# Yeshivah of Flatbush

The Yeshivah of Flatbush (YOF) is a Modern Orthodox private Jewish day school located in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York. It educates students from age 2 to age 18 and includes an early childhood center, an elementary school and a secondary school.

## History

The Yeshivah of Flatbush (YOF) was founded in 1927 by Joel Braverman, among others. The school, located on East 10th Street in Midwood, Brooklyn (a neighborhood sometimes identified with nearby Flatbush) at first consisted of an early childhood program, an elementary school and a middle school. The high school, founded in 1950 to complement the elementary school, was originally housed in an adjoining building. In 1962, the high school moved into a new building on nearby Avenue J, and the elementary school expanded into what was formerly the high school building.

## Teaching philosophy

The institution combines a Torah education and a secular education for both boys and girls. The school's philosophy is a synthesis of Judaic studies (Bible, Talmud, Jewish thought) and the liberal arts.
One of YOF's fundamental tenets is its "Ivrit b'Ivrit" (lit. 'Hebrew in Hebrew') philosophy of teaching Judaics. This means that the school strives to incorporate Hebrew into Judaic Studies to an extent that the students can grasp it. With this technique, YOF aims to enable its students to achieve fluency in the Hebrew language.

## Student demographics

YOF comprises Jewish students and teachers from a variety of backgrounds. In the past, more than half of the students were Ashkenazi Jews whose families originated from communities in Germany, Poland, Eastern Europe and Russia. In recent years, the majority has shifted to students of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish descent. The overwhelming number of Sephardic students can be attributed to the growth of the Syrian Jewish community in Flatbush, and the decline in Ashkenazi enrollment can be attributed to the movement of Modern Orthodox communities to Long Island and New Jersey, with a concomitant increase in the number and quality of Jewish day schools and yeshivot in those areas. In 2022, the lower school consisted of 1,400 students.

## Post-high school

Many graduates participate in year-long programs at yeshivot and seminaries in Israel. Afterwards, some continue their studies in similar institutions, enroll in university or enlist in the Israel Defense Forces for another year or more. However, most come back to the United States for university. YOF graduates have studied at universities and colleges across the country, from Tulane to the University of Maryland and Boston University to Yale. Some of the most popular universities among YOF's alumni, including Yeshiva University and the City University of New York, grant as much as a year's worth of credit to students who study in Israel for a year, allowing them to apply these credits to their undergraduate degree. A large number of students graduate with college credit due to the many Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses offered in the Junior, Senior, and more recently Sophomore years of high school.

## Leadership

David Eliach was the principal emeritus, following a decades-long tenure as principal of the high school. In later years, Raymond Harari, an alumnus of Yeshivah of Flatbush High School, served as the "head of school" of the high school, followed by Joseph Beyda.
The Elementary School, formerly led by Lawrence Schwed, is currently headed by Yahel Tsaidi.

## Student government

Each spring, the student body of the Yeshivah of Flatbush High School elects four juniors to positions in the Student Government Organization (SGO). These students assume their respective positions the following fall. The SGO plans various trips and other activities for students throughout the year. The SGO also organizes and plans Color War, which occurred recently for the first time, two years in a row.
The Senior Council is similarly chosen every year. Juniors elect four of their peers to lead them into and during their last year in the high school. The council's responsibilities include collecting senior dues and planning the wintertime Senior Ski Trip, the springtime Senior Trip, and the year-ending Senior Dinner.

## Community interaction

Each year, YOF holds events that cater to the New York Jewish community. The largest ones include the annual Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance day) and Yom Ha'atzma'ut (Israel Independence Day) programs, which traditionally feature performances by the high school's Choir and Chamber Choir, now under the direction of Ricky Sasson. In addition to this, a 9/11 memorial program is held annually.
Each month, there is the Sunday Morning Learning program where students, faculty, and alumni get together for prayers, breakfast, and a faculty-prepared presentation of given texts. In addition to this, there are also many alumni and members of the community that come to help at programs.

## Music and the arts

Since the early 1990s, YOF has gained acclaim through its high school and chamber choirs. Under the direction of Daniel Henkin, the choral program at YOF has been featured at venues including New York City Hall, Brooklyn Borough Hall, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Their repertoire spans across genres which include arrangements of both secular and religious pieces. In 2008, Daniel Henkin resigned as choir director and assumed a position at the Ramaz Upper School in Manhattan. Henkin was replaced by Brian Gelfand, and was eventually replaced by Mordy Weinstein and finally Ricky Sasson, who directs the elementary and high school choirs to date. The school also has its annual Jason Botnick memorial Hebrew play, a musical performed each year by a select group of talented students. YOF acquires rights for various musicals and translates them into Hebrew, and they are then performed by the High School students every year during Hanukkah. Past Hebrew plays include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, High School Musical, The Wizard of Oz, and Beauty and the Beast.
In addition to this, the High School has an expressive arts class during 9th grade, which includes a music class during the first semester and an acting/improv course during the second. In a similar fashion, 10th grade offers fine arts during the first semester and graphic design during the second. The students' artwork, as well as pieces from art electives, is then presented in a makeshift art gallery at Evening of the Arts, a theatrical talent exposition of students presenting comedy scenes, musical numbers, solo and band vocal and instrumental performances. Sally Shatzkes is director of the arts department.

## Sports

The Flatbush Falcons compete in a number of sports: the hockey, basketball and volleyball, and bowling teams compete in the fall, while the softball, pickleball, soccer, and boys varsity volleyball squads play in the spring; the swim, badminton, and tennis teams compete year-round. In most cases, teams are members of the Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League, which represents many of the Jewish day schools in the New York area.
The Flatbush Varsity Tennis Team won their first championship ever in June, 2017 beating Heschel 3–2. Players such as Meyer Tawil, Joe Benhaim, and Meyer Kassin led the team to victory.
Two basketball tournaments are held every year. The Thomas Hausdorff Memorial Basketball Tournament in November brings the male junior varsity teams of three American Jewish high schools to Brooklyn for a weekend of competition and solidarity. At the Marc Sackin Memorial Basketball Tournament in December, the varsity team competes against other New York-area Jewish high schools. Hausdorff was a former principal of the school; Sackin was a student killed just days before his scheduled graduation in 1973.

## Academic teams

YOF's academic teams compete in a wide range of areas. Some of the teams include: debate, Mock Trial, Model Congress, the Yeshiva University National Model United Nations, Envirothon, chess, mathematics, College Bowl and Torah Bowl.

## Publications

* The Phoenix – Student newspaper
* Imrei Shefer – A D'var Torah weekly (Hebrew)first initiated in 1974 by Marc Lichtenthal z'l, a member of the Class of 1975.
* Haaretz V'haam – An Israel-affairs newspaper
* Summit – Senior yearbook
* Pegasus – A liberal arts pamphlet

## Notable alumni

* Arlene Agus (1949-2024), feminist and activist
* Howard Apfel, rabbi and noted expert on medical halacha and ethics
* Robert J. Avrech, Emmy Award-winning screenwriter
* David Berger, academic, expert in medieval Jewish history
* David Bernstein (born 1967), Professor, George Mason University School of Law and author
* Lee Bienstock (born 1983), finalist on The Apprentice 5.
* Baruch Samuel Blumberg (1925–2011), recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, identified the Hepatitis B virus
* Chaim Brovender, rosh yeshivah of Yeshivat HaMivtar
* Abraham Foxman (born 1940), former director (1987–2015) of the Anti-Defamation League.
* Gideon Gartner (born 1936), founder of the Gartner Group
* Baruch Goldstein, perpetrator of the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.
* Judith Hauptman (born 1943), feminist Talmudic scholar and professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* Neal Hendel, Israeli Supreme Court Justice
* Yehuda Henkin (1945–2020), noted Israeli posek
* Meir Kahane (1932–1990) (Elementary school graduate), founder of the Jewish Defense League and former Israeli Knesset member. Head of the Kach party
* Eric Kandel (born 1929), 2000 Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine
* Elihu Katz (born 1926), American sociologist and founder of Israeli television
* Ira Katznelson (born 1944), American political scientist and historian, currently Ruggles Professor at Columbia University, and previously president of the Social Science Research Council and the American Political Science Association. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
* Ezra Labaton (1950–2013), Modern Orthodox Rabbi, Philosopher, Educator, and Founding Rabbi of Congregation Magen David of West Deal
* Naomi Levy, member of the first class of women to enter the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, bestselling author and founder of Nashuva, The Jewish Spiritual Outreach Movement
* Isaac Mizrahi (born 1961), fashion designer
* Bertram L. Podell (1925–2005), former member of the United States House of Representatives from New York
* Dennis Prager (born 1948), public speaker and radio talk show host.
* Kenneth Prager, physician
* Samuel Schafler (1929–1991), rabbi, historian, editor and Jewish educator
* Charlie Shrem, American entrepreneur, bitcoin advocate, and convicted felon
* Daniel Sperber, professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University and winner of the Israel Prize in 1992
* Joseph Telushkin (born 1948), author and speaker on Jewish topics
* Elana Maryles Sztokman (born 1969), author, researcher and feminist activist
* Joe Tacopina (born 1966), lawyer, media personality and professional sports executive
* Bruce Wasserstein (1947–2009), investment banker, businessman, and writer
* Wendy Wasserstein (1950–2006), playwright
* Larry Weinberg (1926–2019), former president of AIPAC and former owner of the Portland Trail Blazers
* Leon Wieseltier (born 1952), writer, editor of The New Republic
* Joel B. Wolowelsky, author and former Dean of the Faculty at the Yeshivah of Flatbush High School
* Alan Zelenetz (former Principal), co-founder of Ovie Entertainment, and comic book writer for Marvel Comics
* Efraim Zuroff (born 1948), Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Israel