Lakewood yeshiva
| בית מדרש גבוה | |
The original Beis Medrash Building of Beth Medrash Govoha
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1943 |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
| Students | 6,500 (Fall 2012) |
| Location |
Lakewood Township, NJ, USA 40°05′44″N 74°13′19″W / 40.0955°N 74.222°WCoordinates: 40°05′44″N 74°13′19″W / 40.0955°N 74.222°W |
| Campus | Urban |
Beth Medrash Govoha (Hebrew: בית מדרש גבוה, lit: Higher, or advanced, House of Study) is a Haredi yeshiva and kollel located in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. It is commonly known as BMG, or Lakewood Yeshiva.
As of 2012, the yeshiva has 6,500 married and undergraduate students, making it the largest yeshiva in the United States and one of the largest yeshivas in the world. Over the years, the roshei yeshiva of BMG have all been associated with the Kotler family, beginning with Rabbi Aharon Kotler from 1943 until his death in 1962; Rabbi Shneur Kotler, his son, who led the yeshiva from 1962 until his death in 1982; and the present roshei yeshiva, Rabbi Malkiel Kotler (son of Shneur Kotler), Rabbi Dovid Schustal (son-in-law of Shneur Kotler), Rabbi Yerucham Olshin and Rabbi Yisroel Neuman (sons-in-law of Rabbi Dov Schwartzman). Rabbis Olshin, Schustal and Neuman are married to grandchildren of Rabbi Aharon Kotler. The CEO of the yeshiva is Aron Kotler, the brother of Malkiel Kotler and a grandson of Aharon Kotler.
To manage the huge enrollment, the four roshei yeshiva divide up the times they deliver shiurim (Torah lectures) in the various battei medrash (study halls) on campus. There are also 240 roshei chabura (heads of small study groups) who guide and encourage groups of students in the yeshiva's trademark style of independent learning.
Beth Medrash Govoha was originally established as a kollel in White Plains, New York by Rabbis Nosson Meir Wachtfogel, Shmuel Schecter, and Hershel Genauer, alumni of the Kelm Talmud Torah in Lithuania. Established in spring 1942, it was the first kollel in the United States, and had 20 members. When Rabbi Aharon Kotler came to New York from Europe in 1943, the kollel members asked him to lead the institute. Rabbi Kotler agreed on the condition that it be moved to Lakewood and expanded with a yeshiva gedola, which opened with an initial enrollment of 14 students.
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