Yeshiva Gedola of Passaic - History

History

In 1973 Rabbi Shneur Kotler, rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha, Rabbi Nosson Meir Wachtfogel, mashgiach ruchani of Beth Medrash Govoha, and Rabbi Dov Lesser supported the idea of opening a community kollel in Passaic. These Gedolim chose Rabbi Chaim Davis, founder of the Toronto Community Kollel, and Rabbi Wiesenfeld, then a rosh mesivta (head) of Beth Hatalmud Rabbinical College, to head the new institution. In mid-1973, however, Rabbi Wiesenfeld became seriously ill and was replaced by Rabbi Meir Stern. Rabbi Wiesenfeld died at age 49 on 24 September 1981.

The Yeshiva Gedola of Passaic opened with 10 unmarried students in the yeshiva section and 10 married students in the kollel section. By the mid-1980s enrollment had reached nearly 100 students.

In 1989 the yeshiva relocated to its own campus, including a beth midrash (study hall), dining room and dormitories.

The growing yeshiva, together with the installation of an eruv and a mikveh, turned Passaic into a more desirable location for Orthodox Jewish families. Passaic's close proximity to New York (it is located minutes away from the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel) also appealed to breadwinners who commuted to New York daily. Beginning in the mid-1980s, more and more Orthodox families began moving to Passaic. As of 2006, the Jewish community had mushroomed to 1300 families in a two-square-mile area, with a net gain of 80 families per year, making it the second-fastest growing Jewish community behind Lakewood, New Jersey.