Yeshiva University High School For Boys - Elchanite Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Fourteen THE ELCHANITE TEN YEARS of the LM DICAL ACADEMY Dr. Shelley R. Szzfir Ten years ago, during the last week in December 1916, I first became acquainted with the Yeshiva and its new high-school, the Talmudical Academy. lily friend, Dr. Israel Kliegler who is now chief health of- ficer of Palestine and Professor of bacterio- logy in the L'niversity of Palestine, was then the instructor of biology in the Yeshi- va high-school. In order that he might be able to attend the meeting of the National Academy for the Advancement of Science then held in Philadelphia, he asked me to take his place in the Yeshiva high-school during the week of his absence. A month later. February first, 1917, Dr. Iiliegler re- signed his position as instructor of biology. The late Dr. Solomon T. H. Hurwitz, the first principal and beloved leader of the Talmudical Academy. offered me the posi- tion he had relinquished. It is often said that first impressions are lasting ones. I shall never forget the im- pression the Yeshiva made upon me the first time I entered its portals. I had expected to see a large structure situated in an en- vironment conducive to uninterrupted and concentrated study and provided with all the resources which an institution like the Rabbinical College of America might beex- pected to possess. Instead, the directions which I had received led me to a modest- looking. unimpressive, little brick building. situated in the heart of the clatter and noise of the crowded East Side. of 9-11 llont- gomery Street. It was not long before I became ac- quainted with the other instructorslin the school-there were only five others, includ- ing the principal, llessrs. Stern, Rosen- garten and Lieberman and Dr. Barcarat- and with all the thirty odd students thell attending the school. 1 must COHTCSS that the earnestness, not to mention the ease and facility with which they grasped the subject that I taught fa condition so different from that prevailing in the public high schoolj fascinated me from the start. Bly students and I were soon fast friends and a troop of them used to accompany me to the sta- tion every evening, asking questions or seek- ing advice or offering information gratis. Thus the school went on without much excitement until the fall of 1918. lily one small class had grown to two classes, and at my suggestion a laboratory for twenty- four was fitted out in the basement of the building. During the summer I had gath- ered much biologic material at the llarine Biological Laboratory at VVoods Hole, llass., where I had carried on research work, and when I came back we had a small but fairly well equipped supply room, including even a compound microscope. The year 1913 was the year of the de- vastating influenza epidemic and I soon heard that Dr. Bacarat, our French teacher, was seriously ill with pneumonia. A little later, the news reached us that our beloved saintly principal, Dr. Hurwitz, was also dangerously ill. Our ranks were increased by the coming of Dr. Steinbach from Johns Hopkins to share the teaching of English with Dr. Hurwitz, the addition of Dr. VVinkler brought us a good teacher in Latin and German, while lllr. Heller had come to take care of the artistic proclivities of our young llichael Angelos. illy surprise was deeply commingled with grief when I was summoned by the head of the institution, Dr. Bernard Revel, and with tears in his voice, he informed me that Dr, Hurwitz's illness had taken a tu1'n for the worse and that he was not expected to recover and that I was to acquaint myself with the office details, preparatory to as- suming charge of the Talmudical Academy as acting-principal. Soon after, in Alan.,

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THE ELCHANITE Thirteen teaching of the truth of the Torah which stand eternal in a world of changing and shifting standards and valuesg to the affirm- ations of the faith of our fathers concern- ing God, Israel and the Torah in their totality, to life in the spirit of these af- firmations, to the Jewish ideals of life and conduct and the sanctifying power of its institutions, in union with the creative cul- ture and humanizing forces of the time, with unshal-:en loyalty to our beloved coun- try. It is for this, our Torah, and for our traditions, which have made possible the very existence of Israel and which have maintained the historic and spiritual unity of eternal Israel, that the Yeshiva stands. Infinite have been the significance and the influence of the Yeshiva in the life of Israel. Throughout the ages, the Yeshivoth have been the well-springs of the word of God and of idealismg they are interwoven in the fabric of Israelis soul and the life of thought. The Yeshiva brings to American Israel this message of a living and creative Judaism, the message of the Torah which goes to the heart of life, that through the ages has been the solid rock upon which Jewish life has buildedg it is dedicated to the transformation into living expression of the ideals of the Torah. The Yeshiva movement in this country is American Israel's recognition that there is only one sure approach to the problem of the perpetuation of Judaism: the culti- vation of the extensive and intensive study of the Torah, developing a higher standard of Jewish life and a deeper understanding and appreciation of the opportunities and obligations of Judaism in this land and age. The one power which American Israel can summon in the war it is waging for self-preservation, against the forces of dis- integration in our surroundings, is that of the efficient and complete Jewish school, culminating in the Yeshiva. The Yeshiva will bring to ever increasing numbers of youth the true pe1'spective of his- toric Judaism in the complex organization of modern life, combining with the learn- ing of the world to-day those values and ideals which have been the strength and the sustaining faith of our fathers, for the en- richment of the life of the Jewish com- munity and of America. The Yeshiva will help span the widening chasm between in- tellectualism and faith in Jewish life and thought. It will embue our Jewish youth with an active and abiding interest in, and a spirit of service, to the cause of Israel.

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THE ELCHANITE Fifteen l9l9, Dr. Hurwitz passed away. His spirit will last as a treasured memory among the early pupils of the Talmudical Academy. The school had grown and I found my- self in charge of some eighty odd students and seven teachers. Among these was an increasing number of teachers drawn from the public high school faculties. The of- fice administration and routine were com- pletely reorganized in conformity with the practice which obtains in the modern, up- to-date high schools and the ,equipment and facilities improved so as to meet the re- quirements of a modern school house. The results of the Regents examinations proved that we were doing work of a very high calibre, fully equal to that done in the lar- ger and better equipped city high schools. Visitors from Albany came to inspect our work from time to time and, our school was successively recognized as a junior, lliid- dle and Senior high school. By that time our first class, a doughty band of five, was ready to graduate, and we wondered what Albany's attitude would be. Would we be recognized as a full-fledged high school empowered to grant diplomas admitting our graduates to the colleges? After many anxious days during which we were in- spected and examined and reexamined word Came to us, Nov, 2-l, l9l9, that we were recognized as a complete high school and authorized to grant our own diplomas, en- titled to state scholarships and to academic and college entrance Regents diplomas on the same basis as the city high schools. Ac- cordingly, our first class of five was gradu- ated in June, 1919 and among their num- ber there was one winner of a state scholar- ship. This happy event served as a spur and stimulus to interested Jewry. SUIGCHYS from all sides began to apply for admission. and we soon found ourselves outgrowing our crowded quarters. XVe moved over into our present building in 1921, in order to accommodate the ever growing school which now numbered over two hundred students. ln the new building, as in the old, the school continued to expand, grow- ing in the course of two years, from two hundred to four hundred. Parallel with the growth in numbers there has been a growth in effectiveness of teaching ,in the spirit of cooperation, in efiiciency of admin- istration so that to-day the Talmudical Academy is known far and wide for the splendid academic training it affords its students. G During all these years the thing that has impressed me most is the spirit and the idealism which pervades the institution and particularly its students. Contrasted with the boys of the city high schools one finds much to commend in our boys. In compar- ing them with those of the city high schools one must take into consideration the many handicaps they have to contend with. lllany of them are but recent arrivals in this coun- try, the language of which is foreign to them. lliost of them come from homes where English is spoken imperfectly if at all. Nloreover, there is the long day from 9 A. IW. to 7 P. RI., during which our boys carry double the burden of the average high school boy combining with the Talmud and Hebrew work of the morning hours, the secular studies of the afternoon. And yet in spite of these handicaps, per- haps because of them, it would be difiicult to find a student body among whom there is developed to such a high degree the in- tense seriousness of purpose, singleness of aim and application and devotion to their studies both religious and secular. lVVith them, unlike their brothers and,sisters in the public and private high-schools, educa- tion is not so much a training or making a living but a training for lifeg to live the lives of Jews conscious and mindful of their heritage and the culture of the past as well as that of the present. It is almost superfluous to mention again the high achievements of our students in scholarship. The records from year to year demonstrate the high standing that is main- tained by the students of the Academy. The Regents examinations are passed with aver- ages, and by a percentage of the pupils, that exceed those of most of the city high-schools. Another interesting indication of compara- tive achievement may be secured by observ- ing the records of those graduates of the various high-schools who have sought ad- mission by entrance examinations into the College of the City of New York. lnvari- ably, the graduates of our high-school make