Greatness for Gedolah

The storefront yeshiva needed space. Its reputation attracted college-age and married kollel students from far and wide. Three blocks away, a rundown corner property offered an ideal possibility to expand. On May 22, hundreds gathered in Woodmere to break ground on the Yeshiva Gedolah’s future home, as prominent rabbinic leaders and elected officials spoke of its potential.

“We are limited in our storefront and it’s packed every night. We have all types of shiurim,” said Woodmere resident Steven Fox, a board member at the yeshiva. “With more space, it will become a household name and a true institution.” An attorney during the
day, Fox is among a number of local professionals who count on the yeshiva to meet their Torah learning needs.

Though the post-high school yeshiva counts approximately 70 students within its yeshiva and kollel, the Mosher Avenue property allows for a sanctuary fit for 200 worshippers, alongside classes and a dining hall. In total providing space for a 17,000 square foot building. “The yeshiva is trying to meet the demand. Right now, the shiurim happen in shuls and homes. The need is great,” said board member Motti Fox, whose son Aharon, 9, had his bris in the storefront yeshiva. On the sidewalk behind the crowded groundbreaking, a cherry picker signified the yeshiva’s
other major contribution to the community, the maintenance of the eruv. “Our guys out on the eruv truck at three in the morning. We serve the community,” said Fox.

“Thoughout our history, yehivas were always a part of klal Israel. The building of a yeshiva is so much a simcha to the klal and the local community,” said Rabbi Yitzchok Knobel, director of the kollel. Rabbi Mattisyahu Salomon, head of the famed Bais Medrah Govoha in Lakewood offered an endorsement and congratulations at the groundbreaking. “I didn’t come here to give chizuk, I got chizuk, and I am not disappointed,” said Rabbi Salomon. “The person who
studies Torah is a witness to the holiness of Torah.”

The corner property was purchased five years ago, and its efforts were boosted by an anonymous donor who paid off the mortgage in full, leaving only the building expenses, estimated around $5 million.

Following the groundbreaking, demolition commenced on the site’s vacant structures. “The idea is to have the foundation poured in the summer and complete the construction in 18 months,” Fox said. “With a building like this, people want to see progress then they will give.”

The construction of a large study hall for adults on the eastern edge of the Five Towns serves as a counterpart to the Darchei Torah and Sh’or Yoshuv kollels on the western edge. Bookends in the story of a burgeoning Jewish community.