Finally, on Erev Yom Kippur of 2019, Rabbi Feldheim received an e-mail; the priests were ready to move forward
Photo: Jeff Cohn Photography
There’s a quote emblazoned on the walls of Mesivta Kesser Torah of Baltimore, presently settled in its new building, attributed to Rav Chaim Brisker: “Kol hanaaseh ba’olam, naaseh ba’avur Torah v’lomdeha — All that happens in the world happens for the sake of Torah and those who study it.”
For those involved in the backstory behind the yeshivah’s move, the quote couldn’t be more apropos. It was sometime around June 2019 when Rabbi Avrohom Feldheim, the yeshivah’s menahel, noted with both joy and concern that the yeshivah was rapidly outgrowing its premises. They yeshivah was adding a new class of 20 talmidim each year; it was time to find a bigger location.
The search began, but yielded no results. In Baltimore’s dense residential landscape, finding a suitable building zoned for education was proving to be impossible. Then, after several leads fizzled out, Rabbi Feldheim “happened” across a sprawling 40-acre campus located just outside Baltimore’s residential zone. The campus was home to a church, a prayer garden, a cemetery, and a dormitory. It was just a stone’s throw away from Baltimore’s frum community, but shrouded by woods, barely visible even to those who drove by daily.
Together with Rabbi Yonah Zahler and Rabbi Dovi Gibber, Rabbi Feldheim approached the group of priests who owned the property and asked if they were looking to sell. As it turned out, they were.
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