz, Poland, Binyomin was the oldest son of a Radoshitzer chassidic family.[5]
His mother passed away when he was eight years old,[6] and he left Europe by himself in 1907 based on correspondence with a friend who preceded him to America.[7]
He first peddled a pushcart, until he had made enough money to rent a store. Within less than two years he had his own houseware business.[8]
Torah Vodaas
He moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where he wanted to open a yeshiva for boys. At that time, the few yeshivos that existed in the United States—Yeshivas HaRav Yaakov Yosef, Etz Chaim Yeshiva, Yeshivas HaRav Shlomo Kluger—were all in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Wilhelm envisioned a yeshiva that taught secular studies in the afternoons.[4] Wilhelm had to overcame large opposition to his type of yeshiva. Most parents did not want to send their children to yeshiva. There was also opposition from the other side. Some parents held that a yeshiva should be purely for Jewish studies.
Wilhelm was active in Torah Vodaas until his 80's, when he moved to Israel in 1968. There, he founded a network of afternoon programs for Sephardic youth in developing areas, which was to strengthen their commitment to Judaism. He called the network Mifal Torah Vodaas.[9]
Belsky link
Wilhelm's future Mechutanim, Berel and Chana Belsky, moved from Williamsburg to Kensington in the 1970.[10] Their mutial grandson, Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, years later, was a rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas.[8]
References
- ↑ "Close to 1,000 attend Yartzeit Seuda of Rebbetzin Blima Wilhelm". May 10, 2010.
- ↑ "Chana Wilhelm - Historical records and family trees".
- ↑ "Binyomin Wilhelm (1886 - 1972)". geni.com.
- 1 2 Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum (June 25, 2015). "Machberes - Torah Vodaath's $1 million gift". Five Towns Jewish Times.
- ↑ "Wilhelm Genealogy, Wilhelm family history".
- ↑ "The Bruder family (extract from a longer interview with Rabbi Yisroel Belsky)". JewishAction.com.
- ↑ Age 20
- 1 2 "We've Lost Our Guiding Light: Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, zt'l (1938–2016)". The 5 Towns Jewish Times. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
- ↑ "Mifal Torah Vodaath Holds Annual Melave Malke". "Founded in 1968 by the Torah pioneer and builder R' Binyomin Wilhelm, z"l, after he moved to Israel Mifal played a major role in turning the tide that was ..."
- ↑ Finkelman 2017, p. 20
Sources
- Finkelman, Shimon (2017), Rav Belsky, New York: Mesorah Publications, ISBN 978-1-4226-1951-3