Beth Medrash Govoha

Beth Medrash Govoha (Hebrew: בית מדרש גבוה‎) (lit: Higher, or advanced, House of Study) is a Haredi yeshiva located in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. It is commonly known as BMG, or Lakewood Yeshiva.

It was founded in 1943 by Rabbi Aharon Kotler and Rabbi Nosson Meir Wachtfogel. As of 2012, the yeshiva has 6,500 married and undergraduate students, making it one of the largest yeshivas in the world. Over the years, the roshei yeshiva of BMG have all been associated with the Kotler family, beginning with Rabbi Aharon Kotler from 1943 until his death in 1962; Rabbi Shneur Kotler, his son, who led the yeshiva from 1962 until his death in 1982; and the present roshei yeshiva, Rabbi Malkiel Kotler (son of Shneur Kotler), Rabbi Dovid Schustal (son-in-law of Shneur Kotler), Rabbi Yerucham Olshin and Rabbi Yisroel Neuman (sons-in-law of Rabbi Dov Schwartzman). Rabbis Olshin, Schustal and Neuman are married to grandchildren of Rabbi Aharon Kotler.

To manage the huge enrollment, the four roshei yeshiva divide up the times they deliver shiurim (Torah lectures) in the various battei medrash (study halls) on campus. There are also 240 roshei chabura (heads of small study groups) who guide and encourage groups of students in the yeshiva's trademark style of independent learning.

Beth midrash

Beth Midrash (Hebrew: בית מדרש‎; also Beis Medrash, Beit Midrash, pl. batei midrash "House of Learning") refers to a Jewish study hall located in a synagogue, yeshiva, kollel or other building. It is distinct from a synagogue, although many synagogues are also used as batei midrash and vice versa.

"Beis midrash" is also the name of the undergraduate-level program in Orthodox yeshivas in the United States, for boys over 12th grade.

The Arabic term "Madrasah" is derived from the same Semitic root and refers to any type of educational institution.

History

Early rabbinic literature, including the Mishnah, makes mention of the beth midrash as an institution distinct from the beth din and Sandhedrin. It was meant as a place of Torah study and interpretation, as well as the development of halakhah (the practical application of the Jewish Law).

The origin of the beth midrash, or house of study, can be traced to the early rabbinic period, following the Siege of Jerusalem (70 C.E.) in which the destruction of the Temple took place. The earliest known rabbinical school was established by Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai at Yavneh. Other official schools were soon established under different rabbis. These men traced their ideological roots back to the Pharisees of the late Second Temple Period, specifically the Houses of Hillel and Shammai, two "schools" of thought.