TORAH UMESORAH

TORAH UMESORAH (National Society for Hebrew Day Schools). The largest national body serving 700 Orthodox day schools in North America, the Torah Umesorah was founded in 1944 by Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz. From 1946 its national director was Joseph Kaminetsky, who was succeeded by Rabbi Joshua Fishman in 1982. Policy is officially dictated by a rabbinical board. Among its other activities, Torah Umesorah sponsors a teacher training institute called Aish Dos and represents its membership schools to the U.S. Department of Education. In the past, Torah Umesorah published the children's magazine Olomeinu as well as The Jewish Parent; and Hamenahel, a periodical for school principals. In 2004 they began publishing an educational magazine called Rayanos. Torah Umesorah organizes two yearly conferences, the National Conference of Yeshiva Principals and the National Leadership Convention, the latter of which is geared toward anyone involved in Torah education. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: D. Zvi Kramer, The Day Schools and Torah Umesorah: The Seeding of Traditional Judaism in America (1984); C.S. Liebman, in: AJYP, 66 (1965); A.I. Schiff, The Jewish Day School in America (1966). (Asher Oser (2nd ed.)