Seminary

I can’t help you much, though I hope the concept takes off. To me, a big factor would be the timing. I would really want to be there for Tishrei.

i don’t know about lahav, but i do know that mezuraz is a half year program started by R’ Rosen (menahel in shoshanim, which is no longer around) R’ Rosen is an amazing person, so emesdik and yashrusdik and really truly wants the best for all his students so they can grow more than they ever imagined. you cannot go wrong by choosing to go there.

I heard about lahav from one of their teachers. She said it opened this year but she is very impressed with the girls and curriculum there. Dont know who runs it

Mezuraz is a half year sem – but they accomplish the same amount as the full year sems. From what I hear, the staff is amazing.I happen to know some girls that went to Mezuraz- they are normal BY girls from the Metro area…I think the difference between Lahav and Mezuraz is that Mezuraz is on a higher academic level. The girls I know there are straight “A”s.

Does anyone know how I can Contact Nachlas Bais Yaakov Seminary?

I reallllly need 2

URGENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can’t stress it enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I personally think semnary is a wait of time and money, girls should be going straight to work and save up their money so they can support their husbands in kollel

Moq

Lol

Please consider the following, before reading further. Only one of my sisters went to seminary (in the 80s) and as she was a number of years older and got married and was out of the house within 3 months of her return to the states, I never discussed this with her. My wife, never went to seminary either, so I dont have her perspective. Neither did my younger sister. As for my children we have quite some time before it becomes relevant. (If it makes a difference, I did not go to E”Y to learn either, I stayed here in the US so I dont even have a male perspective to work with.) So, I ask the following out of complete ignorance.

Can girls who attended seminary please explain the advantages of spending a year (or half year as the case may be) in a seminary in E”Y? What do you gain? How? Through what? Is it possible only in E”Y as opposed to say a seminary in NYC, or Baltimore or Cleveland, or is it possible, but somehow enhanced by being in E’Y?

If I can humbly request that only those who actually attended a seminary in E”Y OR someone who had the option, but declined to attend (not because they couldn’t afford it) for whatever reason answer would be great. Why do I ask if as I said previously, it is not applicable to my immediate family for a long time? Curiosity. Nothing more. I am curious how or why discussions about a seminary evoke extreme emotions and responses in people. Also, I might actually know something about the topic and wont resort to flippant comments on the subject, as I have in other threads.

oy very. WIY, i am not going to argue this with you, although your analysis is correct, but since i am not interested in debating kollel/parnassah/taking advantage of parents and government etc,i am just going to retract my statement. i should have know this is where the discussion would lead. i have absolutely no intention in living in that fashion. even if i wanted to, which i dont, i dont have the necessary resources. that was not what my commenting was referencing, but never mind.

There’s almost zero incentive not to become a kolel couple. I could convincce anyone to live the Kolel life in 5 minutes.

This is obviously untrue. The evidence is that most frum couples are not in kollel, or, don’t stay in kollel.

apushuteyid: I will try to explain my own experience. its hard for me to capture it in written words, so a) if anything is unclear, i will try to clarify if you need b) i dont know if i can adequately explain my year, so i hope this is sufficient for you.

first, please understand that each person’s experience will be different. it is entirely dependent on the seminary a person went to in discussing what/how they gained. further, not everyone who goes to sem does so for the right purposes, so the responses you get may be varied.

I am a few years out of sem, not on the “straight back from sem” high, so I am not speaking from 9 miles up in the air:

in my own experience, going to EY for seminary was life changing. i am not saying this to be dramatic, (as in: some sem girls are known for saying their sem experience was AMAZING!!!!!!!!) there were a number if contributing factors to my experience:

being in EY is a huge deal: first of all, being away from home, and spending a solid 10 months independently, is a huge tool for growing up. learning coping skills are a must: dorming is not easy, necessarily, and you learn real fast how to get along with others in a forced environment (great middos opp!) it is also tremendously liberating to be away from the environment in which you grew up. even in “open minded” homes, the fact is, that for most girls, for 18 years,sh has been in a stationary setting. moving out into something different gives her the chance to view lifestyles that may be different than what she is used to, weather that be the simplicity of life in EY, or just even stepping back to view her lifestlye in a more objective way (i am NOT discussing here the negative sides to being away from home in a “liberating” environment. thats for a diff. discussion).

also, there is no denying that living in EY for a whole year enables a person to develop a profound connection to it. the fact that there is kedusha, which she is hopefully tapping into, and special mekomos that enhance tefilla (i.e. kosel, etc), literally strengthened my year. living in EY, spending shabbasos in various cities/locations in Yerushalayim, actually seeing all the proverbial chassidim running as the shabbos siren goes off, sensing the neis of rain, etc, all the small things, are massive benefits and contributed in huge ways to my year. i would not have gotten these special advantages anywhere in the states. i think that being in EY at the same time as being in a full time learning environment, gives the dual benefit of really immersing oneself in a positive, growing environment.

my school: i went to a seminary with a whole different style of teaching and learning than i was used to. the approach of the staff, presentation of the classes, open-ness and warmth of the administration, the depth of the material i was learning, were all different than my high school experience. i developed kesharim with some of the teachers, and the things i learned from them individually (not only in the classroom, but also on a personal level) have literally set me on a derech for life. i was given the opportunity to question, and i was forced, in a way, to question myself and my place in everything i was learning. i learned to take the lessons, and apply them directly to my own life. i was forced to take some real close looks at myself and answer tough questions about my identity, my commitment, my relationship to Hashem, as well as to others, and what i want for myself in the future. i remember seeing somewhere on this forum, i think in a thread about baalei teshuvah, that at some point in life, we all need to make a choice of what we want: my turning point, where i actually felt myself in a position of choice making, was in seminary.

i learned what true growth (both personal and in Torah life–or are they one and the same?–means, i was presented with a Torah hashkafa that enabled me to clarify key points in yiddishkeit and learn what that means for myself; i learned so so much about middos, both from my peers and the staff; i was set on a “growing path”, inspired and encouraged to keep growing on my own and to constantly reach higher; i was in an environment where i felt comfortable to ask questions, and received answers that i was satisfied with…..etc. i walked away feeling empowered in my yiddishkeit, and motivated to keep learning and growing in a certain direction. i am still in touch with several teachers: i value these relationships, as i can continue to seek guidance with various aspects of my present life circumstances, and it is really meschazek me to speak with them when i need to.

note: for all you people who will say “im not the type to get close to teachers”: neither was i!! but at a certain point, i needed to swallow my pride, all of it, and get the hadracha that i knew i would need and appreciate for the rest of my life. i am still so thankful that i had this opportunity. i learned how to think for myself, not to live according to assumptions, to develop and strengthen my sense of self….etc.

everyone knows sem is different than hs (even text based ones). hs is for the sake of education (at least thats how mine seemed), while i viewed sem as a school that teaches you how to live. and thats what i did. there is something special to be said about going to school that is round the clock devoted to teaching and inspiring young women how to live b’derech Hatorah, in a way that will bring them happiness and fulfillment, weather that be learned inside from the text, or taken out and explained in class. the uninterrupted flow of the year helped me to stay focused, and it is because i was so far away from my “former” life that i was able to make such great strides in my growth, steps that have stayed with me.

peers: in personally think there is something important to be said of the fact that in sem in EY, there will be a mix of girls from all over the world. its a great opportunity to learn from all different kinds of people, with various backgrounds, and to learn from them. each sem will have a diff crowd, and you can for sure learn from the people in your environment in the states. in my personal experience, my peers and friends contributed tremendously to my year.

seminary is in no way the finishing touch: it is supposed to set a young women in a direction for life, but should in no way be viewed as the end product! if anything, i am more aware now of what i need to do, what i CAN do, and my potential, but i do not think that sem is the be all end all. its just the beginning. i am so so thankful that i had the opportunity to go to sem, and to learn what i did, from the people i learned from. i think i can honestly say that i am a very different person from before/after sem, and thats for the better.

i hope this made sense–if you need me to clarify, i’ll be happy to. hope this helps!

I was sure we were told on ‘seminary night’ that Mezuraz is starting this coming year (but it sounds like some of you know people who are already there?) and will run from Av til December. It was given over as higher level learning and ‘strong caliber of BY girls’. It is supposed to be a full years worth of sem in a 4-5 month span of time. Sounds awesome if you are in a rush to get back for winter semester, aren’t the ‘sem type’ or don’t get in to a full year program of choice.

Can we get back to the scheduled program and leave the anti sem proselytizing for other threads? I just saw an ad for Lahav, and unlike Mezuraz there were no names in the ad. Anyone know who the menahel(es) is, teachers, etc.? Thanks.

I don’t know why a previous posting by me isn’t here but I’ll try again. Going to a good seminary for a year gives the student time to take responsibilities for herself. She finds her way in Yiddishkeit and more often than not becomes stronger in her love for it. Picking the right seminary is also very important. Make sure before accepting a sweet deal you look into the program and the people who run very thoroughly. Unfortunately we did not do this. The program of 6 months looked too good to be true. This turned out to be a travisty. My daughter moved to another seminary which is a really good fit. She loves it. Unfortunately the previous school will not refund any money. So all I can tell you is to be careful and send your daughters to a highly recommended program.

To simon.chastee

I am sorry to hear about your daughter – am pleased she found another framework and I wish her success.

The story hurts me (as it hurts a lot of people), and so maybe you can utilize any contacts from the neighborhood where the old seminary was, and find a lawyer from there (not all lawyers are money thirsty) to put pressure that you should be reimbursed for the period she is no longer there (as well as other expenses).

I don’t understand how the half year sem works. It usually takes a girl until Chanukah to feel totally at home, get into her studies, and start thinking about how to apply that which she is learning to her life. It is only after four months that the really great, meaningful conversations take place in the dorms. It takes time to adjust and I am not sure how to rush that process along without sacrificing one of the most important parts of the sem experience.

In terms of saving money. The half year sems seem more expensive. I found a sem, Bnos Chana, that is $15,500 full price. After getting a $4000 MASA scholarship, and a $1500 scholarship from my local federation, it is possible to go to seminary in Israel for under $10,000. That includes dorm and food for the whole year. That is cheaper than most BY high schools!

there is something special about these half year sems that the girls understand that there time is limited so it takes them very little time to adjust and they learn so much knowing that they are leaving soon we just had principals speak to us and it sounds really amazing! there is also lahav that has two halves! i just feel for me that if im gonna go away i should do it for the whole year! other people may feel that this is better and i even have a close friend who is applyin!

are there any second half of the year sems? starting in Jan/Feb?

any info including contact details much appreciated.

Candy, you may be right about alot of what you said, but I agree with one thing, a full year program is for me!!!! About the money, airfare, insurance etc is no matter what, so that is the same anyway. I just think that you can get so much from a year away, and if the price and program can be worked out, it is a great great experience.