The topic of rebbeim and teachers in yeshivos not being paid enough resurfaces regularly, particularly around the time of the Torah Umesorah Presidents Conference in Florida. This discussion gained renewed attention last night when philanthropist Yoel Landau announced at the Satmar Chof Alef Kislev event in Williamsburg that he and other Satmar philanthropists would be giving a staggering 30% salary increase to rebbeim in Satmar yeshivos. It should be commended.
Many hailed this – the largest pay raise in yeshiva salary history – as a great thing. However, I’d like to share two points on this matter:
1. Satmar Salaries vs. Litvish Salaries
While the 30% raise is huge, it’s important to note that Satmar rebbeim were historically paid much less than their counterparts in Litvish yeshivos like Yeshiva Chaim Berlin. Even after this increase, their salaries may still fall short of what Litvish rebbeim earn.
2. Rebbeim vs. Professionals: A Financial Reality Check
Here’s a reality that might surprise many: financially, it may actually be more advantageous to be a rebbi than a professional, such as an accountant.
Consider this example: A rebbi earns $65,000, supplements his income with tutoring or teaching English, and his wife earns another $35,000–$40,000. Together, they bring in about $95,000 annually. On top of this, rebbeim benefit from extensive communal support, such as assistance with Yom Tov expenses, clothing vouchers, subsidized food, discounted esrogim, and more. These benefits significantly alleviate their financial burdens, and they truly deserve this support.
Contrast this with an accountant earning $150,000 annually. After taxes, he may take home around $103,000. Even with his wife earning $50,000, the family is left with about $120,000—and without the communal assistance provided to rebbeim. They face full costs for weddings, food, clothing, and other expenses entirely on their own.
In many ways, the lower salary of a rebbi is offset by the broader support system available to them, creating a financial stability that professionals often envy.
I’m genuinely happy for the rebbeim and their well-deserved support. But for those debating the financial struggles of rebbeim compared to others, it’s worth taking a closer look at the full picture.
Wishing much hatzlacha,
An accountant living in Lakewood, NJ.
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20 Responses
My husband and I have been talking about this concept for the longest time. My husband works in an office and I do part-time bookkeeping. We get paid everything fully k’halacha. We pay full taxes, insurance, tuition, food, and shelter. We do not get any government assistance at all. We do not have a car, we do not go on vacation or eat out. yet our children’s Rebbeim all own houses and there is a yeshiva fund for every simcha that they make plus the government assistance that they receive. I’m genuinely happy for them. When the time comes for our children to get married, nobody will be collecting or sending us any money since we both work at “well” paying jobs. Though in reality, we do not make ends meet. And I know there are many others in this situation as well. I just wish people would open their eyes and see the real truth.
Please explain how the accountant will pay for seminary in Israel ???
$9000 FOR BAR MITZVA kiddush bo bayoim clothing for kiddish and boi bayoim ??
Tuition and camp for 7 kids???
Tutors for 1 or 2 of his kids????
???????????????
https://torahanytime.com/lectures/339983
!!!!! תורה וגדולה
You are missing(all legal)
Rabbi gets a good part of his salary tax free – Parsonage
Rabbi usually gets discounts on his children’s tuition
a teacher in a school can let his employer take from his salary and use it to pay his children’s tuition – in another school- and not pay taxes on that part of his salary.
This is the age old “middle class” crisis (making too much for government programs but too little to live day to day) it has nothing to do with Rebbeim.
As far as support goes, buying houses etc… you can take it up with the shver, he wants the zchus of a chashuve eidim so this is what it is. I don’t get the whole rant
If it’s so lucrative, join the field! But please, let us know how long you last!
What?!
The take home pay for a family of four earning $200,000 (the amount you claim in this letter) would more likely be in the $135-144,000 in NJ.
Your notion that your wife’s $50,000 income only adds about $17,000 to your net income suggests that your effective tax rate is above 60%.
Not only is this unbelievable as your federal tax bracket would cap out at 32% and your NJ tax bracket would be 6.37% before a deduction.
So, if we did not have a progressive tax system your take home pay in the scenario would be around $123,260. However, since we do have a progressive system, you don’t pay your top bracket rate on your full income.
Of course, if you were an accountant you would know all this. I’m calling baloney on your assertions.
You are simply trying to bait sympathy and/or hatred. Shameful!
This writer has his facts wrong. I am a rebbe in Lakewood, and I do NOT make what he claims rabbeim make. I make $3,500 a month, and my wife makes the same. We barely ever have extra money in our bank account, let alone money for camp and other expenses.
We barely ever eat in restaurants or buy brand name clothing.
Mortgage? Forget about it! We cant cover the 3-5k monthly payments. Does he live in a house, or an apartment in a development like me?
I have one car, an old sienna.
I love what I do, and I’m not complaining, but it’s not as he makes it out to be.
What is your point? That Rebbeim have it easier than lower tier professionals? Possibly.
Many of them would easily qualify to be top tier earners & they give that up for the sake of teaching Torah. In addition, don’t we want them to have the minimal peace of mind to teach our children correctly? I’m more than happy to know that my son’s Rebbi can squeak by on his salary.
Your article is very misleading and very wrong. You calculate the accountant’s salary after taxes, but by the Rebbi, you leave that out. Rabbeim also pay taxes. Even if his housing expenses are taken as parsonage, it is still subject to self-employment tax. It is not tax-free. No rebbi is living comfortably with his and his wife’s salary. It is a constant struggle. Many frum accountants make significantly more than $150,000, though I am sure many struggle too. There is no easy answer for the demands of the frum lifestyle.
BPMommy – “plus the government assistance that they receive.” Where do you get your information from? Do you think you are the only one who acts “k’halacha”? Many rabbeim are honest about their earnings and do not qualify for and do NOT take any government programs. There are also working people who keep their earnings off for the books and are on programs that they are ineligible for. This is not a rebbi vs working thing.
@fakenews says:
Did you take social security taxes/paid family Lave, union dues and Disability deductions into account?
@ fakenews
You left out health care costs which after premiums and deductibles assuming it’s employee paid insurance it’s still another $15K. That takes you down to your 120. A rebbe is on Medicaid for dental and eyes too. Now if it’s 144 then maybe he is also counting the 5% that goes into a 401k . So cheating by 5%. Not many lies here
I agree with @fakenews. If the letter writer is an accountant, he his not a very good one. His math is way off.
@fakenews – you’re ignoring FICA or self-employment tax – another ~7.5-15%.
Unless you have LIVED life as both a professional and a rebbi, you have nothing to contribute to this conversation.
My husband and I both work full-time in chinuch. Our expenses are relatively low; we live very far out of town and live simply. We get about 20% off tuition (we work in the wrong mosdos to get a bigger break than that). We do not qualify for food stamps (we do get WIC, which is nice but doesn’t go that far). I have never heard of discounted esrogim or clothing vouchers or those other things you mentioned; maybe that’s an in-town special? We pay taxes and contribute to my employer’s health insurance. And I am struggling to decide whether to splurge on diapers from Target (instead of the Walmart ones, which are a few cents cheaper per diaper but don’t stay in place as well).
This kind of inflammatory letter is not just wrong, it’s hurtful. I feel genuinely hurt that people could be looking at us and thinking that we live the easy life.
Please, stop inciting sinas chinam – because even if that’s not what you intended, that is a very likely effect.
Thank you.
And this idea that rebbeim are making loads of money “off the books” is at best an overgeneralization. There are many, many chinuch mosdos in the country, and maybe a small fraction of them do “tricks” to benefit the rebbeim, but not in any mosad I’ve ever worked at. We get a regular normal paycheck with taxes and deductions and whatever.
Thank you for saying what many of us have been thinking for years
@Yaapchik that’s a dumb response. The OP isn’t saying that they don’t deserve to be paid, or that they’re not providing a service for the community. He’s saying that the issue is getting slightly blown out of proportion once you take into consideration the additional benefits they receive.
Parsonage on salary, free or heavily discounted tuition, money for simchas, money before Yom Tov, etc
As someone who was in chinuch for many years, this is a huge oversimplified way of looking at things. A Rebbi is not guaranteed the tutoring and extras that you are talking about. A Rebbi does not have a path to making more money as do many in the business world. A Rebbi is often not getting great benefits as the other guy is in the business world. He is not getting the same bonuses as the guy is in the business world and it is probably not true to say that the Rebbi is doing better than the average middle class family.
There may be some cases where the Rebbi is doing better but for the most part the Rebbi is struggling to make ends meet.
After leaving chinuch just a few years ago, my salary has almost doubled to what I was making. The healthcare benefits far outweigh and the extras that I get at my company are great. Living a chinuch lifestyle has its perks and positivites but finances are not one of them.