Rabbi Moshe Dovid Robinson – English Principal, Rabbi Tzvi Mordechai Feldheim – Rosh Mesivta, Rabbi Avrohom Feldheim – Menahel

In a move that put a new mosad firmly on the map, the founders of Mesivta Kesser Torah of Baltimore, have signed a rental lease with Etz Chaim Center, Baltimore’s flagship outreach organization. The beautiful, spacious facility, home to Etz Chaim Center’s many learning and outreach programs, will now, in addition, host a promising new mesivta that is poised to take its place alongside Baltimore’s other flourishing mosdos haTorah.

In welcoming Mesivta Kesser Torah to Baltimore, Rabbi Shlomo Porter, president and dean of Etz Chaim, said, “We are delighted with our wonderful partnership with this new yeshiva. We welcome the opportunity to provide a warm, comfortable setting that will enhance the students’ ability to shteig. We couldn’t wish for better neighbors.'”

The lease-signing followed weeks of interviewing and farhering applicants from Baltimore and nearby communities. With close to 20 high caliber students enrolled to the ninth grade for the 5778 school year, the new mesivta is confident of a strong start.

Rabbi Chaim Schwartz of Baltimore cited his confidence in the mesivta’s directors, Rabbi Tzvi Mordechai Feldheim and his son, Rabbi Avrohom Feldheim, as the defining factor in his decision to enroll his son.

“This father-and- son team combines vision, experience and talent,” remarked Rabbi Schwartz. “In terms of chinuch, they represent the very best of two leading approaches; Rabbi Tzvi Mordechai Feldheim’s time-honored derech halimud and the innovative, creative methods of his son, Rabbi Avrohom Feldheim. Judging from the phenomenal energy and commitment they are investing in this endeavor, they will b’ezras Hashem see much brocha.”

The senior Rabbi Feldheim made his mark as a master mechanech in the past two decades he served as menahel and 9 th grade rebbe at Yeshivas Toras Chaim of Denver. His son has served as rebbe and mashgiach for the past five years at the Mechina of South Florida, where he designs his own professional, highly visual teaching materials that target a wide range of student needs.

As co-founders of Mesivta Kesser Torah, father and son envision the new mosad filling a strong need in the Baltimore community and beyond, and have received encouragement from local rabbonim.

“The city’s yeshivos will be graduating about 150 8 th graders at the end of the school year,” notes Rabbi Avrohom Feldheim. “More and more boys are looking for a local yeshiva in which to continue their studies, as opposed to going to yeshivas out of town. There is simply not enough room for all of them in the local mosdos.”

Asked how the idea for Mesivta Kesser Torah first germinated, Rabbi Feldheim recalls being approached, on a visit to Baltimore to visit family, by fathers of 8 th graders who asked him about the possibility of starting a new high school in town. The parents were looking for a mesivta that would offer the warmth and individual attention not always available in the larger mosdos and would accommodate a wider range of students.

“That is how the concept of Mesivta Kesser Torah first took root,” recalls Rabbi Feldheim.

The goal of the Mesivta Kesser Torah, says Rabbi Tzvi Mordechai Feldheim, is “to mold young men into wholesome b’nei Torah who have a love for Yiddishkeit and learning, and take pride in their identity.” The yeshiva will cater to students who will thrive best in a warm, nurturing atmosphere with a close rebbe-talmid relationship.

“Our aim is to find the unique balance in this atmosphere that will build on each bochur’s strengths, develop his abilities and his personality, and promote his success,” he said.

He notes that many bochurim entering 9 th grade are faced with a sharp transition when it comes to learning Gemara. “A certain percent are equipped to navigate the Gemara with Rashi and Tosfos but for many, there’s a serious gap between their level of proficiency and what they’re expected to know on entering mesivta.”

“The curriculum we’ve worked out is designed to ease the transition from 8 th to 9 th grades,” he explained. “The overall, long-range goal, of course, is to equip each and every bochur to enter the Beis Medrash of his choice upon graduation.”

A perusal of the Curriculum Guide for Mesivta Kesser Torah reveals a meticulously crafted formula for reaching this goal. The Guide contains a cogent outline of the objectives in Gemara instruction at every grade level, as well as a system for evaluating each stage of a bochur’s development and identifying potential lapses or deficits. The Guide is eloquent testimony to a consummate mechanech at the helm of this mosad who will allow no student to be left behind.

Mesivta Kesser Torah bochurim will have the benefit of a full yeshiva schedule even as they enjoy the advantages of residing at home, Rabbis Feldheim note, with parental and community involvement playing an important role in the yeshiva’s success.

The mesivta boasts a fully accredited secular studies department under the leadership of Rabbi Moshe Dovid Robinson, an enthusiastic and talented educator who holds a Masters in Education. Graduates will be empowered with the skills to succeed in today’s world.

As a veteran mechanech whose harbotzas Torah, in addition to the decades spent teaching talmidim, includes many hundreds of shiruim disseminated over Torah Communication Network, Rabbi Tzvi Mordechai Feldheim stresses the critical ingredient of a strong sevivah in the building of a successful in-town mosad.

“Sevivah is a powerful force in shaping a person. We count on that in helping a bochur to mature into a ben Torah who wants a kesher with the Ribono Shel Olam. The geshmackeit in learning… the intensity… the kavana in tefilah are all a part it. But ultimately, the goal is to instill the chaishek to hold the Ribono Shel Olam’s “hand” wherever life takes him… That is our dream.”