Brooklyn, NY – Rabbi Avraham Kelman, founder of the Bnos Leah Prospect Park Yeshiva girls’ school in Flatbush died Saturday morning in Brooklyn at the age of 96 after a lengthy illness.
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Hailing from a long line of rabbonim, Rabbi Kelman was named as the rov of Congregation Bais Yehuda in Toronto, before serving as a chaplain during World War II.
He established Prospect Park in 1952 and over the years the school has educated thousands of girls from preschool through twelfth grade.
On the school’s website, Rabbi Kelman outlined Prospect Park’s dual mission as providing students with a high quality education while also instilling in them a sense of joy in their future roles as the “mothers of klal yisroel.”
Rabbi Kelman authored several seforim in his lifetime and was the rov of the Prospect Park Jewish Center for more than 60 years.
The funeral will take place on Sunday at 1 PM in Prospect Park auditorium at 1604 Avenue R followed by burial at Wellwood Cemetery in Farmingdale.
BDE – A true Tzaddik in our times has left us.
BDE – he was a great educator.
BDE A true tzaddil and a good friend.
Boruch Dayan HaEmes.
I attended Prospect Park elementary school as well as a member of the second graduating class of Prospect Park (as it was known then) Rabbi Kelman was always a calm, caring individual who truly cared about each and every student. BDE.
There was an overflow crowd of hundreds at the liviah including 3 generations of Prospect Park students, despite today being Shabbos Nachamu weekend. Moving hespedim were delivered by his so, son in law, and grandsons.
BDE In my time (1966) PP was for both boys and girls. Will never forget him. Once gave us a punishment to write the first pasuk in the Torah over and over to fill all the lines on a page.At first we thought it funny but then he gave us a shiur on its importance in life and how we must work at whatever we do and do it well. That is the only way to accomplish anything in life. Will never get anywhere if we just sit back and annoy our teachers. He was a spectacular person with brilliance and passion we can all learn from.