The Hartman Institute

The Hartman institute was founded by David Hartman (who taught my father Jewish philosophy in 7th grade in Montreal) in 1976 as

a place where Judaic studies scholars would address the critical contemporary challenges facing the Jewish people. More than three decades later, the Shalom Hartman Institute is an international force influencing global Jewry and broadening the horizons of Jewish thought and education.

As the Institute expanded in the early 1980s, they moved to the roomy confines of 28 Rachel Imeinu.

By 1982, when the Shalom Hartman Institute moved to larger premises at 28 Rahel Imeinu Street, it was a large organization with a full-time Beit Midrash, a broad roster of educational projects, and a research department that produced a wide variety of in-house publications. With its great range of activities, it was fast becoming a magnet for leading intellectuals and philosophers.

No one who we spoke to was able to tell us when the Hartman Institute left the building. Their new campus was opened in 1996, but we know that by then two other organizations had already inhabited the building.

We found a number of pictures of the building from this period. The fence outside the building was lower. The fence and window mullions were painted beige, and a sign for the Hartman Institute adorned one of gate's pillars. Plants with purple flowers grew along the fence.

Maale Film School

Today, in a discussion with the head of Yeshivat Ner Yaakov, we discovered another piece of the puzzle. The organization Ma'ale, which we weren't sure about, was none other than the Ma'ale Film School, which apparently inhabited our building in the early 1990s. We will contact them and try to confirm this information. In addition, we hope that they will have photos, and perhaps VIDEOS, of the building.

Chabad School

We were aware that at some point in history a Chabad School existed at Rachel Imenu 28. The evidence for this was a photograph in the Municipal Archive that showed a sign above the front door, proclaiming that the building was the home of the "Campus Haya Mouchka." The picture was undated and we did not know which years the Chabad school existed or details about it.

Recently we discovered information about this stage of the building's life. Apparently, the Chabad school was located there from 2001, taking over the building from Reut. It was there at least two years, but possibly it was there until 2006, when One Family moved in. Further clarification is necessary.

In an article on a website called "Chabad Info" the school was for French girls who came to Israel for three years of high school. The girls

"live in an atmosphere of lively Hassidism, in the spirit of the Messiah and Redemption."

Describing the campus, we are told that, in addition to the many pictures of the Rebbe, the school is

"immersed in green vegitation, decorated with flags of the Messiah and with a pastural, gladdening atmosphere.

The school was run by Rabbi Shalom bar Sheshet and his wife Rivka, now of Kfar Chabad. In 2003, 40 girls were learning in the school.

Building Stages

One of the things we are researching is the history of this building. We have tried to learn as much as we can about the different stages of its life. The following is a partial list of tenants in the building:

I. Abdin Husheimi and family. Husheimi bought the land in 1933 and by 1935 the house was standing. He was a Christian Arab who was a member of the British Palestine Police, and was married to a wealthy Jewish immigrant from Poland Russia named Ida Ostinsky. They lived in the house until 1945, when they moved to Syria, then returned in 1947 and left shortly thereafter for Egypt. In 1960 Ida reclaimed ownership of the land, but never lived in the building again.

II. Jan. 1948-1954: Polish Consulate

III. 1960-1980: Venezuelan Embassy

IV. 1982- ? The Hartman Institute

V. 1989/1990-1994: The Maale Film School

VI. 1995-1998 Yeshivat Ner Yaakov

VII. 1999-2001: The Reut School

VIII. 2001-2003 (at least): Campus Haya Mouchka, a Chabad girls school for high schoolers from France.

IX. 2006-present: The One Family Fund

We will post more extensively on each period separately.

Welcome to our blog

This blog will contain some of our research on the building located at 28 Rachel Imenu in Jerusalem. Check back for updates.