Yeshiva Kesser Torah

Yeshiva Kesser Torah Rabbinical College of Queens (Hebrew: ישיבה כתר תורה), sometimes abbreviated as YKT, is a synagogue in the Kew Gardens Hills section of Queens. It was founded in 1981 by Rabbi Elyakim Rosenblatt in the Briarwood section of Queens as a kiruv yeshiva. In 1994, it relocated to Kew Gardens Hills.

This article is about the yeshiva/synagogue in Queens, NY. For the school in Sydney, Australia, see Kesser Torah College.
Yeshiva Kesser Torah
ישיבה כתר תורה
In Kew Gardens Hills, June 2020
Religion
AffiliationOrthodox Judaism
Location
LocationKew Gardens Hills, Queens, NY
StateNew York
CountryUnited States of America
Geographic coordinates40°43′35.04″N 73°49′15.05″W
Architecture
FounderRabbi Elyakim Rosenblatt
Date established1970s
Website
https://yeshivakessertorah.org/minyan/

History

Rabbi Elyakim Rosenblatt was a student of both Rabbi Aharon Kotler and Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz.[1] Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz influenced him to spread Torah to as many Jews as possible.[2] He therefore began teaching Torah to non-religious Jewish students in Corona, Queens, where he was a rabbi.[3] It's said that it was his students in Corona that pushed him to start Yeshiva Keser Torah.[2]

In the 1970s, Rabbi Rosenblatt opened the yeshiva on the Grand Central Parkway in Briarwood, near Queens' Main Street, where it remained for over a decade. The dormitory was opened in 1980.[4] In 1994, one of the rebbeim in the yeshiva urged Rabbi Rosenblatt to move Kesser Torah to Kew Gardens Hills where they would be able to reach more people. They therefore purchased a house in the center of Kew Gardens Hills' Jewish community, where the yeshiva is located today. [2] (It occupies the first floor and basement, while the third floor is a private apartment.) The classes in Kesser Torah were not solely for non-religious Jews. There were classes aimed towards everyone that anyone in the community was allowed to join.[3] Over 500 of Rabbi Rosenblatt's classes are accessible today.[5]

Kew Gardens Hills
Yeshiva Kesser Torah's in 2020

In the early 2000s, more minyanim were added to the schedule and the student body began to decrease. The yeshiva then began holding, and currently holds, mincha and maariv minyanim every thirty minutes, with the latest maariv minyan being held at 11:30[6] or midnight.

On Shabbos, Kesser Torah holds one Friday night kabbolas Shabbos and maariv, with shacharis the next morning followed by a small kiddush, two minchas in the afternoon and a shalosh seudos, and one maariv that night. Currently, Kesser Torah is doing construction, building a beis midrash in the basement so that those in the community can study there as well as pray.

COVID-19

At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, Yeshiva Kesser Torah began holding minyanim outside. However, as government restrictions increased in an attempt to stop the spread, they halted all minyanim. Presently, as restrictions are slowly easing in New York, they are holding minyanim on Shabbos only, while adhering to the government guidelines.

At the beginning of the pandemic, after all minyanim were halted, they took the opportunity to paint the main room where services take place and put in a new carpet.

References
  1. Editor, Y. W. (March 28, 2019). "Levaya of HaRav Elyakim Rosenblatt ZATZAL, Rosh Yeshiva of Kesser Torah In Queens".CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  2. Garber, Susie. "Queens Community Mourns The Passing Of HaRav Elyakim Getzel Rosenblatt, Rav Of Yeshiva Kesser Torah". Queens Jewish Link | Connecting the Queens Jewish Community.
  4. https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/local/26-community-corner/2354-remembering-rabbi-elyakim-getzel-rosenblatt-on-his-first-yahrzeit
  5. "TorahAnytime.com". www.torahanytime.com.
  6. "Godaven | Yeshiva Kesser Torah". www.godaven.com.
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