MTA--The Historical Dimension

From Tradition to Modernity

The history of MTA began nearly eighty-five years ago with the ambitious challenge of introducing an American educational system to a largely immigrant community of New York Jews. The resulting school, now known as The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (TMSTA), traces its roots back nearly a century to the amalgamation of two modest yeshivot on the Lower East Side. Since that time, it has served as a model for countless Yeshiva high schools in the metropolitan area. Firmly rooted in the doctrine of Torah U'Maddah, YUHS aimed to harmonize traditional Judaic ideals with the notion that secular scholarship was an essential factor relevant to the endurance of Orthodoxy in America.

Seeking to maintain the strict standards of yeshiva study rooted in Europe during the late-nineteenth century, the first American Yeshiva, Yeshivat Etz Chaim, was founded in 1886. It pledged two hours a day to the study of English in addition to a full schedule of Judaic studies. Ten years later, the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) was created, pledging similarly to instruct yeshiva students in English - a novel idea at the time. Despite its seemingly liberal educational philosophy, the school gained the public support of the Agudat HaRabbanim of New York.

Although each institution faced demanding individual financial pressures, businessman David Cohen sought to merge the neighboring yeshivot. His goal was to create a unified vehicle to promote the idea of "Judaism and Americanism," an ideal sustained by his successor, Harry Fischel. This union gave rise to what is now Yehiva University's high school for boys. Dr. Bernard Revel, head of the Rabbinical College of America, in collaboration with Dr. Solomon Hurwitz, sought to use the schools in creating the first high school in America under Jewish auspices.

The Talmudical Academy (TA) opened its doors to approximately 20 students on September 3, 1916, with yeshiva classes given from 9:00 a.m. through 3:00 in the afternoon, followed by secular subjects until 7:00 p.m. By June of 1919, the New York State Board of Regents had chartered it as a fully accredited four-year high school. Academic success soon followed, as the choice consortium of teachers whom Revel assembled provided limitless opportunities for TA students.

Impressive academic quality, as evidenced by a passing rate of 95 percent of TA graduates on their Regents examinations, allowed the student body to double to nearly 400 individuals between 1921 and 1923. The overwhelming popularity of the institution was backed by the introduction of an additional Judaic Studies program. RIETS succeeded in blending the fiscally beleaguered Mizrachi Teachers Institute's Hebrew studies program with the school's pre-existing Talmud program. In addition, the honor society Segulah, The Elchanite (which eventually became the school's yearbook), and the Academy News were established in the 1920s and 1930s.

Because of this tremendous growth, Dr. Revel proposed a plan to establish a four-year college to the Yeshiva's Board of Directors in 1923 in order to alleviate the sense of discontinuity that fell the shoulders of TA graduates. Wasting little time, the fantasy soon evolved into reality, as intense fundraising efforts proved enormously successful. Selecting its current home in Washington Heights as the future site of TA, the grandiose plans for the campus were partially fulfilled, under the stewardship of Harry Fischel, with the completion of the eclectically designed Main Building, the first building of the proposed Yeshiva campus to be constructed.

However, the economic distress that dominated America in the 1930s proved disastrous for Yeshiva University and Revel's lofty ambitions. Increased competition from new secondary Jewish day schools halved enrollment to just over 200 by 1932. Additionally, many contributors reneged on pledges, forcing the yeshiva to defer payments to faculty members for months at a time. In fact, it was not until the Second World War that Yeshiva managed to pay all of the salaries it had owed for more than a decade.

But the worst obstacles hindering TA's survival were still to come. With the premature death of Dr. Revel in 1940, a power struggle erupted between the Agudat Ha-Rabbanim and the Board of Directors over who would gain control over the institution. Eventually, Dr. Samuel Belkin, a scholarly disciple of Dr. Revel, was chosen to pave the way for academic success through expansion at Yeshiva. Meanwhile, a five-year attack by the New York State Board of Regents sought to mandate a curriculum for all New York yeshivot similar to the public school system. It would have required that mornings be dedicated to secular studies, in effect, an attempt to obliterate yeshiva day school education as a whole.

In an offensive against all New York yeshivot with agendas similar to TA's trailblazing path, the Board of Regents resolved to close TA and 25 area yeshivot based on a legal technicality implying that all schools teach secular courses during the same hours as they were taught at public schools. While the New York Jewish community joined forces in battle, they achieved little aside from temporary reprieve. The Board of Regents allowed the yeshivot to remain open until a sound compromise could be reached; however, the granting of concessions by the Board of Regents was few and far between.

Masterful legalese allowed the yeshivot to disprove - and even embarrass - the Board of Regents, while countering additional assertions by the Board that the yeshivot in fact promoted, rather than constrained, American ideals. Nevertheless, since no sound resolution was reached by June of 1943, the yeshivot simply outlasted the Board of Regents. After five years of senseless negotiation, the denouement only resulted in cosmetic changes for TA and the 25 other established New York yeshivot.

Rapid expansion for TA marked the 1940s and 1950s. The Brooklyn Talmudical Academy recruited 48 students in 1945, while the Central Yeshiva High School for Girls opened in 1948 and the Yeshiva University High School for Girls arose 11 years later. This created a unified Yeshiva assemblage of immense proportions. Evolvement on campus brought about significant changes for students, from the founding of a club period in 1951 to the establishment of vast library resources and the development of a guidance department to inform students about college and career opportunities.

With a total enrollment of 1,717 at the four institutions in 1968, and with 20 to 30 percent of all applicants rejected each year, this collective was at its peak, though a decline was inevitable. Enrollment dropped almost 30 percent during the next eight years, with the Brooklyn branches suffering the most. As competition among Yeshiva high schools increased, the Manhattan Talmudical Academy exemplified Orthodoxy's shift to the right with respect to the eventual evaporation of the Hebrew department, which comprised less than four percent of the student body by 1976. Moreover, the rising wages of public school teachers made it harder for the Yeshiva University High Schools to pay competitive salaries, and the quality of educators steadily declined.

Despite such problems, the creation of a busing service throughout the region eased the recruitment process. Additionally, the establishment of an Early Admissions program allowed the remaining Yeshiva University High Schools (after the Brooklyn Talmudical Academy and the Manhattan Girls school were closed due to steep declines in enrollment) to preserve tuition revenues while reducing the strain of the secular studies division. Also, the establishment of the Joseph S. and Caroline Gruss Life Monument Fund allotted funds to pay teachers' salaries, purchase computers, and provide other useful teaching equipment. The success of the Early Admissions program (the consequence of which was an increase in the size of the student body), as well as unwavering recruiting efforts throughout New Jersey and Brooklyn, reversed the decline of the 1970s. The result was a successful turnaround dominated by a more conservative, Americanized student body with an intense connection to the principles of Torah U'Maddah.

The evolution of MTA from its modest beginnings is representative of the evolution of the metropolitan Jewish community over the course of the past century. The historical link forged between MTA and Yeshiva University has developed into a continuum of Jewish education. Grounded in firm halakhic ideals, MTA remains true to its principles by providing the most comprehensive education, both yeshiva and high school, available today.

Research for this article came partially from the publication Between Tradition and Modernity, A History of the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, by Dr. Seth Taylor, published by YU in honor of the 75th anniversary of MTA.

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