A mechaneches in Lakewood. An author in Baltimore. A high school teacher in Cleveland. And a Principal in Monsey. What do all these women have in common? They share the Bais Yaakov of Boro Park elementary school experience. And no matter how old they may be or how far they may travel, the foundation of their BY of BP education will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

These women are among the many thousands of alumni who are privileged to have called Bais Yaakov of Boro Park their ‘home away from home’ during their formative childhood years. The school, which has been located on the corner of 46th Street and 14th Avenue for many decades, is considered probably the largest Bais Yaakov elementary school outside of Eretz Yisroel. But when you stop and think about it, the numbers are staggering.

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A Massive Mossad

The current enrollment at BY of BP stands at about 1900 students. That includes six or seven complete classes at every grade level, plus pre-school and toddler programs. There are close to four hundred staff members in the school as well as a resource room which services more than 300 girls. Each graduating class has close to two hundred young ladies.

The bulk of the student body are Boro Parkers, of course. But many are also from Flatbush, Bensonhurst, Kensington, Seagate, Crown Heights, Williamsburg, Staten Island, Queens, and beyond. There are an estimated 9,000 alumni of the school living all over the world, not to mention dozens of families in Boro Park itself who are proud to have three generations of Bais Yaakov of Boro Park talmidos.

And yet, the greatest wonder of all is that the school is run exquisitely well. The numbers may be overwhelming but the school works like clockwork. This is due largely to the outstanding leadership of its hanhallah, headed by the incomparable master mechanech, Rabbi Osher Lemel Ehrenreich, who has been the Menahel for over five decades. It is also because of a unique system of divisions and subdivisions that has been carefully developed over time.

According to Rabbi Menachem Frank, Sgan Menahel, “We instituted a system similar to what Yisro suggested to Moshe Rabbeinu in last week’s parsha. There are several distinct layers of supervision. Teachers report to supervisors who report to assistant principals who, in turn, report to the principal. The system is organized and everyone knows their place. If a mother calls to have her daughter at the door in fifteen minutes, the message will go through the proper channels and that young lady will be waiting at the door at the proper time.” It’s a system that is the envy of many smaller Bais Yaakov schools around the world.

Steadfast Standards Through Decades of Change

Bais Yaakov of Boro Park officially opened its doors in 1942. It was a different Boro Park back then, in a very different world. According to legend, the school started with about five students, and then grew and grew and grew. The history of Bais Yaakov reflects the history of the population of Boro Park, as well as the history of the Jewish community over the post-War years.

When Holocaust survivors were looking to rebuild their lives, they saw Bais Yaakov as a comforting bastion of chinuch for their budding new families. As new waves of immigrants came to America, Bais Yaakov accepted their daughters with open arms, despite the cultural differences. When Boro Park metamorphosed into the largest frum community in America, it was Bais Yaakov who accommodated every girl, even if it was bursting at the seams.

Today, the demographic makeup of Boro Park is changing once again. Young litvishe families are moving to outlying communities, and several Chassidishe mosdos have opened their own girls schools in the neighborhood. Bais Yaakov is able to adapt to these circumstances by bussing in their students from nearby areas and by creating an environment where even the most heimishe talmidos who choose this school can feel comfortable and thrive.

A Community Based School

It’s been said many times that Bais Yaakov of Boro Park is the original community based girls school in this area. But what does that really mean? Rabbi Nachman Blasbalg, member of the school’s Board of directors, explains: “Unlike other schools, we’re not a private enterprise. We are here to serve the community at large.” The school is run by a Board of Directors made up primarily of members of the community as well as a Vaad HaChinuch. No one is turned away, as long as they follow Bais Yaakov’s tznius and yiddishkeit guidelines. The school is willing to accept every student, not matter what her economic circumstances or academic abilities. They will never demand a predetermined rate of tuition. They will never insist on cultivating a culture of metzuyonos.

This noble and righteous admissions policy is a source of pride to many in the hanhallah. The beauty of Bais Yaakov has always been its ability to thrive through its diversity and to create a sense of achdus and camaraderie among its students, no matter what their backgrounds. Most former students will fondly remember classmates and friends from assorted backgrounds, all united in the classroom. The school has always served as a model of harmony which is so rare and uncommon in today’s fragmented society.

But there’s also the other side of the coin. The many students who could not pay full tuition has taken its toll on the financial stability of the institution. “A year and a half ago,“ says Rabbi Blasbalg, “we were in danger of closing the school. Both the economic downturn and cuts in government funding have affected us greatly. We were months behind in payroll and the future of the school looked bleak.” A group of ba’alei batim joined forces to try and save the school. They have succeeded temporarily, but they desperately need the assistance of the community at large. Thus did they decide to host a major fundraising event on behalf of Bais Yaakov of Boro Park. It will be the first major Dinner in many decades.

70th Anniversary Dinner

On Tuesday evening, February 21st, Bais Yaakov of Boro Park’s Seventieth Anniversary Dinner will be held at the Palace Ballroom on McDonald Avenue. The Dinner will celebrate seventy years of excellence in the world of chinuch habonos and will also recognize the outstanding leadership of Rabbi Ehrenreich over close to sixty years. Guests of Honor will be community leaders Avrohom Berkowitz, Dovid Bistricer, and Reuven Wolf. A wine tasting event hosted by Herzog Wine Cellars will be held during the Dinner Reception. And an audio-visual presentation will document the incredible and extraordinary history of the school. It promises to be a historic community event.

Alumni Remember

The impact of Bais Yaakov of Boro Park throughout the Jewish world is undeniable. There is hardly a community anywhere that hasn’t been touched by its enormous network of alumni. Thousands of outstanding mothers and grandmothers, teachers and businesswomen, housewives and Rebetzins, around the world opened their first Chumash, witnessed their first school production, and listened to their first shiur, in this very building.

Libby is a graduate of Bais Yaakov who is today a world renowned author living in Baltimore. She credits her eighth grade English teacher, Miss Turkel, for encouraging her to use her literary talents to entertain and inform the next generation.

Basya is an educator in the city of Cleveland. She can remember when a wave of Hungarian immigrants came to Boro Park, back in the late 1950’s. “They had come from a totally European culture,” she says, “with big white bows in their hair and crisply tailored blouses. Many were brilliant girls from choshuveh families. The school opened its doors and took them in. We were asked to tutor these girls and bring them up to par.” In the end, they integrated beautifully and are now mothers and grandmothers of outstanding Torahdike families.

Raizy is today the Principal of a girls’ school in upstate New York. Although she’s graduated Bais Yaakov decades ago, she has vivid memories of her teachers, her classmates, and especially the eagerly anticipated assemblies in the school auditorium. Perhaps her most cherished memory is her Bais Yaakov graduation, including the traditional song, ‘Toras Emes’, that every Bais Yaakov graduate marches down to. “That song,” she says, “is one of my favorite melodies. It evokes yearnings for mesorah and tradition. It’s also the same melody that my own mother walked down to sixty years ago. It will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Gathering Decades of Alumni Records

No doubt every Bais Yaakov of Boro Park graduate has similar treasured memories, and Bais Yaakov’s presidium is eager to hear about them “We estimate that there are nine thousand alumni of Bais Yaakov of Boro Park,” says Rabbi Blasbalg, “and we are trying to rebuild our database. Through massive efforts and special computer programs, we have managed to acquire over four and a half thousand names. But we want to access every single Bais Yaakov graduate.” Thus are all former Bais Yaakov of Boro Park talmidos are encouraged to contact the office at 718-436-7300. Become a part of the largest and powerful and tremendous network of alumni of any Bais Yaakov school.

A Powerful Legacy

Over its seventy years, Bais Yaakov of Boro Park has created a powerful legacy and has established an everlasting impact on the Jewish world. It has remained a fortress of Torah values that has sheltered its talmidos from external influences over seventy years. The school withstood the ravages of every bizarre and enticing nisayon that has preyed on our youth, from the miniskirt and the Beatles, to television and hippies, to the Smartphone and the Internet. It will continue to resist any challenges that may come in the future. The worldwide community owes boundless hakoras hatov to this Torah institution for setting the standards that others can only hope to emulate. May it continue to set those elevated standards for a long time to come.

(YWN Desk)