Binyomin Wilhelm was the founder of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas

Yeshiva Torah Vodaas

Yeshiva Torah Vodaas is a yeshiva located in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.- History :...

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Born in Lodz, Poland, he was the oldest son of a Radoshitzer chassidic family. In his teens he left by himself to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He first peddled a pushcart, until he had made enough money to rent a store. At 20, he had a houseware business.

He moved to Williamsburg, New York

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...

, where he wanted to open a yeshiva

Yeshiva

Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...

 for boys. At that time, the few yeshivos that existed in the United States—Yeshivas HaRav Yaakov Yosef, Etz Chaim Yeshiva

Etz Chaim Yeshiva (Manhattan)

Etz Chaim Yeshiva was founded in 1886 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. It was founded as a cheder-style elementary school and, over time, became the basis of Yeshiva College and Yeshiva University....

, Yeshivas HaRav Shlomo Kluger—were all in the Lower East Side

Lower East Side

The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....

 of Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

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Wilhelm envisioned a yeshiva that taught secular studies in the afternoons. Wilhelm had to overcame large opposition to his type of yeshiva. Most parents did not want to send their children to yeshiva. There was also opposition from the other side. Some parents held that a yeshiva should be purely for Jewish studies.

Wilhelm was active in Torah Vodaas until his 80's, when he moved to Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 in 1968. There, he founded a network of afternoon programs for Sephardic youth in developing areas, which was to strengthen their commitment to Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

. He called the network Mifal Torah Vodaas.

His grandson Rabbi Yisroel Belsky

Yisroel Belsky

Yisroel Belsky is a prominent rabbi in the United States and a world recognized posek, who has served with the Orthodox Union since 1987. He resides in Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the lead roshei yeshivas in Yeshiva Torah Vodaas. He also serves as the chief rabbi of Camp Agudah, since the...

, is a rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva

Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...

of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas.