Talmud Torah of Minneapolis records

The Talmud Torah of Minneapolis began in 1895 as a cheder (an old-world-style school for boys) in North Minneapolis called The Hebrew Free School. A few years later, the school moved to Kenesseth Israel synagogue, and again in 1911 to its own building. George Gordon initated the 1911 move along with leading other transformations to create a modern coeducational curriculum. Yiddish was abandoned as the teaching language in favor of Hebrew. Students learned about Jewish heritage and customs as well as religious foundations. In 1913 the name changed to The Talmud Torah of Minneapolis before moving again in 1915 to a building on Eighth and Fremont Avenue North in North Minneapolis, a space that would remain their home for almost forty years. In 1970 the classes moved to its St. Louis Park branch. Currently the Talmud Torah of Minneapolis is a 2nd-8th grade Jewish education program. At its peak, between 1993 and 1995, over 830 students were enrolled. Currently most of the students come from families affiliated with three Minneapolis-area Conservative synagogues: Adath Jeshurun, Beth El, and Sharei Chesed. For more information, visit their website at www.talmudtorahmpls.org.