Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva


Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva was a yeshiva which operated in Lublin from 1930 to 1940. At the time, it was one of the largest in the world.

History

On May 22–28, 1924, the cornerstone laying ceremony took place for the construction of the yeshiva building. Approximately 50,000 people participated in the event.
The opening ceremony took place on June 24–25, 1930. Apart from thousands of local Jews, around 10,000 people arrived from all over Poland and abroad.
When the German Army took Lublin during World War II, they stripped the interior and burned the vast library in the town square. An officer who witnessed the event reported that a brass band played while a Jewish throng loudly wept as the books burned. The building became the regional headquarters of the German Military Police. After the war, in the autumn of 1945, the property was taken over by the state as an abandoned possession and assigned to the newly-established Marie Curie-Skłodowska University. It was used by the Medical University of Lublin.
In the 1964, the yeshiva, reestablished in Michigan after the war, was reimbursed for the building, receiving $177,042.25.
In 2003 the building was returned to the Jewish community. Its synagogue, the first to be entirely renovated by the Jewish community of Poland since World War II, was reopened on February 11, 2007. Also, under current plans, the first Museum of Hasidism in Europe will be located in the renovated building.
As of October 2013, a four-star hotel named Hotel Ilan was opened in the building

Re-establishment in Bnei Brak

The yeshiva was re-established in Bnei Brak by Rabbi Shmuel Wosner who was a student of the yeshiva in Lublin.

Return to Lublin

Today, Jews visiting Poland often visit the yeshiva in Lublin, the Project Mesorah tours with Rabbi Paysach Krohn included. In January 2020, a Siyum HaShas was held in the yeshiva building, where the first Siyum Hashas had been held, almost 100 years earlier. Speakers included Rabbi Noach Isaac Oelbaum of Queens, Rabbi Yuir Adler of Toronto, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Lau of Netanya, and Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich of Poland.

Image gallery