Rabbi Alexander Sender Linchner (1908–1997) was an American-born Orthodox rabbi, pioneering educator, and visionary builder. He is immortalized in Jewish history as the founder of Boys Town Jerusalem (Kiryat Noar), one of Israel's most unique and impactful educational institutions, which seamlessly fused intensive Torah study, high-level technological training, and immigrant rescue.

1. An American in the Pre-War European Yeshivas

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, young Alexander Linchner was an outlier for his generation. In an era when very few American-born boys traveled abroad for advanced Torah study, he boarded a ship to Europe to immerse himself in the great Lithuanian yeshiva world.

He studied at the famed Radin Yeshiva in Poland, where he came under the direct, personal guidance of the legendary Chofetz Chaim (Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan). Linchner was famously the only American student in Radin at the time. The Chofetz Chaim took a special liking to him, routinely showering the young American with blessings and treating him with immense warmth as a symbolic gesture of gratitude to the United States for hosting millions of Jewish refugees.

2. Leadership at Yeshiva Torah Vodaath

Linchner returned to the United States before the outbreak of World War II and married the daughter of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, the towering architect of American Orthodox education.

Rabbi Linchner became the secular studies principal at Yeshiva Torah Vodaath in Brooklyn, working hand-in-hand with his visionary father-in-law. Together, they trained and inspired a generation of young American Jewish educators who would go on to seed day schools across the United States, effectively building the backbone of modern American Orthodoxy.

3. The Deathbed Command and the Birth of Boys Town

In 1948, as Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz lay on his deathbed, he grasped his son-in-law's hand and issued a final, sacred charge: "Do something for the chinuch (education) of the children in Israel."

The newly declared State of Israel was flooded with thousands of destitute child Holocaust survivors and an influx of impoverished, traumatized refugees fleeing oppression in Arab lands. Rabbi Linchner took his father-in-law's command to heart, packed his bags, and moved to Israel.

In 1949, he founded Boys Town Jerusalem with a starting enrollment of just 14 Yemenite immigrant children living in a nearby refugee camp.

4. The Educational Philosophy: Torah and Technology

Unlike the standard European yeshiva model that focused exclusively on Talmudic text, Rabbi Linchner adopted a revolutionary approach influenced by the philosophy of Torah Im Derech Eretz (combining Torah with worldly profession):

• The Three-Part Curriculum: He designed a rigorous academic program that balanced traditional Torah studies, general secular academics, and cutting-edge vocational and technological training.

• Building the Country: He realized that the nascent Jewish state desperately needed mechanics, printers, engineers, and scientists. He wanted his boys to be fully observant, God-fearing Jews who could also step seamlessly into Israel's defense and high-tech industrial workforces.

• A Haven for Global Immigrants: Over the decades, Boys Town grew into a sprawling 18-acre residential campus in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem. Linchner expanded the school to integrate waves of Jewish youth from 45 different countries—including massive rescue cohorts of Iranian, Russian, and Ethiopian teenagers.

5. Personality and Legacy

Rabbi Linchner was known for his boundless energy, American organizational efficiency, and absolute devotion to his students. He acted not just as a dean, but as a surrogate father to thousands of broken, orphaned, or economically deprived boys. He ensured that every boy received three home-cooked meals a day, a warm dormitory bed, and a robust social support system.

He passed away in Jerusalem on June 5, 1997, at the age of 89, leaving behind a staggering legacy. Today, Boys Town Jerusalem has graduated over 7,500 alumni who serve as leaders in Israeli high-tech, commerce, military defense, and public life. Following his passing, his son, Rabbi Moshe Linchner, and his grandson, Rabbi Meir Linchner, stepped in to continue driving the institution's grand multi-generational mission.