| Yeshiva Ohel Torah-Baranovich מתיבתא רבתא אהל תורה בברנוביץ | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Type | Yeshiva |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Orthodox Judaism |
| Established | c. 1906 |
| Founder | Rabbi Yosef Yoizel Horowitz |
| Closed | 1941 |
| Rosh yeshiva | Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman |
Yeshiva Ohel Torah-Baranovich, commonly referred to as the Baranovich Yeshiva or simply as Baranovich, was an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Baranavichy, Belarus (which at its founding was ruled by the Russian Empire and after World War I, the Second Polish Republic). Established circa 1906 by Rabbi Yosef Yoizel Horowitz, the Alter of Novardok (Navahrudak), it attracted leading rabbis such as Rabbi Yisroel Yaakov Lubchansky and Rabbi Avraham Yoffen as instructors, but was forced to disband with the outbreak of World War I. After the war, Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman, a student of the Radin Yeshiva who had been forced into exile in Smilavičy during the hostilities, agreed to serve as rosh yeshiva (dean) upon the recommendation of the Chofetz Chaim. In the interwar period, the yeshiva gained widespread fame and a large student body. Wasserman's style of teaching emphasized the simple meaning of the Talmudic texts and students advanced to the point that they were able to study independently. The yeshiva went into exile and disbanded a second time during World War II, and Wasserman and many of the students were murdered by Lithuanian Nazi sympathizers. Torah institutions named after the Baranovich Yeshiva and Wasserman were later established in the United States and Israel.