Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh, Chabad of Western Pennsylvania split

Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh is no longer affiliated with Chabad of Western Pennsylvania.

Parents and staff learned of the change in a March 13 letter that announced the school was no longer affiliated with Merkos L’Inyonie Chinuch — and by extension Chabad of Western Pennsylvania — although it would remain an official Chabad school of Tomchei Tmimim, according to the letter.

According to the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters, Merkos L’Inyonie Chinuch is the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch and provides professional guidance and services to existing Chabad schools. It also assists in the establishment of new schools and provides professional training for educators. Additionally, it maintains a directory of all Chabad educational institutions in the English-speaking world.

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Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh was founded under the auspices of Tomchei Tmimim, Board President Chaim Oster said in a written statement to the Chronicle. The school became affiliated with Merkos well after its founding, meaning “Yeshiva’s affiliation with Merkos was in addition to” its affiliation with Tomchei Tmimim, “not in place of it.”

Oster said the school, “is returning to its roots to once again operate as a stand-alone independent Chabad school under the auspices of Tomchei Tmimim.” But, according to a Lubavitch Center representative, Tomchei Tmimim is not a central Lubavitch governing body and does not certify schools as belonging to the Chabad Lubavitch movement.

The announcement came one day after Yeshiva Schools received a letter from Merkos saying that the school had been delisted from its database.

The decision to delist the school has roots going back six years, when the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh requested a governance audit of the institution in 2019.

While Yeshiva Schools and the Lubavitch Center of Pittsburgh were separate legal entities, Oster said, they were entwined operationally, and their finances were comingled. Because the two organizations had distinct missions, he said, the auditors recommended Yeshiva formally decouple from the Lubavitch Center — a recommendation approved by the Yeshiva board. The process of separating began under the leadership of Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, then Yeshiva’s CEO.

Negotiations began at that time to reach a long-term cooperation agreement between Yeshiva and the Lubavitch Center, Oster said.

In July 2020, the organizations formally decoupled and signed a “Perpetual Cooperation Agreement,” which was amended in 2021 to address several issues not in the original agreement, such as the ownership of sefer Torahs and religious books, insurance, security, janitorial services, building maintenance, operation of the mikvah and the sale of a dormitory, according to Oster.

In September 2020, Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum was appointed Yeshiva Schools CEO and head of school, succeeding Rosenfeld, who led the school for more than 40 years. Rosenfeld remains both the head shaliach of western Pennsylvania and the rabbi of the Lubavitch Center. He said that Chabad of Western Pennsylvania serves as the umbrella organization for all Chabad institutions in the region, including both Lubavitch Center and Yeshiva Schools.

As the two organizations worked to implement the amended cooperation agreement, Oster said, disagreements arose that were brought to a rabbinic arbitrator, who handed down final rulings on all matters except for a last bequest valued at $560,000.

The arbitrator resigned in July 2023, and according to Oster, the two parties have been unable to agree on the forum for future rabbinic arbitration about other disagreements.

Leaders of Merkos L’Inyonie Chinuch cited Yeshiva’s unwillingness to participate in a beis din as the reason they delisted the school.

Rosenfeld agreed that the disputes belong before a beis bin, or Jewish court.

“According to Jewish law,” he said, “disputes between Jewish institutions must be brought before a beis din for resolution. We are committed to abiding by the ruling of the beis din.”

Yeshiva officials say the issues between the two organizations should be determined in a secular court and have filed three legal actions against the Lubavitch Center in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. According to Oster, the actions seek either injunctive relief to compliance with arbitration rulings or equitable relief to compel specific performance of a contract provision.

The complaints allege that the PCA and its addendum are in full effect and specify: the sale of 2142 Wightman from the Lubavitch Center to Yeshiva Schools for $300,000; certain donations should be given to Yeshiva by the Lubavitch Center; and, that Lubavitch congregants must vacate the building at the time previously agreed upon when school/camp is in session, as laid out in the PCA and addendum.

While Rosenfeld would prefer to see these issues before a beis din, Oster said there is no role for either a beis din or another arbitrator.

“The only venue for resolution of those cases is in secular court,” he said, but added that the parties have begun to negotiate an out-of-court settlement that would resolve all three cases.

“If an out-of-court settlement can be reached, Yeshiva would accordingly drop all three cases,” he said.

For his part, Rosenfeld continues to view the beis din as the proper avenue to resolve these issues. He said if Yeshiva Schools decides to abide by the directives of the Jewish court, it can again be listed by the Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch.

“It is truly unfortunate that it has come to this,” he said. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.