Joseph Kaminetsky

Joseph Kaminetsky (1911 – March 17, 1999) was an American Orthodox rabbi who became the pioneering first director of Torah Umesorah – National Society for Hebrew Day Schools of North America, based in New York City. He was directly responsible for the establishment of hundreds of yeshiva day schools across the United States outside of the New York Metropolitan Area.

Education and mission Kaminetsky was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1911. At first, he attended public school for a year, but his father wanted him to attend a yeshiva, and sold the family home in order to afford the tuition; they moved from East New York to Brownsville. Kaminetsky attended Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin for elementary school, and later Talmudical Academy High School on East Broadway on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. After receiving his doctorate in education from Columbia Teachers College,

Family His son, Rabbi David Kaminetsky, was principal of Manhattan Day School for a decade but left to become the national director of NCSY, a post he left in 2002.

His daughter Nechama is married to Rabbi Mayer Steinhardt, both of whom are involved in education. He is also survived by his son Judah and daughter Phyllis, married to Gedalya Riess. His daughter Symie is married to Rabbi Eliezer Liff, who live in Jerusalem and are similarly involved in Jewish education. His wife, Selma, died in July 2010.