“Shas' election campaign is focusing on the war on poverty. But this is the biggest and most infuriating hoax of all. The ultra-Orthodox population is indeed poor, but this is an intentional condition. Graduates of the ultra-Orthodox education system go out into the big world carrying an empty "tool box," insofar as employment skills in a modern economy are concerned. They do not study English, mathematics or the sciences; and without knowledge in these fields, the ultra-Orthodox graduate doesn't have a prayer of finding a lucrative job that will lift him and his family above the poverty line.
The Shas and UTJ lawmakers vehemently opposed the introduction of the "core curriculum" into the ultra-Orthodox education system - and they were successful.
And they are happy with the situation, in which some 75 percent of ultra-Orthodox men do not work, but are registered as kollel students and depend therefore on the sector's breadwinners and MKs to get them grants and allowances that allow them to subsist, despite the fact that in the Diaspora, they had always worked - studied and worked, and did not live at the expense of the community.”
Nothing presses my "hot button" more than a story like this. What an outrage! ...and further proof of how bankrupt and immoral the Israeli Charedi system of education is. Is there any real wonder why I don't think there are any Gedolim today? Would any real Gadol allow Klal Yisroel to be so drastically led astray?
Now some might say that the writer is a known Charedi basher and I might agree. But the story has been corroborated by a Charedi friend in Israel who knows the system and absolutely agrees. And just because a writer is anti Charedi doen’t necessariy make his story untrue.
It has long been my contention that the Charedi Educational system in Israel is an inherently bad system. It is a system which does not allow any secular studies for boys past eighth grade and only minimally until then. This produces an ignorant dependency class that is forced to rely on government handouts. And when the government has to cut programs because of lack of funding, the Charedi leadership is the first and loudest to cry foul. But it their own fault. They are the ones keeping their flock in poverty.
Their reasons? Well, they seem to feel that unless students spend their every ounce of energy and all their time studying Torah they will never produce any Gedolim. But, where are the Gedolim that the system should have produced by now? They don’t exist.
Sure... there are many Bnei Torah who have spent the vast bulk of the time on earth learning Torah; they know a lot and there are a lot of them. But they are not Gedolim. They just know a lot of Torah. Knowing a lot of Torah does not equal Gadlus. The system has produced a huge number of Talmidei Chacham, but to what end? What purpose is all this knowledge going to serve? How many of them will become the Rabbanim, Rosehi Yeshiva, and other Mechanchim that Klal Yisroel requires. There are far too many who will not be transmitting their acquired Torah knowledge simply and the system is flooded. It is bloated with Bnei Torah who will do little else in life besides going to the Beis HaMedrash everyday and learning full time, their families in poverty and begging for...or worse... demanding government handouts.
So what should they be doing if not learning? How about working for a living, supporting their families and becoming productive members of society. The notion that one must make learning a priority at the cost of the welfare of Klal Yisroel is not what our Torah teaches. A life of full time Torah study should only be reserved for those with TRUE potential for Gadlus, not the more than twenty thousand or so doing it now. I don’t say that one shouldn’t spend a few years learning full time after marriage. But NOT without the responsibility of learning a Parnassa too. After learning a few years they need to leave the Beis HaMedrash and GET A JOB ...and be Koveah Itim. There is no point to learning full time and thereby maintaining a poverty class. To maintain a population of thousands of such people is counter-productive. They will not become Gedolim. They have reached a plateau. They know and the Charedi leadership knows it.
The time is more than ripe for a re-assessment by Charedi leadership of their educational philosophy. There has to be a change to an American style system of high schools that provide a secular studies program with an eye toward eventual Parnassa.
Unfortunately, however, the opposite seems to be happening. Instead of the Israeli system emulating the American one... more and more American Roshei Yeshiva like Rabbi Aharon Feldman are pressing for a move to the Israeli system of no secular studies.
These are no Charedi Gedolim who seem to be picking up the gauntlet. No one seems to have enough courage to tell the emperor that he is not wearing any clothes. It is up to the Bnei Torah themselves. They must for their own sake, the sake of their families, and the sake of Klal Yisroel wake up, learn a Parnassa, and get jobs. They must unite and ...yes, even rebel against their misguided rabbinic leadership on this issue and establish an educational system for their own children that includes secular studies with an eye toward Parnassa.
