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Ohr Temimim and Jewish Heritage Day School papers

 Collection — Box: 1
Identifier: MS-0200-0015

Scope and Contents

The school was founded within the last twenty years, and to date all administrative records are still considered current. As a result, materials included are student centered: they are student created yearbooks, calendars and student produced curriculum materials. Jewish year dates are also included on some materials.

Dates

  • 1998-2009

Creator

Language of Materials

Collection material in English.

Terms of Access

The Ohr Temimim and Jewish Heritage Day School Papers, 1998-2009 are open for research.

Copyright

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Historical Note

The Jewish Heritage Day School (JHDS) in Amherst, New York, now known as Ohr Temimim, was founded in 1994 and has been led from inception by Rabbi Shmuel Schanowitz, the school’s Principal. In 1995, the school gained a Provisional Charter from New York State Board of Regents and on November 10, 2000 it was granted an Absolute Charter. The Jewish Heritage Day School was initially based in offices within the Jewish Community Center in Getzville, NY, but in November 2001 the JHDS relocated into its own building in a former Prudential Insurance office at 411 John James Audubon Parkway, Amherst, NY 14228, which remains the school’s current address. In 2008, the JHDS merged with another Orthodox school, Torah Temimah Day School of Buffalo (founded during the 1970s), which was affiliated with the Chabad movement. The new merged school took the name of Ohr Temimim. While the original JHDS was initially affiliated with the Torah U’Mesorah Jewish Day School network during the 1990s, Ohr Temimim is now affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Chabad is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. Chabad is an acronym of three words: Chochmah (Wisdom), Binah (Understanding), and Da’at (knowledge). Lubavitch is the name of the small town in the county of Mohilev (Imperial Russia) that served as the center of the Chabad Chassidism for four generations. The origins of modern Chabad-Lubavitch organization in the United States are traced to the early 1940’s when the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1950), appointed his son-in-law and later successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1902-1994), to head the newly-founded educational and social service arms of the movement. As of 2007 there are over 3300 Chabad linked institutions around the world.

Ohr Temimim provides a dual curriculum in secular and Judaic studies for Grades Kindergarten through eighth grade as well as a preschool and nursery for over 100 children from 40 families and is planning an expansion in 2013/2014.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet (1 half manuscript box)

Abstract

Student produced materials documenting aspects of the educational life of Ohr Temimim and its predecessor institution, the Jewish Heritage Day School, in Amherst, New York.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by type of material.

Acquisition Information

Rabbi Shmuel Schanowitz, Principal of Ohr Temimim donated a small amount of materials in June 2010. The school’s administrative, photographic and other papers were initially surveyed under a grant from the DHP Documentary Heritage Program in 2009. The collection was arranged in June 2013 and was deposited at the University Archives, Special Collections by the Jewish Buffalo Archives Project in June 2013. The Jewish Buffalo Archives Project was founded in late 2007 under the auspices of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Buffalo with a seed grant from the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies. The Archives Project collects mainly twentieth century documentation relating to the diverse histories, religious traditions and cultures of Jewish communities within the Greater Buffalo area of Western New York, encompassing the geographic areas of Erie and Niagara Counties and partners with the University Archives at the University at Buffalo to make these records accessible.

Accruals and Additions

No further accruals are expected to this collection.

Related Materials

Processing Information

Processed by Chana Revell Kotzin, June 2013.

Title
Finding Aid for the Ohr Temimim and Jewish Heritage Day School papers
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid prepared by Chana Revell Kotzin, June 2013.
Date
2013
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English
Sponsor
The arrangement and description of the Ohr Temimim and Jewish Heritage Day School Papers was made possible by funding obtained through the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies and the Bureau of Jewish Education.

Repository Details

Part of the University Archives Repository

Contact:
420 Capen Hall
Buffalo New York 14260-1674 US
716-645-2916
716-645-3714 (Fax)