Places

Yeshiva Beth Josef in Białystok was originally located in several buildings, and only in 1937 did it receive its own building - from that point on, it was located on Szkolna Street (now Piękna 19). It was one of the most famous yeshivas in Poland.

It was founded as a continuation of the yeshiva in Homel in 1922 by rabbi Abraham Joffen (born in 1890), who was also its rector for the entire period of its existence. He was a graduate of the yeshivas in Słuck, Krynki and Nowogródek, and a student of rabbi Josef Hurwicz (in Nowogródek; after many years, Joffen named the yeshiva in Białystok after him). Jofen spent the First World War in Homel, and,after its end, settled in Białystok. He also traveled to Palestine, where, with the help of Polish immigrants, launched yeshivas in Tel Aviv, Bnei Bark, Cheder and Safed.
During the 15 years of the existence of the yeshiva in Białystok, it produced several hundred graduates, several of whom took up positions of rabbis or heads of yeshivas both in Poland and abroad (mainly in Palestine). There were 26 units subordinated to the yeshiva in Białystok, e.g. in Włocławek, Bielsk Podlaski, Kutno, Ozorków, Dąbrowa, Puławy, Włodzimierz Wołyński, Łuck and Święciany. Overall it had 1,400 students, including the subordinate schools. The representatives of the subordinate institutions came to Białystok for the annual conferences. 
Completed in 1937, the building was a four-storey, modernly furnished structure. The great lecture hall could accommodate up to 400 students. Yeshiva also had a boarding house with its own canteen.