- This topic has 13 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by .
-
Posts
-
Does anyone have any experience/knowledgeof Halichos Bais Yaakov seminary.It would seem to be the most financially worth-while if you actually come out with job training in addition to the torah/hashkaf side.
My daughter is B’H solid out of town yeshivish (I hate to label but it seems the only way), she has friends from all backgrounds would prefer a place where tznius & non-jewish music etc are not an issue.
It is a great place with great girls. This year there are about 20 girls from all over the US and Canada. The girls are solid frum girls, (no boys or non jewish music). There are three programs; All day learning, Graphic Design / Photography / Illustration, and Cosmetology. The learning is great and very inspirational but also textual so you learn a lot. It is for sure an out of town place even though there are NY’ers there too. Some homework, not crazy, tests, but no finals. There is a great warm feeling in the place and everyone is pretty close. Everyone feels like they matter. Based on what you wrote it sounds like it could be a great place for your daughter. Good luck
Halichos is a fabulous Bais Yaakov Seminary. The girls are inspired and very growth oriented, and largely seem to come from more out of town Yeshivish families i.e. Toronto, Baltimore, Montreal, etc.
The rules of the school are of Bais Yaakov hashkafah, which the girls are expected to follow, but they come from all places.
It is a small school, which adds to the warm family like atmosphere. No girl gets lost! It is wonderful.
With regards to the job training, it is very intensive and the girls in the graphics program and cosmetology program Bh often find incredible jobs right after graduation.
The Rabbi of the school, Rabbi Cohn, is warm and always available to the girls.
Hatzlacha Raba
i would look into it very carefully. it could be a wonderful place but it does attract an interesting group of girl. not saying bad but interesting.
also take into consideration that its not in yerushalayim which I would see as a big negative but your daughter may or may not feel that way. the atmosphere in rbs (where its located) is very different than the atmosphere is in yerushalyim. and yes she can go for shbbs but its not the same as living there and having the kotel right there and everything else that yerushalyim has to offer.
We looked into many many seminaries for our daughter. We are a Yeshivish NY family. Our daughter is a lovely girl who went to a huge BY in BP (guess which one!). She is smart and frum, got solid B’s, but graduated not terribly excited or directed regarding where she was going after she graduated. She wanted direction and to be inspired. We searched all the regular places her friends were going to, (Seminar, Meor, Tiferes, etc), nothing really spoke to her or us. When we were almost ready to give up, a family friend, whose daughter was in Halichos told us about her daughter’s experience and we were intrigued. What we found was a frum, solid place for girls who didn’t have “issues” but might be a little out of the box. The fact that it was small and away from the “big city distractions” was a big plus for us. The head of the seminary, Rabbi Cohn, worked with us regarding finances and we decided to go for it. What a great decision! It was warm, and caring. The staff was committed and dedicated. Our daughter was in a frum environment, one without secular music and where tznius was a given, but she didn’t feel like she was being smothered. She enjoyed the limudei kodesh and commented that she really felt like she was learning for the first time. Exciting and inspirational yet textural and authentic. She was in the full time limudei kodesh program and said that her program and the parnassah program girls were close and shared many limudei kodesh shiurim. They worked very hard but since they had Friday’s off it wasn’t so intense. They had homework and tests but she said it never seemed like that was the focus. It was very warm and friendly and she made good friends right away, with other like minded girls. It was a bit small (15 girls that year) but that didn’t seem to be a problem after she got used to it. I know they are trying to grow to about 30. All in all we were thrilled with the program and our daughter benefited tremendously. I strongly recommend it!
I am a graduate of Halichos Bais Yaakov.
I loved it so much that I stayed for shana bet.
Halichos Bais Yaakov is a warm and homey school
The staff here are so loving and caring.
The girls here are so nice and are easy to be close with
The friendships that i made will surely last forever- and i mean it.
This seminary pushed me to reach my fullest potentail.
It’s a seminary where EVERY single girl matters.
some people have concerns about going to seminary in rbs versus yerushalayim
but I felt that there’s a special advantage that i got from living in ramat beit shemesh because every time i went to yerushalayim it was a whole new experience and i was always excited about it and its somthing I looked forward to!
Hi, I just saw your post, and I figured I would let you know that I graduated from the seminary last year, and going there was the best decision of my life.
I went there for 2 years, the first of which I did the full day learning program, and the second of which I did the Graphics program.
I am now a full time graphic designer, running the art department for a company in Manhattan.
Yes seminary is a small, in Ramat beit shemesh, and a family oriented place…but I believe this is a huge positive quality that makes them so unique.
At the end of the day no one needs more then once a week to go out in yerushaliam, and in Ramat beit shemesh there is such a warm community, that everyone who goes there feels at home.
I Highly recommend this place for your daughter, especially if you say you want her to go to a place where tziot and non jewish music wont be an issue…Clearly your looking for a place that will give a good hashkafa, and be a positive influence…and Halichoos is definitely that.
Hatzlacha
The seminary attracts many different types of girls including a very large proportion that have psychiatric problems. In a regular seminary if one or two girls have problems it is not so bad, but here the girls I spoke to who went found it to be harmful since they are living in very close quarters and there aren’t very many girls at all. On the other hand, the classes are supposed to be great, especially Mrs Cooper. It is very much a family run seminary which is risky, since you become very close to the whole family, but if something goes wrong it is much harder to get through to them since you are telling one a problem you have with her family member. Finally, they don’t really foster independence, but rather make the girls feel a need for them.
Hatzlocho, and I hope that you help your daughter make the right choice!
mitzvoslover – I am currently a shana bet student of Halichos and it is simply not the experience I have had.
Halichos is a very warm seminary that has a family feeling to it. The girls are extremely nice and have great personalities.
I was nervous to be living in Ramat Beit Shemesh but I really really love it. It is a smaller community and you become a part of it. Most of the teachers live near by and you can really develop a great kesher with them. It is not a far ride at all to get to Yerushalayim and we have plenty of opportunities to go.
The classes are inspiring, practical and easy to relate to.
I think its a great place for a non “cookie cutter” Bais Yaakov girl with and I highly recommend it!
I just graduated from my second year in Halichos Bais Yaakov this past year, and i have to say, they were the best years of my life!
If your daughter is a Bas Torah who wants to learn and grow- this is the place for her!
The homey atmosphere of the seminary really allows you to build a great kesher with the teachers/ girls in the school. The fact that it isn’t such a large seminary really gives you the opportunity to get to know the other girls in the seminary very well and make amazing friend for life!
All the classes and the teachers giving them over are also amazing! You really learn a lot of lessons/ tools for life, and not only because of what the teachers are teaching- but because of HOW they give it over. All the teachers are so real! and have so much feeling behind what their teaching that it really makes the experience that much greater!
And finally Rabbi Cohn- He is the Menahel of the seminary, and the amount that he cares for each and every girl who walks through those doors is out of this world! Out of my 2 years of being there there was never such a thing as him being “too busy” or “not having the time” for anyone of the girls in the seminary. He really helped me become a more confident, independent Bas Torah!
Halichos Bais Yaakov truly made a really positive impact on my life, and I have all the Hakaras hatov in the world to them!
I highly highly recommend the seminary to you and your daughter!
Hatzlacha Rabba with your decision!
With its diverse mix of Bais Yaakov girls seeking to learn and grow, Halichos is a seminary that fosters individualized attention encouraging each girl to maximize her potential. The warm approachable staff creates the optimal environment for making connections with teachers and strong bonds amongst other students. It’s Hashkafa-based, non-pressurizing atmosphere is such that enables girls to absorb the Torah lessons and apply them to their lives.
It is rare for a girl to be able to work directly after completing her seminary experience. For fields that require practical work an impressive portfolio combined with experience may be the most valuable asset to employers. By giving their graduates tools to be wonderful nishei chayil by fusing the kodesh with the chol- ultimately giving their graduates the ability to work after completing seminary, Halichos allows frum girls to have the option of avoiding the secular influences that university/college students incur. For others it might just be the smartest option financially, while others simply benefit the most from the practical exposure.
One of the transformational aspects of seminary is Kedushas E”Y. A large part of going to seminary is being in an environment that is positive for growth. Ramat Bet Shemesh is a wonderful community. If a girl wants to go to the Kotel she will make it to the Kotel. Being in Yerushalayim isn’t the only factor that equates to an inspiring seminary experience. It’s important to see the seminary as a whole. In fact, sometimes there is too much going on in Yerushalayim that can be distracting to the seminary experience.
May Hashem bless everyone with the clarity, insight, and success to find the best matched seminary.
I for one find it odd that all the ppl who commented have accounts that were all just created or cant be found.
and they all sound like advertisements for the school. and I agree with mitzvoslover. I have heard that a lot of the girls there have issues that make it hard fro a healthy girl to have an awesome yr.
as to everyone whos saying that a girl who wants to get to yerushalaym and the kotel can. you cannot compare it to living there. how often can they possibly travel? unless theyre never in class. in yerushalyim a short break is enough time to get there and back for most locations. and you can go at night. also you cant possibly compare the environment of rbs to yerushalayim. its worlds apart and the kedusha in yerushalyim is amazing and cant be compared!!!! yes theres other stuff going on but a girl who wants that will easily find it in rbs without a problem.
momonabudget please please consider your daughters future without only thinking of finances. the school makes a huuuuge difference and its imperetive that it be a good fit for her. hatzlacha rabah!!!
Obnoxious, I for one, find it odd, that someone would try and find out who the people who share their opinions in these threads are, and then try and discount their participation. It sort of gives me the creeps. It seems that all momonabudget needs to do is find someone whom she trusts in Israel, and ask them to go to the seminary and check it out! See what the girls are like, maybe sit in on a class, check out the dorm and speak to the teachers and staff. Halichos, like every other seminary or yeshiva in the world has those who love it, and probably those who don’t care for it. That seems pretty par for the course. In terms of in Yerushalayim or out of Yerushalayim, it is what it is. Clearly, the students and former students who contributed to this discussion don’t think it is a problem and clearly obnoxious does. Regarding mitzvalovers accusation of mental illness, firstly it is a ridiculous and mean spirited thing to say. Are you a doctor? did you treat someone from the seminary who was ill? Or are you just giving credence to baseless and vicious lashon horah? Momonabudget, now that you have some information on the place, look into it more. Speak to the principal of your daughter’s school, send someone to check the place out, but please please don’t allow the anonymous rants of the Coffee Room to influence you. Much Hatzlacha in choosing the right place for your daughter!
Halichos closed this year. Anyone who posted negative things should be ashamed of yourselves as you have made claims that aren’t true. Even if they were it would be lashon hara. I went to halichos. It was a wonderful place. In any family every person has their little quirks that make them unique. In any seminary whether it has 150 girls or 15, most of the girls have quirks. These quirks are not negative. They are qualities that add to the persons personality. The only reason why you may think that the girls have psychiatric problems is because in a family which this seminary was you notice everything.
Did you call up these girls parents and ask for doctors phine number and that they should sign a release form to find out if they have diagnoses. No. I am sure you didn’t. The girls in the seminary were very nice tznius girls.
As a side note people think that a diagnosis can make a individuals inferior but if you search for statistics alot of people have diagnosis and manage very well. with todays therapies and medications. Surprisingly these people have qualities far superior than those people who are supposedly “noemal” if you can even dare use that to describe pople.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.