Porat Yosef Yeshiva

Porat Yosef Yeshiva (Hebrew: ישיבת פורת יוסף‎) is a leading Sephardic yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, with locations in both the Old City and the Geula neighborhood. The name Porat Yosef means "Joseph is a fruitful tree" after the biblical verse Genesis 49:22.

Yeshivat Ohel Moed, cofounded by Rabbis Ezra Harari-Raful and Refael Shelomo Laniado in Jerusalem in 1904, was the forerunner to Porat Yosef Yeshiva. Harari-Raful also opened another yeshiva in 1918 that merged with Porat Yosef in 1923.

The cornerstone for Porat Yosef Yeshiva was laid in Jerusalem's Old City in 1914. Yosef Shalom, a philanthropist from Calcutta, India, originally bought the site overlooking the Temple Mount with the intention of building a hospital. When he wrote to the Ben Ish Chai of Baghdad for his opinion, the sage persuaded him to endow a yeshiva instead.

Construction was delayed, however, due to World War I; the yeshiva was finally inaugurated in 1923. The sprawling campus consisted of a large beth midrash (study hall); two smaller study halls for a kollel for married students; and 50 other rooms including dormitories, offices and a library.

In May 1948, shortly after the start of the Israel War of Independence, the yeshiva building was attacked and destroyed by the Arab Legion. After the war's conclusion in 1949, a new home was established for the yeshiva in the Geula neighborhood, at the corner of Malkhei Yisrael and Yosef Ben Mattityahu Streets.

...
Wikipedia