Житомирский еврейский учительский институт

The Zhitomir Jewish Teachers’ Institute was established in 1873 in an attempt to reorganize the Zhitomir Rabbinical Seminary. Its purpose was to prepare teachers for the government-run Jewish school system in the Russian Empire. The institute was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education and subordinate to the administration of the Kiev Educational District. Several prominent Haskalah figures, including Ḥayim Zelig Słonimski, Avraham Ber Gottlober, Lazar (Eli‘ezer) Zweifel, and others were among the institution’s teachers. By decision of the government, the director and teachers of the institute, except for the teachers of Jewish subjects and mathematics, could be only Christians. The Jewish teachers were required to be graduates of rabbinical seminaries. In 1885 the institution was closed by the Russian authorities and labeled "useless." The collection of the Zhitomir Jewish Teachers’ Institute includes copies of archival materials from 1873-1885. It includes catalogs of books of the institute’s library, institute’s reports and minutes, and copies of materials about teachers and officials at the Zhitomir Rabbinical Seminary (1873-1875). The collection also contains a complete inventory of the fund from the State Archive of the Zhitomir Region -- Read more