Established in Elul 1989 by Rabbi Shimon Green , Bircas HaTorah began as a yeshiva for adults with academic and professional backgrounds.  It quickly established itself as the place for adults to learn Torah in a rigorous and academically challenging environment. The Yeshiva campus consisted, at that time, of only 2 classrooms in the Old Churva Shul in the Jewish Quarter. As the number of students grew steadily, the Yeshiva moved in 2000, to its current location on Ohr HaChaim Street just above the Cardo in the Jewish Quarter. Located just minutes away from the Kotel Ha’Maaravi as well as Jaffa Street, the main yeshiva building combines the historic beauty of the Old City with a modern ambiance.

In 2005, the Yeshiva became a major attraction to Shana Aleph students who were looking for a Yeshiva that could offer them an intensive, student-centered program of learning in an atmosphere of genuine warmth. As the popularity and success of the Shana Aleph program grew, the Yeshiva launched its Shana Bet program in 2009 with students hailing from the United States, Canada, Europe and South Africa.

In 2010, when Rabbi Green moved to the States, Rabbi Nissim Tagger assumed the position of Rosh Yeshiva. Over the course of the following years, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah has grown to become a premiere Torah-learning destination for students worldwide of every age and background.

Continuing to grow, in 2010 the Yeshiva opened the Marquis Hall of Residence in the building of the original Bikur Cholim Hospital in the Old City, and in 2020 expanded the Beis Hamedrash to incorporate the former Old City Heritage House.