SephardiLady came up with an interesting comment on my last blogpost which states in part:
“(T)his system that looks like it might be headed toward a major train wreck... Throwing money at the problem is a temporary relief for these families, but if they continue in the same path they went in the first time, they will end up in the same place years later and once again will be desperately seeking a half mil from American counterparts.”
The system she is talking about is the current Yeshiva/Kollel system. And it does seem to be heading for a major train wreck… progressing at a rapidly increasing pace.
It is my contention that the system is not only a necessary one, but that it is the single most important factor in the survival of the Jewish people. Without it, Limud HaTorah would not flourish, and could Chas VeShalom cease to exist… right along with the Jewish people. For if there is no Torah, there is no Judaism. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t problems… problems that have to do with how this system is presented by its Roshei Yeshiva to their flock.
As a commenter on the last post said, the Bnei Torah are being sold a bill of goods. They are being told to stay in learning full time for as long as they can. And it's understandable why. As I said, it is existential. It is a matter of survival of the Jewish people to produce Gedolim and Talmidei Chachamim.
Back in the early years (post holocaust) when the Yeshiva system was being re-established from Europe to America and Israel, the Roshei Yeshiva had to fight for every Bachur they could get. And they had to fight twice as hard to get them to stay after high school and not go to college. Kollel was a rarified place for only a few elite who could be convinced to stay and learn for a few years after marriage. Israel was a relative wildreness of learning Torah in those years. The Rogatchover Goan once actually commented (pre holocaust) that "In Israel they don't know how to learn!" This was told to Rabbi Oscar Fasman when he traveled to Europe to consult with all the Gedolei HaDor about his Yeshiva (HTC). It’s hard to imagine by today's standards where Israel has become the Makom Torah that it is.
Today, it is exactly the opposite. Every Ben Torah in the Charedi world is told that they must stay in learning as long a possible. And every Ben Torah eats that up, no matter how mediocre his learning is. Where it used to be an automatic assumption that Paranasa was primary to supporting oneself and ones family, now not only is that assumption gone from the psyche, it has been banished as an ideal. It is now frowned upon as second class. No preparation for Paranasa is therefore offered or encouraged to be sought by Bnei Torah at any time in their learning career. The rarified atmosphere is no longer in the Beis HaMedrash but in the arena of Parnasa. Most Bnei Torah feel like the biggest losers if they leave the Koslei (walls of the) Beis HaMedrash for the work-world.
This has been the prevailing attitude instilled in the Bnei Torah for over two generations now... each one having produced an average of 5 or six children per family, each of whom has in turn produced another 5 or 6 children of their own... a geometric progression into the future ad infinitum. And they are sold the same bill of goods: Stay in learning or you’re a loser. That’s the message (although the “loser” part is probably subliminal.)
This, it seems to me is what causes many of the problems the Torah faces today.
First, there is the financial problem discussed in my last post of Avreichim relying on money of working parents in order to survive (or in a few cases causing an Avreich to go to Gemachim (interest free loan societies) and borrow to the max or maxing out his credit cards.)
Then there is the tremendous strain this attitude places on the Shidach system. Today’s parents grew up being sold the same bill of goods in theory but still opt for work in most cases. So they have these values, or at least the social pressure to act as though they do. Therefore to get a good Bachur i.e. one who will sit and learn for an open ended amount of time... they have to come up with the money to support their new sons in law in Kollel.
But for the Klei Kodesh of which there are thousands who are either still in Kollel or are in low paying Chinuch jobs… they often can’t even get to first base with their own daughters. How ironic it is that a Bas Talmid Chacham is the hard case when it comes to Shiduchim! But the rich and pampered daughters are the sought after ones. (No, not all rich kids are spoiled. Don’t go there.)
The problem of children going off the track is also related to this “bill of goods” being sold to Bnei Torah that they all must learn as long as possible. How many children just don’t have the “Kelim”(mental tools)? Not every child is a genius or brilliant. Some are actually of average intelligence. Some may be brilliant but do not have an aptitude for Limud HaTorah. They may instead have aptitudes for other areas such as physics, math, literature or the arts. And when these talents are forced out of their consciousness these young people resent it at least sub-consciously and some of them end up rebelling.
How many times have I read in the Jewish Observer, the magazine of the Charedi world, about children of Klei Kodesh who are perfectly good parents with mostly great children that never-the-less have a child who has dropped religious observance and in some cases turned to a life of drugs, sex, and God knows what else?! Could it be that at least in part, it is the fault of a system which has indoctrinated every single child that passes though it that Talmud Torah is not only K’Neged Kulam, but that it is the only path that matters?!
I think so.
