Hundreds of Yeshiva Administrators Gather to Strengthen Their Best Practices

By Yehudit Garmaise

New York yeshivas are under attack, but when 400 participants took part in Agudath Israel’s Yeshiva Summit on Jan. 12, not only did approximately a dozen elected officials show their support, but the administrators of 140 yeshivas took part in a full day of workshops and sessions that will only serve to strengthen them.

From 10am to 5pm last Thursday at Terrace in the Park, a large catering hall in Queens, yeshiva administrators took part in workshops to sharpen their practical skills, such as how to best work with special education agencies, how to apply for security grants that protect teachers, and learning funding opportunities for title services, Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, the New York director of government relations for Agudath Israel, told BoroPark24.

Although the administrators learned about many topics, the consistent message that came through very clearly was that yeshivas are doing what they should be doing.

“Yeshivas are out there educating kids, producing proper citizens, and we are grateful that many elected officials and people in the community support us,” Rabbi Silber said.

State Sen. Simcha Felder popped in during a “Legislative Luncheon,” at which elected officials and their representatives from all levels of government spoke up for the K’lal.

Donovan Richards, the Queens borough president; Menashe Shapiro, the deputy chief of staff to Mayor Eric Adams, NY State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Assemblyman David Weprin, and City Councilman Kalman Yeger spoke passionately to the group about their holy missions as yeshiva educators.

“We were happy to host one person from each legislative body in NY to speak,” said Rabbi Silber, who added that later in the afternoon, US Sen. Chuck Schumer also appeared via Zoom. “After lunch, we had a political panel in which state Sen. Leroy Comrie and Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer-Amato discussed more in-depth issues, such as what to look forward to in yeshivas, funding opportunities in the upcoming legislative sessions, and the importance of voting.”

Among the other notable elected officials who participated in the Yeshiva Summit were NY state Sens. John Liu and Bill Weber.

Last week’s Yeshiva Summit was the fourth one Agudath Yisrael, which had to break for two years throughout the pandemic, has held since 2017

On Thursday, Rabbi Chaim Yehoshua Hoberman, the rosh yeshiva of Mesivta of Long Beach provided strong chizzik for the participants, and NYC’s yeshiva educators focused on continuing to improve the excellent services they provide.

In addition, 40 different vendors showcased to the yeshiva administrators useful products, such as: seforim, copiers, and even food vendors showed how they can create the best pastries.

“It was very good to hear from higher elected officials who support the whole yeshiva system when it is under siege and attack," Silber said.

“Despite what the New York Times continues to peddle about yeshivas, we know our educators do fantastic jobs.”

photo credit: Agudath Israel/ Moshe Gershbaum