The Commentator

In 1956, Yeshiva University created a program for students who lacked sufficient background in Jewish studies. Dr. Samuel Belkin, then president of Yeshiva for over a decade, was convinced that there was an educational gap within the American Jewish community and he sought to develop an intensive program of Jewish education on the college level for students with limited Jewish backgrounds. The program was available to those who wanted a secular education combined with a program in general Jewish Studies. Although there was great opposition to this idea -- from teachers at RIETS and from students within other divisions of Yeshiva, who opposed a program designed for those lacking educational background in Jewish studies, as they feared that these students might negatively affect the religious orientation of the yeshiva. -- Belkin resisted this opposition and proceeded to establish the Jewish Studies Program (JSP), as it was initially called.

R. Moshe Besdin was charged with responsibility for establishing the curriculum and administering the program. R. Besdin taught Bible and emphasized learning the "Torah itself" from the text, as opposed to learning "about Torah." To illustrate this orientation he constantly used the phrase, "it and not about it." In his view, a working knowledge of the traditional sources and their exegesis by the classical Jewish commentators were essential for personal religious development.

Each student attended an interview conference with R. Besdin who tested the students orally to determine their placement. Jewish law and customs were discussed and the student was asked to read from a Hebrew text such as the Bible.

The first entering class was taught on one level. As the program progressed, students were divided into three distinct curricula. As the program grew, elective courses were added to the curriculum. A four year course of study during the years 1962 to 1972 leading to an Associate in Arts degree in Jewish studies consisted of 120 credits. The credits were distributed among courses in Bible, Hebrew, Jewish History, Judaic Studies, Rabbinical Literature and Talmud. Simultaneous or prior receipt of a bachelor's degree from Yeshiva College was required for students of the program.

The core constituency of the JSP was third generation suburban Jewish families who had provided their sons with adequate Jewish education through Hebrew school and had remained loyal to tradition. In the early years of the program, 90-95 percent of students came from non-yeshiva schools; about 20 percent reported they were not from kosher homes and about 80 percent were not Sabbath observant. (The first generation of students in the Jewish Studies Program had an enrollment of approximately 8.7 percent of its students from Queens and 9 percent from Nassau and Suffolk counties. Students from Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx constituted 15.4 percent. The remainder came from other Jewish communities throughout the United States and elsewhere.)

Close to half of the students in JSP during the 1950s to 1970 had between seven and nine years of religious schooling and almost an equal percentage had to twelve years of training. These students attended public schools and afternoon Talmud Torahs, which were largely under the auspices of Orthodox and Conservative congregations.

Applicants' information about Yeshiva University came largely through contact with Orthodox and Conservative youth group organizations, Yeshiva University Synagogue Council Youth (YUSCY), the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregation of America's National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) and American Orthodoxy's youth corps, the Torah Leadership Seminar.

The Jewish Studies Program was reorganized and renamed the James Striar School of General Jewish Studies in 1965 and received official recognition from the Middle States Association and began granting an Associate in Arts degree in 1966. For many years, the James Striar School reflected the modern Orthodox, "centrist," philosophy and lifestyle of Yeshiva University.

As recently reported in The Commentator, Yeshiva University has changed the name of JSS - it is now known as The Mechinah Program - but its mandate is still the same: to provide an intensive program of Jewish education on the college level for students with limited Jewish backgrounds.


Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg, YC '69, JSS '70, RIETS '74, Ferkauf '74, Azrieli '92, is the rabbi of Congregation Beth El in Edison, NJ; and teaches Holocaust Studies at Moshe Aaron Yeshiva High School (MAYHS) and at Rutgers University. His dissertation, from the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration is titled, "The Impact of Education at Yeshiva University's James Striar School."

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