What’s at the Center: Bais Moshe, Scranton      

At its inception, the yeshivah began with beis medrash and ninth grade. Over the years, it slowly grew, as more intrepid families began moving out of town to learn and teach Torah.

In 1976, the yeshivah bought its current campus, located in the former St. Mary’s hospital on Scranton’s South Side, 1.5 miles from the frum community. Legend has it — Wikipedia confirmed — that President Joe Biden was born in Room 12 (or was it 11?).

All this was before my time. By the late 70s and early 80s, the yeshivah was thriving, with about 120 bochurim and seven families in kollel, including my two oldest sisters.

I grew up in yeshivah. My earliest memories involve our family — including my married sisters — sleeping in the yeshivah once a month. The policy at the time was that the rebbeim would spend one Shabbos a month with the bochurim, and if their young families couldn’t make the trek over the highway (there’s no eiruv between the frum community and the yeshivah), they’d sleep over in the dorms.