Telz yeshiva is a branch of the Žemaicai Museum "Alka", established in the historic Telšiai Jewish Higher School.
It is a museum space whose vision is to protect and actualize the Jewish cultural heritage, promote community dialogue and initiate the formation of historical self-awareness. In the museum , the memories of Telz yeshiva who survived the Holocaust are told, the history of the Telšiai yeshiva and the Telšiai Jews. The scarcely preserved, but extremely significant Judaic heritage preserved in the Žemaitsi Museum "Alka" is presented: household items, religious items, documentary material.
History of the Telz yeshiva:
Founded in 1875, its success is attributed to Rabbi Elizier Gordon. in 1884 became the head of the Telšiai yeshiva, the first in Lithuania to apply modern teaching methods: students had to take entrance exams, after which they were divided into groups according to their level of knowledge. Until then, yeshivas continued the practice of beit midrashas (houses of prayer), where each chose a part of the Talmud to be read at their own discretion. From now on, students divided into groups read and analyzed the same Talmud fragment throughout the semester. The Telšiai yeshiva also adopted a permanent procedure for checking knowledge, which had not been practiced in other yeshivas until then. In a short time, the Telšiai yeshiva became one of the most significant centers of Jewish education in Eastern Europe.
Since the 19th century p. II. throughout the Jewish diaspora, the names of not only Telšiai, but also Kaunas (Vilijampole) and Panevėžys yeshivas were famous. Jews from all over the world came to study at these spiritual rabbinic seminaries operating in Lithuania. Each yeshiva, which had its own specifics of teaching or, as it was said at the time, "spirit", formed a unique network of Lithuanian Jewish yeshiva. All three yeshivas were restored in Israel and America during the war, where they continue their activities to this day. Telšiai yeshiva in 1942. with the same name was restored in the USA, in Cleveland, where the training system formed in Telšiai is continued.
Yeshiva was always loud like a stormy sea. Students discussed in large groups and not only in the yeshiva building, but everywhere and always: on the street, in the dormitory, during walks in the fields or by the lake - eventually the whole city of Telšiai turned into a big yeshiva, where studies did not stop even for a moment. (Excerpt from the Telšiai Memory Book).
The facility is adapted for people with disabilities.
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