A wave of concern has swept across the klal chassidishe yeshiva world following the closure of several yeshivos, leaving hundreds of bochurim without a place to learn. While some mosdos are reopening or merging, the broader landscape is facing unprecedented instability.
Among the causes cited for the closures are deepening financial struggles, exacerbated by the ongoing draft crisis in Israel, as well as a growing number of older bochurim who are resistant to traditional yeshiva structure and authority.
Despite the turmoil, several established and financially secure klal chassidishe yeshivos remain steady. These include Kiryas Melech (Tchebin), Meor Einayim of Rachmastrivka, Bobov, Amalah Shel Torah, Iyun HaTorah, Biala in Bnei Brak, and the major kibbutz yeshivos Chayei Torah in Beitar Illit and Oryasa in Yerushalayim. As previously reported, Chayei Torah recently received a parcel of land in Beitar for permanent construction of its new campus.
Amalah Shel Torah in Beitar, despite the recent passing of its rosh yeshiva, Rav Zev Feinstein zt”l, has managed to secure significant financial support to maintain operations. The youngest son of Rav Feinstein has taken over leadership.
One of the most shocking developments was the closure of the historic Zvhill Yeshiva in the Beis Yisroel neighborhood of Yerushalayim. The yeshiva administration had announced the closure a month ago.
Sources confirmed that Zvhill Yeshiva will reopen but with a selective admissions policy, under the leadership and oversight of Rav Yaakov Betelman, a noted mechanech affiliated with Nadvorna in Yerushalayim. The yeshiva aims to restructure and operate as a conventional yeshiva gedolah with full shiurim—Alef, Beis, and Gimmel—rather than just a kibbutz-style setting.
Another casualty is the kibbutz yeshiva Orah Shel Torah–Nezer HaTalmud, led by Rav Chanoch Ged Tyrnauer, which had opened just two years ago. The yeshiva had over 100 talmidim, many of whom had transferred from the now-defunct Toras Chaim Yeshiva.
About 20 top talmidim from Orah Shel Torah will reportedly merge with Yeshivas Tchechnov in Yerushalayim, where they will join Rav Tyrnauer. Tchechnov had been facing its own financial challenges in recent years, leading to the departure of many key staff members, including Rav Yosef Shereshevsky and Rav Yechezkel Teitelbaum.
Other talmidim from Orah Shel Torah will join a newly forming yeshiva kibbutz under the leadership of a prominent mechanech whose identity has not yet been made public.
Another klal chassidishe yeshiva closing its doors is Kosov-Vizhnitz in Beit Shemesh.
One veteran community askan pointed to the broader structural issue: While major Chassidishe courts such as Gur, Belz, Vizhnitz, Sanz, Boyan, Slonim, Karlin and others have well-established yeshivos backed by strong institutional funding, smaller independent klal chassidishe yeshivos—especially those still in rented facilities—struggle to survive. “Rent is what kills you,” he said bluntly.
Compounding the crisis is the growing number of so-called “older bochurim” in the Chassidishe yeshiva system who struggle with discipline and often reject the authority of mashgichim, making it difficult for many yeshivos to absorb them. As a result, hundreds of such bochurim currently have no framework and are, in the words of one source, “literally in the streets.”
{Matzav.com Israel}