Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel

The Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel was incorporated in 1917 as an Orthodox afternoon Hebrew school in Cleveland, Ohio. Its purpose according to the Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel constitution has been to "conduct communal Hebrew schools providing primary and secondary educational facilities to the Jewish community of greater Cleveland." The school has always been communally oriented, receiving financial and educational support from various Orthodox congregations in greater Cleveland. In its curriculum and method of instruction, it adheres to Jewish laws and strict Orthodox traditions.

Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel has been governed by a board of directors comprised of laymen from Orthodox congregations and a Vaad Hachinuch (Education Committee) consisting of Cleveland Orthodox rabbis and laymen. An active parent-teacher association has been involved in fundraising events and faculty-parent communications throughout the years.

Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel operated four- and five-afternoon-per-week sessions. Its curriculum included the Bible, Talmud, and Jewish ethics. When it began, classes were instructed in Yiddish, but by the early 1940s this language was replaced by Hebrew. The first class to include girls took place in 1944.

Throughout its history, Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel has functioned through various branches and locations throughout the east side of Cleveland. During the first few months of its existence, classes were conducted at the Shomre Shabbos Congregation at East 37th Street and Woodland Avenue in Cleveland. Reb Shmuel Avigdor Spero, president of Shomre Shabbos Congregation, became the first president of Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel. The school soon moved to a converted house on Outhwaite Avenue and East 46th Street. The next move was made in 1920 to Quincy and East 55th Street. In 1926, as the Jewish population shifted in the area, Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel moved again to a building it purchased on Westchester and East 105th streets, where it remained for twenty years. In the 1930s and 1940s, various branches were added or were closed. The main building on Westchester and East 105th was sold in 1946, and Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel made plans to rent facilities. This arrangement was continued until 1962 when Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel moved into a new building on Warrensville Center Road in University Heights, Ohio.

Various affiliations and mergers have done much to change the structure of Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel. In the early years, Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel was financed completely by tuition payments and private solicitations. In 1946, it became affiliated with the Bureau of Jewish Education and became a subsidized agency. This affiliation was to effect the administration and curriculum of the school in the future. The Bureau was adamant in its policy to consolidate afternoon Hebrew schools in the Cleveland area. In 1947 the Bureau approved a recommendation that Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel and the Cleveland Hebrew Schools merge to form one system. Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel did not accept the proposal and a debate concerning this matter continued for some years. Although this consolidation was not affected, Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel did merge with other institutions of its own volition. In 1948 the Oheb Zedek School merged into Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel, and in 1949 the Torah Institute of the Telshe Yeshivath was incorporated. Kinsman, Maramosher, and Heights Jewish Centers joined Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel in 1951, 1956, and 1958 respectively.

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From the guide to the Yeshivath Adath B'nai Israel Records, 1921-1975, (Western Reserve Historical Society)