Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study
The Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study, also known as WITS, is an Orthodox high school for boys in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is an affiliate of Chofetz Chaim, and is also known as Yeshivas Ohr Yechezkel. WITS is an all-day private Jewish high school consisting of two programs: a Judaic studies curriculum, and a university-preparing program for advanced secular scholarship. It is located on Lake Drive in the Upper East Side of Milwaukee, overlooking Lake Michigan.
History
WITS was founded in the 1980s, and was subsequently moved into a mansion overlooking the lake that had been turned into a nunnery and was now being turned into a yeshiva. In 2004 they added another section to the building, consisting of a beis medrash, classrooms, and a computer lab. It would have also included a gym and a new dining room, turning the old dining room in to office space, but legal issues got in the way. As the building was built in the very early 1900s and is considered a historic landmark of Milwaukee, the new building was placed behind the old building, hiding it from sight, while also making it with the same type and color material as the old building. On June 17 2010, the third floor caught on fire, due to electric malfunctions. It has since been renovated and is in full use.
The current deans of the school are Rabbi Avrohom Boruch Rauch, and Rabbi Yehuda Cheplowitz. The president is Alan Borsuk, and the chairman of the Board is David Hartman. Rabbi Raphael Wachsman, z"l, one of the founding deans passed away on February 6, 2018.