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| Adina Bar-Shalom founder of Haredi College of Jerusalem |
Even though I don’t agree, I can nevertheless understand why they oppose attending a secular college. They fear both the content being taught and the influences of an atmosphere that is often anathema to Torah values. What I do not understand is their opposition to attending a program designed for the Charedi world that avoids those pitfalls. But beyond understanding it - I am shocked by what has just been reported by Rabbi Natan Slifkin:
Rav Baruch Shapira introduced the program by relating a conversation that he had with Rav Steinman about the event. Rav Steinman said, "Charedi academic programs?! It's like a pig in a shtreimel!" (See my post about the event, which summarizes the messages from the speakers.)
Well, now there is a new campaign against the pigs in shtreimels. A prominent Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Yigal Rosen, declared that he has launched an initiative in his yeshivah, which he hopes will be emulated by others. If a student marries a girl who is enrolled in a charedi academic program, then neither the rabbis nor the students are allowed to attend the wedding.
I assume that Rav Yigal Rosen is not some fanatic fringe outlier. But rather mainstream albeit on the extreme right wing of the Charedi world.
First let me say that I strongly disagree with Rav Steinman on this issue. But I understand that he is against it and is simply exaggerating to make his point. (If that quote is indeed accurate and not taken out of context.)
The problem with the kind of comment made by Rav Steinman is that lesser rabbis take it to another level that I doubt he ever intended.
It’s kind of like what happened to Rabbi Slifkin. Although I strongly disagreed with Rav Elyashiv too when he decided to ban Rabbi Slifkin’s books reconciling Torah and science - declaring them to contain heresy - lesser rabbis declared Rabbi Slifkin himself to be a heretic.
Which was never R’ Elyashiv’s intent. And he indicated as much in a later clarification. He just did not want Charedi students in Israel to read those kinds of books. Probably because he feared those books might make them heretics. Not a too unreasonable proposition considering none of those students had any kind of secular education to prepare them for the way Rabbi Slifkin dealt with it.
But I digress. The point here is that R’ Steinman probably never intended a boycott against weddings of a Charedi couple where the husband would spend full time in a Kollel with a wife that attended one of those schools.
Rabbi Slifkin makes a very good point about the need for the women in the Charedi world needing decent paying jobs so that they can support their large families while their husbands learn full time. I agree that opposing that kind of education is by itself problematic even if you buy into their paradigm.
How are they going to support their families if they don’t get the education in a program designed to do exactly that? These programs do not have a single heretical thought taught in them. And the environment is entirely Charedi since that is who it is designed for. What could possibly be the problem? And then to boycott a Charedi couple that took advantage of that?!
Like I said. Yet another ‘I don’t get it’ in life. It makes absolutely no sense to boycott them whatsoever even if you disagree with what his wife has done educationally.
One can debate the issue... but I have always been of the opinion that the educational paradigm of the Charedi world in Israel must change if they are to survive. Still am. For reasons – far too numerous to mention here. But even if I am wrong and it doesn’t need to change… to add a prohibition against a Charedi college program designed to enhance and perpetuate that lifestyle - and then to boycott those that take advantage of it - is inexplicable! And downright stupid if you ask me.
