Mission and Core Values
OYYL was established to provide a Chassidisher Chinuch for children in the Crown Heights community.
We honor the long history of Chabad Education and integrating innovative learning methodologies. Each child deserves the freedom to grow in their unique way and we facilitate this growth through individualized learning.
Our Mission
LETTERS FROM THE DIRECTORS
Throughout the ages of Jewish history, education of Jewish children has always been the cornerstone of Jewish faith and life, no matter where or how difficult the circumstances were. Though the objective always remains the same and the Torah that guides us is eternal, the world we live in is very different from that of our parents and grandparents. How then do we apply the wisdom of the Torah to raise our children in the 21st Century?
Fortunately for us, Chassidim, we have the Rebbe’s vision and guidance to follow. At Oholei Yosef Yitzchok Lubavitch of Crown Heights, we are privileged and humbled to be at the forefront of finding creative ways to apply the Torah and Chassidic form of education to the modern world. What motivates us is the belief that we can continue to build a better Yeshiva for our boys and girls with the right approach and utmost dedication and passion for our ideals.
The Rebbe compares the development of a child to planting a seed. Everything in the seed’s environment, the type of earth and fertilization used and the care it receives will be amplified in the tree that emerges. Therefore, the gardener must take extreme care to ensure that the seed is not damaged even in the slightest.
This idea is even more true in regards to education. A child is highly susceptible to the ideas that they are exposed to. This is true regarding the content of the education that it should be pure and holy, and also concerning the teaching style and methodology.
Even though it may seem that many of our pedagogical methods are progressive, they are, in fact, traditional Torah models for education. Unfortunately, the secular cultures in which we are enmeshed have influenced our educational systems and teaching styles. We often see that Traditional Chassidic schools are using non-Jewish theologies and approaches. In OYYL, however, we are not seeking an avant-garde, new-age approach; we are finding creative ways to make classic Torah education models relevant and effective using today’s tools and knowledge.
Take frontal teaching as an example. Frontal teaching, where the teacher stands at the front of a class and lectures to all children equally, is a way of standardizing and mass-producing education to meet the needs of industrialized and knowledge-based economies. At OYYL, we went back to the original education model by focusing on the holistic needs of each child by facilitating multiple class settings for optimal child education.
The results speak for themselves. Firstly, our students are consistently exceeding their academic milestones. Secondly, they are maturing into happy and healthy Chassidishe children. They are gaining love and passion for Judaism, learning Torah. They are developing a strong bond to the Rebbe and connecting to their peers in the true spirit of Ahavas Yisroel. The success of OYYL is raising the bar for education in our community. We are encouraging other schools to emulate our approach, thereby contributing to the overall health of our community.
May we be blessed with healthy nachas from our children by teaching them to live in a liberated and expressive way, and may we experience the ultimate redemption with the revelation of Moshiach now.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Mottel & Mrs. Mila Schneiderman
Founders and Directors