The Yeshivah of Flatbush (YOF) is a Modern Orthodox private Jewish day school located in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York. It educates students from age 2 to age 18 and includes an early childhood center, an elementary school, and a High School.
History The Yeshivah of Flatbush (YOF) was founded in 1927 by Joel Braverman, among others. The school, which at first was located on East 10th Street in Midwood, Brooklyn (a neighborhood sometimes identified with nearby Flatbush), at first consisted of an early childhood program, an elementary school, and a middle school.Gergely, Julia (March 16, 2022) "Yeshivah of Flatbush Students Do Talk About Haman in Their Purim 'Encanto' Spoof", Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved September 19, 2022. The high school, founded in 1950 to complement the elementary school, was originally housed in an adjoining building. In 1962, the high school moved into a new building on nearby Avenue J, and the elementary school expanded into what was formerly the high school building.
Hebrew The school incorporates Hebrew into Judaic StudiesIvrit B’Ivrit: A Discussion in Ten Da’at , Ten Da’at, Volume IV, Number 2, Spring 1990. to enable its students to achieve fluency in the Hebrew language.Message from the President, Jack Rahmey , accessed February 25, 2007.
Student demographics YOF comprises Jewish students and teachers from a variety of backgrounds. In the past, more than half of the students were Ashkenazi Jews whose families originated from communities in Germany, Poland, Eastern Europe, and Russia. In recent years, the majority has shifted to students of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish descent. The overwhelming number of Sephardic students can be attributed to the growth of the Syrian Jewish community in Flatbush, and the decline in Ashkenazi enrollment can be attributed to the movement of Modern Orthodox communities to Long Island and New Jersey, with a concomitant increase in the number and quality of Jewish day schools and yeshivot in those areas.Hootnick, Alexandra (July 26, 2011) "A Rising Tide of Sephardic Jews Brings Change To The Yeshivah of Flatbush", The Brooklyn Ink. Retrieved July 17, 2022. In 2022, the lower school consisted of 1,400 students.
Leadership David Eliach was the principal emeritus, following a decades-long tenure as principal of the high school. In later years, Raymond Harari, an alumnus of Yeshivah of Flatbush High School, served as the "head of school" of the high school, followed by Joseph Beyda.(November 8, 2021) "Yeshivah of Flatbush Remembers Rabbi Dr. David Eliach Zt'l", Jewish Image. Retrieved July 17, 2022.(June 14, 2022) "Yeshivah of Flatbush Commemorates Yom HaZikaron and Celebrates Yom Ha'Atzmaut In a Big Way", Jewish Image. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
The Elementary School, formerly led by Lawrence Schwed, is currently headed by Yahel Tsaidi.
Sports Shorts teams are called the Flatbush Falcons and in most cases are members of the Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League.
Notable alumni
Arlene Agus (1949-2024), feminist and activist Howard Apfel, rabbi and expert on medical halacha and ethics"Passover Thoughts", Yeshivah of Flatbush. Accessed December 24, 2023. "Rabbi Dr. Howard Apfel (HS ‘80) is a board certified pediatric cardiologist at Columbia University Medical Center." Robert J. Avrech, Emmy Award-winning screenwriter"To Repair An Unhinged Heart", The Jewish Press, December 1, 2004. Accessed December 24, 2023. "Karen and I have journeyed a lifetime together. I first fell in love with her when I was ten years old and we were students at Yeshivah of Flatbush." David Berger, academic, expert in medieval Jewish history David Bernstein (born 1967), Professor, George Mason University School of Law and author Lee Bienstock (born 1983), finalist on The Apprentice 5.Resnick, Elliot. "The Almost Apprentice: An Interview With Lee Bienstock" , The Jewish Press, June 14, 2006, accessed April 29, 2007. "The Jewish Press: What’s your background? Bienstock: I grew up in Brooklyn and went to Yeshivah of Flatbush as a kid. Then when my family moved out to Long Island, I went to HAFTR." Baruch Samuel Blumberg (1925–2011), recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, identified the Hepatitis B virus Chaim Brovender, rosh yeshivah of Yeshivat HaMivtar Abraham Cooper (born 1950), rabbi who is the associate dean and director of Global Social Action Agenda for the Simon Wiesenthal CenterGlover, Eve. "Rabbi Avraham Cooper: A Jewish Rights Activist Sees The Past Reflected In The Present", The Jewish Press, July 15, 2021. Accessed August 10, 2026. "Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1950, Rabbi Cooper attended Yeshivah of Flatbush, where a number of his teachers were Holocaust survivors." Abraham Foxman (1940–2026), director of the Anti-Defamation League (1987–2015)Rosner's Guest: Abraham H. Foxman , Haaretz, February 28, 2006. "He arrived in America in 1950 with his parents, graduating from the Yeshiva of Flatbush, in Brooklyn, NY, and later earning degrees in political science and law. " Gideon Gartner (born 1936), founder of the Gartner Group Baruch Goldstein, perpetrator of the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.Precker, Michael. "Brooklyn's image as extremist hotbed disputed by some Borough defenders say ties to Israel cherished, but radical groups aren't", The Dallas Morning News, March 20, 1994. Accessed August 6, 2007. "'This is not what we are teaching,' said Rabbi David Eliach, principal at the Yeshiva of Flatbush, where Dr. Goldstein attended high school." Judith Hauptman (born 1943), feminist Talmudic scholar and professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America Neal Hendel (born 1952), former Israeli Supreme Court JusticeHoffman, Gil. "Israel's Central Elections Committee to have US-born head", The Jerusalem Post, December 8, 2019. Accessed August 10, 2026. "The new chairman will be Supreme Court judge Neal Hendel. Hendel was born in the US and attended the Yeshivah of Flatbush and New York University." Yehuda Henkin (1945–2020), Israeli posek Meir Kahane (1932–1990) (Elementary school graduate), founder of the Jewish Defense League and former Israeli Knesset member. Head of the Kach party Eric Kandel (born 1929), 2000 Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or MedicineEric R. Kandel: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2000 , Nobel Foundation. Accessed September 20, 2007. "My grandfather and I liked each other a great deal, and he readily convinced me that he should tutor me in Hebrew during the summer of 1939 so that I might be eligible for a scholarship at the Yeshiva of Flatbush, an excellent Hebrew parochial school that offered both secular and religious studies at a very high level. With his tutelage I entered the Yeshiva in the fall of 1939. By the time I graduated in 1944 I spoke Hebrew almost as well as English, had read through the five books of Moses, the books of Kings, the Prophets and the Judges in Hebrew, and also learned a smattering of the Talmud." Elihu Katz (born 1926), American sociologist and founder of Israeli television Ira Katznelson (born 1944), American political scientist and historian, currently Ruggles Professor at Columbia University, and previously president of the Social Science Research Council and the American Political Science Association. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ezra Labaton (1950–2013), Modern Orthodox Rabbi, Philosopher, Educator, and Founding Rabbi of Congregation Magen David of West Deal Naomi Levy, member of the first class of women to enter the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, bestselling author and founder of Nashuva, The Jewish Spiritual Outreach Movement Isaac Mizrahi (born 1961), fashion designerNachman, Barbara. "Mizrahi", The Journal News, November 1, 2001. Accessed August 6, 2007. "Though she encouraged his creativity, Sarah Mizrahi enrolled her reluctant son in Yeshiva Flatbush, where he spent his days honing a repertoire of rabbi impersonations."Gottschalk, Mary. "Fashion is sure to catch up with Isaac Mizrahi", St. Petersburg Times. October 18, 1998. Accessed August 6, 2007. "Fashion is and always has been an integral part of Mizrahi's life. He often recounts his eight years at Yeshiva Flatbush in his native Brooklyn, where his habit of drawing fashion sketches in the Old Testament regularly got him expelled. Just as regularly, he says, his mother, Sarah, would discard her couture clothes, makeup and accessories, change into a dowdy dress and go to the school to plead for her son's reinstatement. Then the two would celebrate by going shopping." Bertram L. Podell (1925–2005), former member of the United States House of Representatives from New York Dennis Prager (born 1948), public speaker and radio talk show host.Portrait of Joseph Telushkin, Hadassah Magazine, April 2000 Kenneth Prager, physician Samuel Schafler (1929–1991), rabbi, historian, editor and Jewish educator Charlie Shrem (born 1989), entrepreneur, bitcoin advocate, and convicted felon"Ex-yeshiva student and CEO charged in Bitcoin bust", Times of Israel, January 28, 2014. Accessed August 10, 2026. "Shrem is Jewish and speaks English, Hebrew, and Arabic. He attended the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School and graduated from Brooklyn College in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance." Joseph Sitt (born 1974), real estate investor who was founder of the real estate company Thor EquitiesKlein, Zvika. 'The billionaire who wants to build the Middle East a parliament on Israeli soil - interview; Joseph (Joe) J. Sitt calls it the Abraham Organization, and he is deliberate about dropping the word 'Accord,' referring to it as 'the next evolution.'", The Jerusalem Post, August 9, 2026. Accessed August 10, 2026. "His parents sent him to Yeshiva of Flatbush, an Ashkenazi school, rather than to one of the Syrian community’s own institutions, a choice he says was meant to give him that diversity at a young age." Daniel Sperber, professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University and winner of the Israel Prize in 1992 Joseph Telushkin (born 1948), author and speaker on Jewish topicsBooks: 'Holy' Ethically Speaking -- Rabbi Joseph Telushkin Covers It All , The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles by Sandee Brawarsky, October 27, 2006. "Telushkin cites Prager as one of his rebbes -- the people he turns to with ethical questions. The two have been close friends since their sophomore year at Brooklyn's Yeshivah of Flatbush." Elana Maryles Sztokman (born 1969), author, researcher and feminist activistWeizman, Janice. "An Abusive System", The Tel Aviv Review of Books, Summer 2021. Accessed December 24, 2023. "Dr. Elana Maryles Sztokman was once an Orthodox religious Jew. Growing up in Brooklyn, she attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush, where she received an education that schooled her in the requirements and practices of Orthodox women." Joe Tacopina (born 1966), lawyer, media personality and professional sports executiveLeibovich, Mark. "A-Rod’s Defender Knows How to Tap Dance", The New York Times, September 20, 2013. Accessed December 24, 2023. "[Q] You grew up in Sheepshead Bay, and yet you went to Yeshiva of Flatbush for elementary school. [A] My mother and father quickly determined that the best education I was going to get as a young child was at Yeshiva, instead of getting beat up at P.S. 12. I still have my yarmulke." Bruce Wasserstein (1947–2009), investment banker, businessman, and writer Wendy Wasserstein (1950–2006), playwrightBleyer, Jennifer. "The Real Lady of the Canyons" , The New York Times, February 5, 2006. Accessed August 6, 2007. "Perhaps it was because, at the yeshiva in Flatbush, we never studied the religious aspects of Christmas, the holiday seemed to me spectacular, truly magical."