 |
| Hebrew Theological College |
We, the Jewish people, live at a time of unprecedented
freedom and opportunity. Both in Israel and in the United States - where the
bulk of world Jewry resides. There is an abundance of opportunities to succeed
in just about any endeavor we choose. Whether in education (Jewish or secular),
our spiritual lives, or our financial lives, we are free to pursue whatever we
want, to our hearts’ content, without fear of being hindered by persecution or
discrimination. All it takes is the will to succeed, the hard work and
determination to do so. And with the help of God there are virtually no limits
to what we can achieve in any field we choose.
The most obvious example of this freedom, as it pertains to
us, the Jewish people, is Jewish education. There are more day schools and
yeshivas (both here and in Israel) than at any other time in Jewish history.
More Jews are studying Torah than ever before. And without getting into detail,
there are more tools and aids to help us do so than ever before.
There has been an unprecedented
explosion of Orthodox Jewish day schools and yeshivas over the past few decades
that no one could have predicted. I am told that in Lakewood, the demand for
classrooms is so great that any new school that is built is filled even before
completion.
With all of this positive growth,
what could possibly be bad?
The answer is that it is
precisely this explosion of yeshivas and day schools that has created an
unforeseen problem: affordability. Jewish education has become so expensive
that it has produced an unexpected byproduct: the reduction of the Jewish birth
rate as a means of solving the impossible financial burden of educating so many
children.
On the one hand, one might argue that not having more
children than one can afford is the responsible thing to do. On the other hand,
it is a very un-Jewish thing to do.
Financial responsibility should never be the reason not to
have children. And yet, there are families who will not have any
children primarily for that reason. They will say, quite simply, that they
cannot afford it. And if they want their child to have a significant Jewish
education, the problem becomes even more acute.
First there are serious Halachic issues with purposely not
having any children - unless it is for health reasons. The details of which are
beyond the scope of this post. How many
children one should have is another discussion.
But that too is beyond the scope of this post.
Point being that - not having children is not the way to solve the tuition crisis.
Lest anyone think that birth control has not affected Lakewood, they would be mistaken...
To continue reading this post, future posts, and comment on them - click on this link: substack. To receive posts - you must subscribe. But it's easy and it's free.
