Hebrew Religious Academy (exterior)
The Jewish Encyclopedia
of Western Pennsylvania
A project of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center
The Hebrew Religious Academy (also known as the Pittsburgh Yeshivah or the Pittsburgh Jewish Seminary) was an advanced Jewish educational institution for boys.
Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf Kochin of Tiphereth Israel Congregation started the school in May 1921 out of the Cneseth Israel Congregation synagogue at 72 Miller St. in the Hill District. The school relocated to 81-83 Tannehill St. in August 1921. The school acquired and renovated the building the following year and launched a building fund campaign in 1923. The Hebrew Religious Academy Ladies Auxiliary oversaw much of the fundraising for the school. The school was remodeled in mid-1924 to accommodate 400 students. The school appears to have closed sometime before the end of the 1920s.
The Hebrew Religious Academy included classes in chumash with rashi (Torah study with the commentary of the medieval scholar Rashi) and in gemora (Talmud). The school regularly invited visiting rabbis from other communities to give examinations to the students. By early 1923, some 150 boys were enrolled in the Hebrew Religious Academy.
