24 AV 5770 Community AUGUST 4, 2010 HAMODIAC10

Bais Yaakov of Denver haslong been considered apioneer in out-of-town

chinuch habanos. Rabbi Meyerand Mrs. Bruria Schwab havebeen at the helm of this fineinstitution since it was estab-lished in 1968, paving roads thatmany have followed. We spokewith Rabbi Schwab to learn howhe built Bais Yaakov of Denverand his view of chinuch habanos.

Rabbi Schwab, can you tell us abit about your background?

I was born in Baltimore,where my father, Harav ShimonSchwab, zt”l, was Rav ofCongregation Shearith Israel.My father was the second Ravof this kehillah. The first Ravhad been niftar, and for manyyears the shul was without aRav. In 1936, they imported myfather from Germany. Heremained in that position forover twenty years, when heassumed the Rabbanus of KhalAdas Yeshurun in WashingtonHeights.

When I was eighteen, Ilearned under Harav YitzchokHutner, zt”l, of Mesivta RabbiChaim Berlin, and later attend-ed the Gateshead Yeshivah,where my uncle, Rabbi MosheSchwab, zt”l, was the Mashgiach.Subsequently, I traveled toEretz Yisrael to learn in theyeshivah of Harav Elya Lopian,zt”l, in Kfar Chassidim, andafter I married, I learned in thekollel headed by Harav MichelFeinstein, zt”l, in Tel Aviv. Igained much from all of myrebbeim, but I consider myfather to be my rebbi muvhak.

While in Eretz Yisrael, I mar-ried Bruria Chechik, daughterof Harav Moshe Chechik, zt”l.

We returned to America in1963, and I became the eighth-grade rebbi at the Yeshivah ofCrown Heights. Later, I becamea seventh-grade rebbi and assis-tant principal of Torah Vodaathof Flatbush, which subsequent-ly became Yeshivah TorahTemimah, and I was also teach-ing in Rika Breuer Teachers’Seminary in WashingtonHeights in the evenings.

How did you get to Denver?When Mr. Sheldon Beren, z”l,

of Denver, married Mrs. MiriamLevitan in 1967, she only agreedto move to Denver if therewould be chinuch for her four-teen-year-old daughter [Mrs.Cheryl Feldberger, a”h]. Mr.Beren got to work trying toestablish a Bais Yaakov highschool in Denver.

He worked with communityleaders Mr. and Mrs. MannyFeder, a”h, who subsequentlybecame the first president ofBais Yaakov and the Ladies ofBeth Jacob, respectively. Mr.Beren contacted TorahUmesorah for help in recruitingsomeone with some experiencein chinuch habanos who would

come to Denver to establish aschool. There were not too manypeople in those days who fit thebill, and since I was a rebbi andhad also been teaching girls inBreuer’s, I was recommended.

Was it hard to make that move?It was an act of a pioneering

spirit, which my wife had morethan I did. She was very excitedabout the prospect of creatingan institution, gathering girlsfrom all over and beingmechanech them. My father alsoencouraged me to try it — heliked the idea of being marbitzTorah in places besides NewYork. At that time there wasvery little in the way of BaisYaakov high schools west of theHudson River.

I went with a return ticket inmy pocket. I believed this wouldjust be an attempt to createwhat had never existed. It wassimply an experiment; if itcould work al pi Torah, I wouldcontinue.

What was Denver like when youarrived?

If not for the Hillel AcademyDay School which had beenestablished ten years earlier,Yeshivah Toras Chaim, whichhad been started one yearbefore we arrived, and our newBais Yaakov High School, thekehillah would have died, justlike so many other communitiesthat had similar beginnings —places like Omaha, Nebraska,and Kansas City, which neverdeveloped into mekomoshaTorah. Our mosdos saved thecommunity.

How did the school develop?We started the Bais Yaakov

right away with ten girls; eightwere local girls, one was from

Phoenix, and the other was fromSan Francisco. Baruch Hashem,we experienced rapid growthand celebrated many majormilestones.

In 1977, we built our dormi-tory. Until then we housed ourout-of-town girls with families.Today, we are the only BaisYaakov with a dormitory cam-pus. The campus includes dormrooms, housing for the dormparents, a beautiful and spa-cious auditorium with diningfacilities and a swimming pool.

We have a lot of activities,and it provides a wonderful

atmosphere for the girls. Wehave wonderful dorm parents;Mr. and Mrs. Feivel Gallard arethe senior dorm parents, andthey are assisted by Rabbi andMrs. Yechiel Ehrlanger.

In 1980, we built our currentschool building two blocksnorth of our dormitory campus.The Beren family remained veryactive in the school for manyyears. Rabbi Nathaniel Lauerserved as vice principal from1970 to 1994. Rabbi AvrohomBrownstein served as executivedirector from 1981-1989. Mr.Avrohom Grossman, the fourthand current president of theschool, has served for 28 years,following the presidency of Mr.Manny Feder, a”h, Dr. WernerPrenzlau, a”h, and, ybl”c, Mr.Sam Burger.

What is the school like today?We maintain an enrollment

of sixty to seventy girls. For thecoming year, twenty-one out-of-town girls will be in the dorm,and the balance will be fromDenver. Our staff is very stable,baruch Hashem, and the mem-bers serve as extraordinary rolemodels for the students.

Our limudei kodesh classesare on the level of the finestBais Yaakovs in the country. Ourstudents have the good fortuneto have Rebbetzin BruriaSchwab as their menaheles. Mrs.Schwab is a direct link to SarahSchenirer through her teachers,who were students of the leg-endary founder of the BaisYaakov movement. My wife is amentor to the girls, teachingChumash, Navi and Ivrit on thelevel of the early Bais Yaakovteachers. The subjects comealive and affect their thinkingon a very profound level. Sheteaches with tremendous love,recognizing how the genera-tions have changed and under-standing that she must tailor

her approach to the girls of thetwenty-first century.

The limudei chol staff areunder the direction of Mrs.Esther Melamed, a graduate ofYavne in Cleveland. We are verylucky that several of its members are also able toinspire our talmidos with ahavasHashem and yiras Shamayim. Asan example, our scienceteacher, Miss Dasi Indich, pointsout nifla’os haBorei under themicroscope, and the studentswalk out as inspired as they dofrom their limudei kodesh class-es. Though the secular studiesoccupy many hours of the day,the ruach of Bais Yaakov perme-ates all facets of the curriculum.

Our students are motivatedand inspired to be here. Ourschool is a happy place, a placewith a mesorah, a place withstandards and a high level ofeducation. Our students cangraduate with as many as forty-six college credits, and weencourage them to get degreesby spending as little time in col-lege as possible.

In addition to the intenseeducation, there are manyextracurricular activities,

including Shabbatons, trips tothe Colorado Rocky Mountains,a yearly production and weeklymelaveh malkahs in the winter.The school is a fun place, withtremendous simchas hachaim;there is music during the lunchhour and impromptu kumsitzesin the stairwells. At the dorm,there is frequent dancing dur-ing the evening programs.

We have had students fromthirty different cities inAmerica and fifteen countries,including Russia, Ukraine,Moldavia, Italy, South Africa,Mexico and Panama. This year,we have a student from CostaRica. We have many differentlanguages in the dormitory, andit is amazing to see how it allcomes together. In the begin-ning, there are always adjust-ments, and the new students arehesitant and not sure what toexpect; but in the end, it is awonderful coming together ofcultures and languages. Thegirls become one happy family.

We are currently upgradingour dormitory campus. Due tothe development of the lightrail that is going right past thedorm, we are building a security

Community Connection / By Devorah Klein

Rabbi Meyer Schwab (R) with his son, Rabbi Aron Yehuda Schwab,Rosh Kollel of Denver Community Kollel

A Pioneer in Chinuch Habanos – An Interview With

Rabbi Meyer Schwab of Denver, Colorado

My father alsoencouraged me totry it — he liked theidea of beingmarbitz Torah inplaces besides NewYork.

Bais Yaakov of Denver

24 AV 5770 Community AUGUST 4, 2010HAMODIA C11

wall around the campus. It willbe a beautiful decorative wallwith motorized gates. We arealso planning on building anathletic center and moving thepool into that building.

We have been matzliach tograduate over eight hundredgirls, with thousands of childrenwho are now growing up in aTorah lifestyle. We have hadmany alumnae from very weakbackgrounds, but today they aremarried to bnei Torah who learnin Lakewood or Eretz Yisrael.We keep in close contact withour alumnae and share in theirsimchos, and R”l, unhappyevents.

How has the Denver communitydeveloped?

Today, Denver has the realtzurah of a makom Torah. In addi-tion to shuls, schools, and theDenver Community Kollel, thereis a flourishing baal teshuvahcommunity in the southeast sec-tion, under the leadership ofRabbi Yaakov Meyer, whose wifeis an alumna and currentteacher in our school. It is a realoasis in a desert.

In 1998, we established theDenver Community Kollel. Anaffiliate of Bais Yaakov, it isheaded by my son, Rabbi AronYehuda Schwab, and RabbiShachne Sommers. We realizedthat the future of Denver neededto include a more vigorous andexciting element of bnei Torah tobring it to a higher level. BaruchHashem, the kollel has influ-enced the community in anunbelievable way. It has stabi-lized the West Side of Denverand created an atmospherewhere the Bais Yaakov girls cansee well-adjusted families ofbnei Torah who are b’simchah.

The dormitory girls go to thekollel families frequently forShabbos lunch and also babysitfor them. Consequently, thesefamilies become role models forthem and show them what theirown future Torah lives can looklike.

How has the education of girlschanged over the years?

In 1968, our enrollment wasopen to all Jewish girls. As timewent on, I had to become moreselective. The average non-frumperson in 1968 was more inno-cent than many frum peopletoday due to internet access andDVDs. A girl who comes to mewith a head full of media influ-ences can corrupt the entireclass.

Today, the main criteria thatwe are looking for is a sense oftznius, innocence and sincerity.Even if the girl does not yet per-form at the highest level oftznius, as long as she is not“jaded” and has a tzniusdiknature, we will accept her. Itused to be that tznius was a ques-tion of a skirt versus pants.Today it is a question of tightclothing, and the attitude haschanged completely.

In a way, while we are veryselective, we are still more inclu-sive than many other BaisYaakov schools. We have daugh-ters of rebbeim sitting next togirls from modern homes, andthey welcome the chance to havea positive influence.

It is important to note thatwhile we adhere to the highest

level of tznius, we do it in a waythat promotes positive feelings.We have a big sign in our studyhall, “In our school, tznius iscool!”We teach our talmidos thatthey can be very proud to walkin the street dressed as a basYisrael.

Our parents must sign thatthey do not allow unsupervisedinternet usage. No assignmentsare given that require internetuse, and if internet was used, theparent must sign that it was fullysupervised. We do accept stu-dents who have internet in thehome, but we monitor carefullyto see how much the girl hasbeen affected; in time, the truenature is visible by the student’sbehavior.

Cell phones have introduceda different world, a different ele-ment of chinuch habanos. We donot allow the students to havecell phones in school. Althoughwe encourage both local andnon-local girls to use cell phoneswhile traveling to and fromschool for security reasons, whilein school they must deposit themwith the office or with the dormparents. We have found that dor-mitory students with cell phonesnever really adjust; they neverreally arrive and have a chanceto break away in order tobecome a Bais Yaakov of Denvergirl.

Girls today often become themain breadwinners of the family.We teach our girls that whenthey look for parnassah, theymust remember their main call-ing in life. Their professions arejust a kardom lachpor bo, ameans to provide parnassah, andtheir main goal is to build aTorah home and raise children.We tell them that they do nothave to marry kollel yungeleit;the most important trait in a hus-band is that Torah is a centralfeature in his life, whether he isin kollel or in a profession. Thewife’s job is to constantlyencourage his learning and thefocus of Torah in the home. A girlshould not feel that she is “mar-rying down” and is a second-class citizen if her husband is inthe business world, especially ifshe marries later.

I have spoken to Gedolim inEretz Yisrael about this, and theyagreed that the main thing isthat we tell our talmidos thattheir husbands should be bneiTorah, someone to whom Torah isthe central feature in his life.

Rabbi Schwab, thank you for yourtime and for a very informativeinterview.

Rabbi Meyer Schwab