Last Sunday I saw a very disheartening but very unsurprising statistic. It was reported in Ha’aretz that 70% of Charedi men do not work. What was a bit more surprising is that 50% of women do not work either. I’m don’t know how many of those women are married to men who don't work either. But what ever it may be the situation is a ticking time bomb in my view.
As most people know the reason there are so many men who don’t work is that they have committed their lives to full time learning. I wonder though what percentage is of these 70% that actually learn.
The sad fact is that I doubt that it approaches anywhere near all of them. I have spoken to some very knowledgeable Charedim in Israel about this issue and they quietly agree that this is a real problem. There is a tremendous amount of Batala …wasted time taking place within the four walls of the Beis Hamedrash… and without. Not that all of them don’t learn at all... although there are more than a few like that. Most of them do learn at various different levels. But not at a level that justifies their being in that system and not working. The social pressure to stay in learning is so great that these people refuse to budge. So they continue to… sit. But not to learn that much.
The question is how do they survive financially? And how do they live with themselves? I don't know how one can ratioanalize being supported by others if they know they do not measure up to what they know is the very high standard demanded of them. It must takes its toll psychologically on him and on his family.
Financial survival depends on many factor. Living very frugally is paramount. Sometimes there is family support. Others just max out their credit cards and then go to every G’mach (interest free loan societies) they can find. They are always in debt. They rely on government support through the welfare system, and of course there are the famous charities like Kupat Ha’ir, who stretch the limits of ethics to collect funds for the survival of these families.
There are reasons that the unemployment rate is so high that go beyond the Charedi Torah learning Hashkafos. There is the problem of army service. This is deemed to be a Yehoreg V’A Yaavor for Charedi men, not to mention Charedi women. They are forbidden to join the army by their rabbinc leaders.
This has long been a source of friction between Charedim on one side and Chilonim and religious Zionists on the other. Aside from putting Charedim in a cowardly light (though that isn’t the reason they don’t serve)…it is a major component in why they do not work. Israeli law requires military service before entry into the work force. So… they sit… in a Beis Hamedrash.
But it almost doesn’t matter what the reason is. The fact is that 70% do not work and contribute little to the economy. And in many cases are a financial drain to their parents, the government, and the multiple free loan societies and charity organizations.
And then there is the little matter that so few are trained to work. That there is no secular education beyond 8th grade is not conducive to finding decent employment even if they could work.
It wouldn’t be so bad if the learning that took place justified their not working. It would in fact be laudable that they are willing to sacrifice their financial security in order to learn Torah at a high level. But the fact is that far too many don’t learn any where near that level. Not in time spent... nor in quality.
So we end up with a huge society that perpetuates a poverty class that is growing exponentially with every generation. And along with that growth is a proportional amount of men who do not really learn sufficiently to justify their not working. If the financial structure of that community is stretched to the limit now, what will it look like in twenty five years when all the many children of these families grow up and have families of their own to support.
I can’t imagine a more wasteful life then one who is not equipped to learn full time, being socially pressured to stay in a system that insists on it. And then have to be supported by others.
Except for the 70% figure, there is nothing really new in this post. But when I read this article it reminded me of just how bleak the future of the Charedi world in Israel looks unless things change. Will they? Probably. They’ll have to. But if one listens to the rhetoric still coming out of those circles, it won’t happen without a fight.
What that fight will look like, I don’t know. But we have an irresistible force: increasing and often crushing poverty about to meet the immovable object: the Charedi philosophical insistence on staying in learning full time. And there is virtually no preparation for the workplace.
In my view at some point the irresistible force will win out. Just when and how? Well Charedim already have Nachal Charedi and the Tal Law, two ways that they can fulfill their military service and then go to work. There are even a few vocational training centers designed for Charedim that are popping up here and there. But certainly not enough of them to make a major difference. Yet. But all these factors still have some stiff resistance among some of their most respected rabbinic leaders.
There are also signs of life altering strain in that community that are just below the surface: Charedim dropping out of the system to the point of becoming less religious or totally irreligious. Kids at risk, Adults at risk…
Stay tuned.
