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

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IN RETROSPECT By Dr. ShelIey R. Safir JusT abouT TwenTy-Tive years ago, The auThoriTies and Ieaders oT The Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary IThe Yeshival were conTronTed wiTh The pressing problem oT whaT To do wiTh The boys who had compIeTed Their eIemenTary sTudies in The parochial schools oT The Two or Three YeshivoTh Then exisTing and were ready To enTer high school. Two courses were open To The DirecIors. One was To permiT The boys To proceed To The public high schools To pursue Their secular sTudies, Thereby sacriTicing The rich background oT Jewish learning which was To serve as The basis Tor The TurTher undersTanding and appreciaTion oT The hisTory and IiTeraTure, The Iaws and cusToms oT our people and The knowledge oT The Holy Torah. The oTher alTernaTive was To Tound a secondary school as parT of The Yeshiva, where The boys could conTinue, under one roof, The subiecTs oT The high school curriculum wiThouT disconTinuing or inTerrupTing Their Talmudic and Jewish sTudies in The Yeshiva. Our direcTors and Ieaders solved The problem by Tounding The Talmudical Academy, The TirsT academic high school in America under Jewish auspices, under The compleTe conTroI and supervision oT The Yeshiva, where The spiriTuaI environ- menT is in harmony wiTh The immorTaI precepTs and TruThs oT our holy Iaws: where The Jewish spiriT unhampered, is encouraged To develop To iTs TuIIesT exTenT. In This environmenT, permeaTed by a sympaTheTic undersTanding beTween Teacher and pupil and by a close harmony beTween The aTmosphere oT The school and ThaT oT The home. The besT ThaT is in The sTudenT has been broughT To The surTace, I-Iow well This plan has worked ouT is Tully and amply aTTesTed by The hisTory oT The progress and The successes which our high school has enjoyed Tor The pasT Two and a haIT decades. In all iTs aspecTs, Talmudical Academy has wriTTen a chapTer in Jewish educaTion oT which iTs sponsors and iTs leaders have every reason To be proud. IT was To aTTord These seIecTed Tew, This small remnanT oT The ToTaI Jewish sTudenT body in our ciTy, The opporTuniTy oT conTinuing Their secular sTudies in an environmenT conducive To The preservaTion oT Their rich heriTage oT Jewish knowledge and cuITure, ThaT Talmudical Academy was Tounded TwenTy-Tive years ago. In I9I5, appIicaTion was made To The Board oT RegenTs oT The UniversiTy oT The STaTe oT New York Tor permission To organize courses which would meeT The enTrance requiremenTs prescribed by The meTropoIiTan college enTrance boards, and also Those Iaid down by The New York CiTy Board oT EducaTion Tor iTs own high schools. Four years IaTer, in November I9I9, when our school was already conducTing a ELCHANITE A T T Three

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Evhiraiinn .I ON THE OCCASION OF HIS FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY, AND THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TALMUDICAL ACADEMY, WE, THE EDITORS. DEDICATE THE ELCHANITE OF I94O TO OUR DEVOTED PRINCIPAL, DR. SHELLEY R. SAFIR, IN RECOGNITION OF HIS UNTIRIN6 EFFORTS ON BEHALF OF THE STUDENTS AND THE SCHOOL.

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compleTe Tour year high school course and was ready To graduaTe iTs TirsT class OT six young men, The Board OT RegenTs accrediTed The work OT Talmudical Academy, and charTered iT, as an inTegral parT OT The Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, as a cOmpleTe high school wiTh all The righTs, privileges and immuniTies To which iT was enTiTled. Talmudical Academy grew Trom a school wiTh Tewer pupils Than iT now has Teachers To one OT The besT privaTe high schools in The STaTe OT New Yorlc. IT is by design a small high school, wiTh a body OT approximaTely Three hundred selecT sTudenTs, and a TaculTy Tully capable OT meeTing The excepTional demands such sTudenTs make upon Them. ExperTs in The various Tields OT sTudy, wiTh wide experience and rich Jewish persOnaliTy have been provided, by choosing wiTh The uTmOsT care, Trom The TaculTies OT The meTropoliTan high schools, and complemenTing This group wiTh men OT sound scholarship and rich Jewish background. The aims OT Talmudical Academy may be brieTly summarized as Tollows: I. To provide Jewish youTh wiTh a secondary school educaTion ThaT will meeT The sTandard OT The besT high schools in The sTaTe OT New York, buT which will be co-ordinaTed and closely bound wiTh The spiriT and The TeneTs OT Judaism. 2. To prepare iTs graduaTes To enTer, wiThouT condiTions, The meTropoliTan colleges, or any OT The beTTer colleges in our counTry. 3. To provide a secular educaTion ThaT will sTrive zealously To imbue The American Jewish yOuTh wiTh The conTribuTion OT The spiriTual values OT Judaism, OT The Jewish ideals OT educaTion, oT The Jewish liTe-philosophy and OT The Jewish perspecTive upon learning and lcnowledge. ' 4. To raise generaTions OT American Jewish youTh imbued wiTh a wholesome respecT and a deep love Tor The counTry OT Their adopTiOn, The UniTed STaTes OT America, and Tor iTs insTiTuTions, and Tor Their whole-hearTed co-operaTiOn in preserv- ing and deTending The spiriT OT democracy and liberTy under which iT is our privilege To live. During The quarTer OT a cenTury ThaT Talrnudical Academy has carried on iTs work, TirsT down-Town, on MonTgOmery STreeT and EasT Broadway, and Then in iTs presenT home On WashingTon l-leighTs. iTs academic record sTands almosT unequaled. The consisTenTly high perccrfage OT sTaTe scholarships granTed To iTs graduaTes, The high raTings achieved, and The percenTage OT sTudenTs who pass The sTaTe wide cOmpeTiTive TesTs conducTed by The Board OT RegenTs p'aces Talmudical Academy aT, or very near, The Top OT The lisT OT secondary schools in New Yorlc STaTe. Equally graTiTying is The TacT ThaT over 90 percenT OT The graduaTeS OT The Academy have conTinued Their sTudies in insTiTuTions OT higher learning. Talmudical Academy has Thus proved iTselT more Than an insTiTuTion OT Four ELci-iANiTE