Hebrew College - History

History

Founded in November 1921, as the Hebrew Teachers College, Hebrew College was one of eleven Hebrew teachers colleges established in the United States in keeping with the Hebraist model of Jewish teacher training. Hebrew College was originally located in Roxbury, Massachusetts and moved to Brookline, Massachusetts in 1952. The school opened with 23 students, with registration doubling by the following year. The founder of Hebrew College was Louis Hurwich, superintendent of the Board of Jewish Education of Boston. Nissan Touroff, former director of the Hebrew school system in Palestine, was appointed as its first dean. The Hebrew High School opened in 1923.

Eisig Silberschlag became the dean of Hebrew College in 1947 and was named president in the late 1960s.

In the early years, all classes, regardless of the subject matter, were taught in Hebrew. In the early 1980s, as Jewish studies programs opened at more colleges and universities around the country, the policy began to change. Increasingly, classes were held in English, and Hebrew was reserved for language courses and advanced Jewish text study.

During the 15-year tenure of Eli Grad, the fifth president of Hebrew College, the focus moved from teacher training to an emphasis on Hebrew culture programs and courses for the wider community. In January 1987, after a period of decline, Samuel Schafler became the sixth president of Hebrew College and introduced new programming that expanded the student body significantly. In the late 1980s, adult education classes were introduced that became the forerunner of the Me'ah program. In 2001, Nehemia Polen established the Hasidic Texts Institute for the study of foundational Hasidic texts. In 1993, David M. Gordis became the seventh president of the College. Daniel Lehmann was appointed the eighth president in July 2008.