The holy Academy Yeshiva Shaar Hashamaim ("The Gate of Heaven") is unique in that it combines the learning of the commonly learned subjects of the Torah together with the learning of the hidden science of Jewish Mysticism known as Kabbalah. The Kabbalah classes in Yeshiva Shaar Hashamaim are unprecedented anywhere, for only here is the Kabbalah openly and formally studied on a high scholastic standard. In this seemingly non-mystical setting the teachings of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and the Holy Ari-Z'l are studied with tremendous intensity and depth. Here the students study with profound devotion and commitment throughout the day, and many of the students learn though the late hours of the night, since some sacred scriptures are learned only after midnight when, according to the Kabbalah, the atmosphere is pure and when the calmness of spirit necessary for attaining the love of, yearning for, and unity with the Almighty Creator can be achieved.

The Academy was established in Jerusalem in 5666 (1906) inside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem by two great scholars - Rabbi Shimon Horowitz Z"l and Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach Z"l (father of the late Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Z"l).

The enthusiastic encouragement and support offered the Yeshiva by the great Torah luminaries of that time in the Holy Land as well as in Europe brought about a renaissance of Kabbalah in which the Yeshiva prospered as one of the leading centers of Torah learning in Jerusalem in the era between the two World Wars.

The Lord said to Rabbi Yishmael:
"My greatest pleasure in this world is from those scholars who are engaged in the study of Kabbalah and view the Harmony of my Creation, because in the Kabbalah is my majesty My Honor, My Glory and My Beauty."
And the Lord said to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai: "In future generations many people will be blessed with their sustenance as a result of the merit earned through the study of the
Divine Wisdom of Kabbalah that you and your disciples have so joyously revealed." (From the Book of the Zohar)

After the War of Independence - 1948 - and the abandonment of the Jewish Quarter, the Yeshiva suffered a most difficult period.


It took time until the necessary facilities were found and the Yeshiva reorganized itself in the newly established State of Israel.


Just recently the Yeshiva borrowed substantial sums of money and found a permanent resting place in the Mekor Boruch neighborhood of Jerusalem where the scholars can fully apply themselves to their studies and supplications through which they hope to bring the Final Redemption speedily in our days.