From Soviet theater back to Torah study: Historic Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva rises again in Belarus

A legendary Jewish institution destroyed by the upheavals of World War II and decades of Soviet rule has come back to life, as the historic Radin Yeshiva in Belarus reopens its doors to Torah study.

Founded in 1869 by the revered Chofetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, the yeshiva once housed 300 students before being seized by Soviet authorities and eventually converted into a theater. Its Jewish history was largely forgotten in a town where no Jews live today.

More than 100 rabbis from around the world gathered to celebrate its restoration, led by Canadian Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter and the Jewish nonprofit Yad Yisroel.

“We didn’t want to just have some sort of tribute to the past,” Hofstedter said. “We wanted to be in continuity with the future.”

The restored yeshiva will once again welcome Torah students, reviving a center of Jewish learning in a region where the Holocaust wiped out entire communities.