Beth Rivkah (, Bais Rivkah, lit. "House of Rebecca"), formally known as Associated Beth Rivkah Schools, is a private girls' school system affiliated with the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
It was established in 1941 by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, and developed by his son-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe. The flagship school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, includes an early childhood division, elementary school, high school, and a teacher training seminary. Other branches are located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Yerres, France; Melbourne, Australia; Casablanca, Morocco; and Kfar Chabad, Israel.
Many Lubavitcher girls attend the Beth Rivkah school system from first through twelfth grades. Students at the one- to two-year, post-high-school teacher training seminary have the option of earning a teaching certificate, which can be used in both Chabad and non-Chabad Jewish schools.
This article also discusses other Lubavitch girls' schools, as well as the post secondary institutions available.
Name
The sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe named Beth Rivkah after his grandmother, Rebbetzin Rivkah Schneersohn, wife of the fourth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn.
Location
Beth Rivkah of Crown Heights is spread over two campuses. The early childhood center (including a Head Start Program) and elementary school are located at Campus Chomesh at 470 Lefferts Avenue. The high school, teacher training seminary, and administrative offices are located at 310 Crown Street.
History
The Beth Rivkah elementary school for girls was established by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn in Brooklyn, New York, in 1941, two years after he founded the first boys' yeshiva in that city. The initial enrollment of about 30 students met in a rented storefront. The high school was established in 1955, and the teacher training seminary opened in Crown Heights in 1960.
The elementary and high school divisions experienced significant growth from the late 1950s to the 1970s due to the high birthrate among Lubavitcher families, and the influx of Soviet and Iranian Jewish refugees to New York City. By the early 1980s, enrollment exceeded 600 students.
In 1988 the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe presided at a groundbreaking ceremony for Campus Chomesh, which he established as a memorial to his Rebbetzin, Chaya Mushka Schneerson, who had died that year. The four-story, campus occupies the site of the former Lefferts General Hospital and two adjacent structures, covering nearly one city block. The campus accommodates over 2,000 students with close to 100 classrooms, as well as science labs, computer centers, libraries, a sports gymnasium, and a rooftop playground. Philanthropist Ronald Perelman provided nearly half of the $15 million funding for the campus, which opened in 1995.
Curriculum
School is in session six days a week, excluding Shabbat (Saturday), with a half-day scheduled on Fridays to accommodate Shabbat preparations. The school day runs from 9 am to 4 pm, with a half-hour break for lunch. Judaic studies – including Bible, Midrash, Jewish law, Jewish history, Hebrew, Yiddish, and the writings of the Chabad Rebbes – are taught in the mornings. Secular subjects such as English, mathematics, geography, science, and American history are taught in the afternoons. While in previous decades the language of instruction was Yiddish, the school now teaches religious subjects in Hebrew and secular subjects in English. Yiddish is taught as a second language. An optional Yiddish track is offered in first grade.
As a private school certified by the State of New York, Beth Rivkah is required to teach science (biology and chemistry), history (U.S. and world history), English literature, and mathematics (algebra, geometry, and trigonometry), among other subjects. For fifth-grade science and sixth-grade world history, however, Chabad educators eschew state-mandated booklets and textbooks and instead use material that they collect from a variety of sources in order to comply with the Hasidic movement's religious beliefs. In high school, where students are required by the New York Board of Regents to study from specific textbooks, teachers append their own notations to pages describing theories such as the Big Bang and evolution to inform students of what they consider the Torah point of view on these topics. Novels read in English literature classes are also vetted for compliance with Chabad philosophy and religious belief.