Yeshivas Toras Chessed is a Jewish

Judaism

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

 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...

 or rabbinical school for Torah study

Torah study

Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...

, the study of Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

, Rabbinic literature

Rabbinic literature

Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term...

 and Responsa

History of Responsa

History of responsa in Judaism spans a period of 1,700 years. Responsa constitute a special class of rabbinic literature, differing in form, but not necessarily in content, from Rabbinic commentaries devoted to the exegesis of the Bible, the Mishnah, the Talmud, and halakha...

. It is based in Wellbury House, Great Offley, near Hitchin

Hitchin

Hitchin is a town in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 30,360.-History:Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people mentioned in a 7th century document, the Tribal Hidage. The tribal name is Brittonic rather than Old English and derives from *siccā, meaning...

 in Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

. Previously Wellbury House had been a private school for Catholic boys aged 7 to 13.
Founded in about 1998, the yeshiva follows the Ashkenazi

Ashkenazi Jews

Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...

 Orthodox

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 ritual and is affiliated to the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations

Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations

The Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations of England was founded in 1926 with the stated mission "to protect traditional Judaism". It acts as an umbrella organisation for the chareidi Jewish community in London and comprises over a hundred synagogues and educational institutions. It is responsible...

. The yeshiva has about 200 students on a 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) site.

Rabbi Ahron Cohen is a former lecturer at the school. The students from the yeshiva are a familiar sight on the streets of Hitchin, particularly on Friday afternoons before the start of Shabbat

Shabbat

Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

.

Following an unsatisfactory fire safety inspection in April 2002, that October the Charity Commission

Charity Commission

The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....

 wrote to the Torath Chesed Yeshiva Trust, which runs the yeshiva, telling them not to re-open the school until vital building and safety improvement work had completed. Head of Investigations, David Rich, who visited the school, said,

"To my layman's eyes it seemed like a death trap. Conditions were shocking. We saw very little in the way of fire safety equipment or fire safety instruction. We did see a broken glass panel in a door, cracked floor tiles just waiting for someone to trip on them, bare wires and emergency lights dangling precariously from the ceiling. I'm no expert but I wouldn't want to send my own kids there."

Safety hazards included the lack of fire escapes, insufficient fire-fighting equipment, the lack of emergency lighting and fire signage, the absence of staff training and any emergency plan.

The yeshiva subsequently reopened and is currently still operating.

External links

• The Yeshivas Toras Chessed on the Jewish Communities and Records website
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2294973.stmThe Hitchin Yeshiva on the BBC
  BBC
  The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
  
  News website 2002]
• The Hitchin Yeshiva on the United Kingdom Government News website 2002