Which Yeshiva?

this is a question for your local orthodox rabbi.

good luck

What do your parents feel? Have you spoken to the Rov of your shul?

the list is not endless and only one of the above applies…the answer is…(drumroll) slabodka

I beg to differ. Other than spiffy clothing and learning some mussar, there is little in common. The greatest of the Slabodka talmidim, Rav Aharon Kotler, Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky,Rav Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman,and Rav Yitzchok Hutner, all could claim to have headed yeshivas in the Slabodka tradition. In Slabodka there was no specific derech in learning (a quote from Rav Kaminetsky), and they certainly didn’t spend a whole zman on just a few blot. So to claim that Chofetz Chaim is a throwback to Slabodka is not true.

Did the students in Slabodka also go to college at night? No. Do they switch yeshivas in Chofetz Chaim every year or so? In Slabodka they did. Does Chofetz Chaim encourage their students to hear shiurim of gedolim in neighboring yeshivas? In Slabodka they did. Does Chofetz Chaim send out groups of boys to strengthen mussar in nonmussar yeshivas? In Slabodka they did. Besides, how many chess masters came out of Chofetz Chaim? In Slabodka it was what they did in their spare time. I suggest you read some books on Slabodka and yeshivas in Europe in general, you will see very little in common with Chofetz Chaim.

Someone is all up in arms over Chafetz Chaim.

what sheichus chessmasters?!? as for switching yeshivos..we do, we switch branches. plus the derech halimud and hashkafos in other yeshivos are just so out of touch sometimes with CC that people dont switch, and by the way i know many CC guys who DO attend other yeshivos. in slabodka did they go to college at night…as for that. in slabodka i doubt they had the opportunities that we now have with touro and the like. we have the opportunity to attend a seperate college full of mostly jews. i doubt they had that there.

as for the derech halimud, we dont claim that our DERECH HALIMUD comes from slabodka…we say our emphasis on mussar is from slabodka. our derech halimud comes more from the chofetz chaim (who was r’ dovid’s uncle i believe) and by the way…what you said about a few blatt…that is just a stereotype. we do cover ground…just covering ground is not our main objective in iyun. our main objective is to gain as much of an understanding, and reach the true pshat in the sugya we are dealing with. to cover ground we have bekiyus. although let it be said we go in depth in our bekiyus too,,,but we cover a lot more ground. as for sending out groups of boys to other yeshivos…may we be zoche

Whynotme, whatever the truth is about Chofetz Chaim, you have to be happy where you are. It sounds like you aren’t happy there, and perhaps you will learn better where you’re happier. Rabbi Dovid Harris Shlit”a has his kids in Lakewood, so clearly he believes there’s learning outside of Chofetz Chaim.

r’ shaya cohen believs that we have the best derech halimud and derech in mussar…that is not to say that he believes all other yeshivos are worthless. basically heres what he says. there are many mekomos of torah…but chofetz chaim is the only YESHIVA. thats what he says. he has a point to a certain extent, but he is not saying that all other yeshivos are worthless and not worth the bricks they are built from. he is simply saying that he believes the CC derech is the best and optimal. not that the others are wrong..just that they have what to work on. no one in their right mind can say that peopel in the mir dont know how to learn…its just differences in the derech halimud which he feels chofetz haim has right. by the way…mir and CC are pretty close seeing as the rosh yeshiva and rav berenbaum were quite close..

as for whether CC is the only yeshiva that equips you for the nisyonos of daily life…the answer is a definite no…but it is the BEST yeshiva to equip you for the nisyonos of daily life.

and by the way…the reason me and chofetzchaim are pushing it so hard is because of all the bashing…

Please take this with a grain of salt, realizing that it is from bombmaniac. I doubt that he is properly saying over what R’ Shaya Cohen holds. – YW Moderator

most of what i wanted to say has already been said so for the most part just re: bombmaniac and chofetzchaim (bombmaniac im still trying to figure out if i know u lol) but here goes my two cents: 1. kimat all of todays major yeshivas were started by slabodka talmidim and if you look at who the alter felt was most raoi to succeed him in harbotzas hatorah et. all, historically it was r” dovid leibowitz, founder of the chofetz chaim yeshiva dynasty, and all of those gedolim (except possibly r” aron) would not dispute that which seemingly would be a pretty decent raya as to the fact that chofetz chaim is excuse me for sounding haughty but the best yeshiva 2. to jothar- yes r” dovid harris has sons in lakewood but that doesnt neccesarily means he agrees with their derech halimud or mussar, it just means that he feels his sons are old enough to make their own wise decisions 3. many branches have their own things to offer even within the system for instance (all the following are personal opinion) brooklyn seeems to produce better learners than the other branches, wits has a more intense program if thats what your looking for, miami has rabbi luban and rabbi goldman two of the greatest rebbeim available, dallas (my yeshiva) has the absolutely amazing rebbeim great guys and a lot to do outside of seder in terms of healthy outlets, ner aryeh (la) has a very small olam with much personal attention (however the attentions prob tru of most branches lol), along with many other branches with their own personalities and whatever, all im saying is a. dont look at wits as your only option in the system (boruch hashem lol jk) and b. dont just leave the “cult” because you feel like your being brainwashed, actually look into the sugya and see whats best for you…btw im so curious what branch your currently in

Mir is more flexible in terms of the type of learning style and hashkofos the students have. Brisk is very monolithic, and opinionated when it comes to both. They have their own shitas and they are very strong minded about them. Culturally, they are also very European.

In both learning and Haskofo, Brisk and Chofetz Chaim are an odd couple, and the American Yankee boy type of of Ben Torah that comes from Chofetz Chaim is on the opposite side of the spectrum from the typical “alter litvak” in Brisk.

Rav Aharon Kotler and Rav Ruderman both learned in Slabodka. Rabbi Elya Svei is a talmid of Rav Aharon; Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg was a talmid of Rav Ruderman. One thing that Rabbi Svei and Rabbi Weinberg both agreed upon it is that they are NOT following the same Mesorah.

In Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim they employ a derech halimud that is considered incorrect in many other Yeshiva circles. They will respond that their derech halimud came from their Rebbe who got it from his father/Rebbe who got it from the Chofetz Chaim. Yet others will claim that the approach to learning there bears no resemblance to the Chofetz Chaim’s, and if the Chofetz Chaim would be alive today he would be the first to disagree with them.

I heard from a CC rabbi that the Chofetz Chaim colored shirt thing is supposedly an offshoot of the approach that existed in the Slabodka Yeshiva, where Rabbi Lebowitz, the CC Rosh Yeshiva, learned. They focused a lot there on what’s known as Gadlus HaAdam, the greatness of man, and one of the reasons was because in those days Yeshiva guys were considered lowly and it was hard to feel proud to be one. So they made them dress a little spiffy amongst other things, to boost their morale and self-image. The CC people sort of carried that over, and to them, it manifests in their wearing colored shirts. If you ask me, it doesn’t accomplish anything nowadays and just serves to make CC different in the eyes of the rest of the Yeshiva world. I am nobody to tell them what to do, but I dont see what they’re gaining.

Regarding Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim, I heard the following: but please note that (a) I do not necessarily share all the views below, and (b) not everyone who does not think of the Yeshiva they way you believe they ought to does either – the following are only general answers; some may hold like some, others like others, and still others may have additional issues. The following only serves as a general idea.

The reason some do not consider the Yeshiva on the optimal level, is because:

(a) They go too slow. Tearing apart Rishonim and Achronim has a limit. Knowing Gemora and knowing a lot of it of it has value that they consider to be neglected in your Yeshiva. “B’iyun” doesnt mean to spend all that time tearing apart and rebuilding the Rishinim and Achronim that much. If so, ain l’dovor sof. Your spending time discussing the ins and out of the Meforshim they consider beyond the point of “Iyun” and way into plain “kvetching” and ill spent time.

(b) The emphasis on the Achronim and the authority given to them – especially the later Achronim – and the accompanying time spent on “tearing them apart and putting them back together” is considered by them a waste of time, and not proper procedure in learning. There is a certian amount of importance that should be placed on Gemar, on Rishonim, on Achronim, and on the later Achronim. The proper recipe for how much weight each should carry, and how much time should be spent on each, and how much “iyun” each actually contains – is considered by those others as skewed in your Yeshiva (especially where it comes to later Achronim).

(c) The emphasis on the Rosh Yeshiva’s Shiur, the amount of time spent on it, and the value given to it (as always “muchrach”) is considered by those other places to be misplaced, the time ill spent, and the entire idea of emphasizing a Shiur to that point as a problem because it it purposeless to do that and counterproductive since what to emphasize and what not, and how much is considered an intergral part of learning.

(d) The above and similar misfocused learning methods constricts the students’ creativity, constricts his Torah focus on one narrow type of thinking thereby preventing him from developing his potential, especially since that potential may lie in learning differently than the single-minded way was taught to think.

This narrowness comes from the emphasis and over-value mainly on one particular rebbe’s Shiur (i.e. the Rosh Yeshiva) and secondarily, over-emphasis on late Achronim.

The end result of all this is, the way your Yeshiva and its students and alumni learn is not considered up to par with the rest of the Yeshivos. It certainly is different; they consider it worse.

(e) Hashkafically, the Yeshiva is considered to over emphasize going out into Chinuch and Kiruv as opposed to valuing learning for its own sake, and growing into a Gadol B’Torah.

(f) The same over emphasis and focus on one specific way of thinking applies to Divrei Agadita and Mussar as well.

In short, the Yeshiva is perceived by others, as taking the Torahs of the Rosh Yeshiva and his personal thought patterns and way of learning and making them into something much more than they actually are. By doing so, they end up lacking that which they could have had, in both learning and Hashkofa-knowledge, if they would have spent their energies acquiring it.

There are many different opinions as to what the right “derech” in learning is; simply put, a lot of the Yeshiva world disagrees with Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in this respect, plus some other issues, as above.

That having been said, I would like to reiterate that neither I, nor anyone necessarily shares all the views above, in the exact form that I wrote them. There is no “official” handbook of the “Yeshivishe velt” that paskened on your Yeshiva. So any individual may think a bit more or less of any of the above. But in general, that is the situation.

Another, very very important thing. Nobody in the world, from one end of the Yehsivishe velt to the next, has anything but extreme admiration for the Middos and “ehrlichkeit” of the students that come from Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim. If there is any Yeshiva that is considered to “put out” great Baalei Middos and “mentchlicher” students, it would surely be Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim, above any other.

I’ve got a few things to say: First of all, WhyNotMe: You feel like they’re trying to brainwash you. The nature of the human being, when it believes strongly in something, is to instill that belief in others. I would guess (and this is just a guess) that if you were in a different Yeshiva whose rebbeim believed strongly in it, you would be experiencing a similar phenomenon.

In terms of “learning how to learn,” I obviously have not made the full “around the block” circuit, but it seems to me that this is something that is stressed in Chofetz Chaim and is not stressed in other Yeshivas. I’m not sure about this, but I think that Chofetz Chaim is the only (or one of the only) places to put it on a pedestal. If you don’t think it’s important, that’s your decision. But I don’t think that all the talk is just meaningless rhetoric.

In reference to Rabbi Zakai, I believe the adjective that I have heard most commonly describing him is “great.” I’m honestly not entirely sure about what that means (he seems like a very nice guy and a fine rebbi) but, seriously, that’s what everyone says. (And I’m referring to individuals who had him – not just what one person said and everyone else quotes.)

Also, as a teenager who “wants to learn and learn and learn,” you should just be aware that 1. most people can’t afford that; and 2. there are people who feel that way at some point but then change their minds.

Best of luck.

mRaven, are you actually comparing someone learning in a yeshiva with 6,000 talmidim to a mechalel shabbos? Does Rabbi Harris Shlit”a really view his children in Lakewood as mechallelei Shabbos?

shlomozalman…why are you so against CC…have you had a bad experience??? as you should have seen chofetz chaim is like slabodka in many regards, it may not be perfect but it is close enough. asking what the alter would do simply means that we should filter our actions through a filter of mussar and yashrus. not everything that is mutar and legal should be done, simply because it is not YOSHER. its not an abstract question…it is a very practical one. if you are well grounded in the principles of mussar, you will be able to decide what is yosher and what isnt. i believe chofetzchaim posted above that we should think “what would this look like on the front page of the times” simply put…what do you think it would look like. true it may be technically allowed…but should you still do it? i see no reason not to think like that! if everyone thought like that we would have fewer problems in this world.

as for our supposed “inferiority complex”…it is no such thing. each yeshiva has things it is proud of, and we are proud of our set up. ie…our similarities to slabodka that is rarley if ever seen these days. what i mean to say is you rarely if ever see a yeshiva that has a clear mesorah, a clear derech in mussar and hashkafa. as for lakewood not allowing us into their elite club…whatever that means…ask yourself this question, is that mussardik??? is it mussardik to exclude a large group of jews from your world because they are from a different yeshiva? in chofetz chaim the answer is no…maybe by you the answer is yes, and that is sad.

as for the only place to learn how to learn. there are many yeshivos that dont have a set specific derech halimud. in many places, each rebbi chooses what he wants to do based on whim…or what he did when he was in yeshiva…we have a clear derech halimud, and therefore one can learn how to learn. how can you learn how to learn if the way to learn isnt clear?

i have been saying through all these posts that the purpose of me defending and pushing CC like this is only in response to all the bashing, this is not a plug for whynotme to remain in CC against his will.

granted alu v’alu divrei elokim chaim, and like i said im only posting all this in response to shlomozalman. nowhere did i say that CC is the only yeshiva that teaches mussar. every yeshiva has a mussar seder. i am simply saying that it is emphasized more in CC.

I don’t know what/how other yeshivas emphasize mussar, but from what I understand, Chofetz Chaim puts more emphasis on the Mussar Seder. We also keep the Slabodka derech of saying shmuzim that are muchrach from a chazal and working on those shmuzim.

This thread is getting to be downright ridiculous.

I held my tounge but can’t any longer.

First off. I am a chofetz chaim guy. Brainwashed from birth. (But then again as they say – don’t you want to be brainwashed? It’s filthy. It should be washed.)

WhyNotMe – I don’t know who you are or what you are trying to do but it’s not to find out and do research about different Yeshivas. (Correction – I do know who you are, but that’s a different story.) Maybe it was an honest mistake but the YWN Coffeeroom, while I love it, isn’t exactly the place to get accurate information in regards to different Yeshivas. Proper research entails speaking to people, Rabbiem (from other Yeshivas also) about the Yeshivas they know and recommend. Not in a comparative way but have them discuss different options. Preferably find someone to talk to who knows you. Which Yeshiva to go to is based 100% on the guy that’s going there. There is no one Yeshiva that’s for everybody.

Take a look in your own family. (I did the answers for you in parentheses) Do you have older brothers? (yes) Are they different? (yes) Did they go to different places after high school? (yes) Even if they graduated from the same place in the same year? (yes)

Point being that everyone is different. Coming as a no name person with no information other then “I’m in a CC branch” is not exactly enough criteria to recomend a Yeshiva that fits your needs.(I should really just come over to you in person, but I’m in a different state.)

I am constantly pushing people to go out of Chofetz Chaim to other Yeshivas that are better for them. And btw – your principal does the same thing. (Ask him. He’s your Pal.)

With regard to Rabbi Cohen. All I can say is lol. You should hear more of his vaadim and you will begin to appreciate his style more. He is very radical and purposely takes things out of proportion. Ask any of the Bais Medrash guys in your branch. After Rabbi Cohen left the Rosh HaYeshiva gave a vaad specifically to “counteract and explain” rabbi Cohen. And everything he says should be taken with a grain of salt. Don’t get all hung up on his words.

As for the comments above by the other unnamed people above – I’ve heard some smart things and some really dumb things.

(in nor particular order)

mraven and jothar – while mraven didn’t specifically compare lakewood to michalel shabbos, it was implied. mraven – don’t say things like that when they WILL get misconstrued and Jothar – you know what he meant.

yehudaj – thanks for that last paragraph – I was getting sick.

volvie – your points A B C D E and F are exactly the same – in a few words – they waist their time overemphasizing things they believe in. – That’s a haskafik difference between CC and the “Yeshiva Velt”. It’s not ain l’davor sof – there is a line – it;s just further then yours. As for point E specifically, I’m not sure how it’s possible to over emphasize Harbatzas Torah. Maybe I’ missing something but isn’t talmud torah k’neged kulam? Isn’t that what a person should do? And don’t say they push guys who should be in harbatas torah to be in harbatzas torah. Walk into any branch into any shmuz or discussion on this topic and the line you will always hear is “being a Rebbe is not for everyone”. There are other ways of doing what ever you can in harbatzas torah even if you are a regular working guy. I’m not a Rebbe. I have a regular job. Except I channel it for harbatzas torah. (WhyNotMe – we can discuss that point in person if you’d like.)

As for the white shirt thing, I’m not sure which CC Rebbe you are misquoting but I’ve never heard that and I was born knee deep in CC. They didn’t make the guys dress spiffy. That’s how people dressed. And look at any pictures from any Yeshiva in Europe you will see colored shirts and suits. It’s not just Slabodka. It’s funny how you sticked in the Gadlus Hadom thing because you made a complete cholent out of it. (If anything because of Gadlus Hadom you should wear a white shirt.) Wearing a white shirt is more choshuv. The more important a person gets the more likely it is he we wear a white shirt. It’s more dressy. That’s why even blue shirters wear a white shirt on Shabbos. CC is specifically against that as it gets a person to feel more choshuv then he really is. A regular Yeshiva guy constantly needs to work on getting better. Wearing a white shirt when u aren’t on that madreiga can potentially be harmful to certain people if they aren’t careful. Therefore the Yeshiva discourages wearing white shirts. First reach that madreiga then put the white shirt. (As for chitzonious meorer as hapnimius – that’s beyond the scope of the coffeeroom – ask your local CC Rabbi.) Being the fact that CC emphasizes gadlus hadom, they stress you should dress nicely. Of course if you are not limitted t white shirts you can dress more “spiffy”.

I’m done for now as I can’t type anymore – I hope I helped explain a bit.

And WhyNoTMe – let me know if you want to talk. I don’t push CC. 😉 (And I’ve known you for a while.)

exactly what is a facher…and suppose he asked people in the community for their opinion…would you be opposed to that? no…so whats the difference? if he finds a yeshiva that he likes because of our posts then wouldn’t that be great? using the internet to help a fellow jew…what could be better?

Posting for a friend in response to shlomozalman:

Shlomozalman wrote:

Yes, Chofetz Chaim thinks it is the natural successor to Slabodka, very nice , but that is more self-congratulatory than substantive. In addition, asking what the Alter would do in a given situation is just as self-serving and pointless, he isn’t here to ask, and anyone can easily say that his action is exactly what the Alter would have done, who’s to prove him wrong?

Rav Leizer Yudel Finkel ZT”L told the rosh Hayeshiva ZT”L that Rav Dovid Leibowitz was the closest talmid of HIS father, the Alter ZT”L. Rav Leizer Yudel ZT”L is one who can make a substantive claim in this regard, and he did so. Rav Aharon Feldman Shlit”a says that in every situation, he asks himself what Rav Ruderman ZT”L would have done. This is a consequence of having a rebeb muvhak, that you know him well enough to surmise how he would view every situation and act. This is also Daas Torah. Who’s to prove a gadol wrong if he decides this is what Hashem wants? But yet we rely on gedolim to tell us what Hashem wants from us, based on their knowledge of torah as they got it from their Rabbeim. This is the meaning of Daas Torah.

When they say there are no other yeshivas, they aren’t saying that there is no Torah being learned anywhere. They are perfectly machshiv other places as mekomos of Torah learning. What they mean to say is that a yeshiva is supposed to teach you how to think and how not to think, and if there is no active training in this, then the yeshivas isn’t teaching you how to think. If you want to develop Daas Torah, then you have to know what is, and what isn’t, the way of the Torah. This is also why the yeshiva puts such a strong emphasis on hashkafah, to teach the talmidim what is the right way to view things.

True, Eilu Va’eilu Divrei Elokim Chaim. However, as the Mahara”l explains it, this doesn’t mean that both sides are absolutely right. it means that both sides are saying svaros based on the Torah, but one side is closer to the Emes.As we are following our mesorah, we have to believe that we have the emes. The proof is in the pudding, of course- the yeshiva produces Tzelamei Elokim who enhance, not ruin, the name of Orthodox Jewry.

EDITED

Whynotme – I’m a mother of yeshiva bochurim and clearly cannot comment on yeshivas. And no, all of my boys did not necessarily fit, though with proper hadrocha, each one has found his place in the olam of Torah. This is what I wanted to share with you – how critical it is for you to seek out daas Torah. You mentioned in your first post that your Rabbi doesn’t even know you. Is it at all possible for him to get to know you? Is he the kind of person that you may be able to approach? You sound like a mature boy, it is quite possible that you thought of this and felt that the answer is no. If you don’t presently know anyone who can help you, then maybe the question on the forum should also be, which Rav could you speak to? Is there someone that you can make an appointment to see, and would give you the time? Remember that once you are in the presence of a talmid chochom, you don’t need to give over all of the details. They can teich up the situation and with precise questions and thinking can teich you up as well, and help to guide you. I can’t stress this enough, our zchus Avos, tefillos and my husband’s hasmodo in learning (my husband works)may have motivated our sons, but there is no doubt in my mind that the Daas Torah that we received along the very bumpy and turbulent roads were invaluable in our meriting siyata dishmaya.

Do you know Rabbi Chaim Epstein? He is a Gadol in these inyanim.

I have learned and continue to learn in CC Mosdos (Miami my first Year, Z.A. the rest) for the last seven years strong B”H, it was the obvious Choice for me since i was raised by a Chofetz Chaim Musmach and he came out ok ,lol…(He happens to be a Huge Talmid Chachom and Lamdan, he learned in Yeshiva for 14 years, it could be a coincidence however i doubt it!) So i felt if he came out fine so can i…(perhaps, it was also the fact that i have seen him Talk in learning with Roshi Koleliem and Magidie Shiurim who went to other “esteemed” Yeshivos (as a kid) and they told my later in my life how they are scared to talk in learning with him cause he rips their Chaburas to shreds) Ohh another reason come to think of it was that the Rosh Hayshivah Zutzka”l was my Sandek so maybe he had brained washed me already then!!!

That being said i have been to other Yeshivah’s for a few Summer Zemans and (not enough to be a critic). and did not like it (but to be fair i was not planing on leaving my Yeshiva). For me The Derech felt like home the did others not. (this could be pinned on my upbringing but B”H i am ok with that.

It must be noted however,, in the other Yeshivah’s most of the guys were happy learnign in the derech of the Yeshivah they attended and B”H that is the way it should be.

However, this concept of being happy in a Yeshivah other then CC should not be a shocker to anyone since Chaza”l teach us “Ein Adom Lomed Ala Eifo Shelibo Chofetz” so really its all about finding a place where you feel you can grow and learn (in regards to the Derech Halimud/ Derech Hamusar) i leave that part to the Yetzer Harah, and so should all the rest of you. ’cause after all, all he wants is to cause strife…

In regards to Rabbi Cohen i am B”H very close with him and have spent much time with him as a Talimd in his Yeshivah and i think it ironic that he came up ’cause if there is anyone out there that can help you figure things out he most likely will be the one to call:

You can call the office (516)-295-5700 X13 or drop him an email, [email protected] and he will probably get back to you

Or (a better idea) you could just stop by Yeshiva in Bayswater and talk to him and check the place out for yourself. He gives Shiur (two shiurim actually) at around 11:15 and is around till 1:00 pm…

Good Luck!

P.S. any comments on my post are welcomed

Hopefully, everyone is learning in the best yeshiva, that suits their own needs.

Chofetz Chaim may be great for me, and terrible for you while Ponovezh is great for you and terrible for me. The derech halimud, hashkafas hachaim, the way the rabbeim interact with the talmidim (if at all). Are you self motivated, or do you need a rebbe on top of you all day?

I cant imagine any Rosh Yeshiva believes that his yeshiva doesn’t have something to offer more than any other yeshiva. And I have no doubt that any Bachur in a yeshiva(assuming he likes it there) believes that his yeshiva is the best. (kind of like summer camp)

That being said there are two questions to be answered. 1)why are some chofetz chaim rabbis so open about it? and 2)Why was(is?) Chofetz Chaim considered by some as a “cult”?

The answer is that in years past there were very few “non-Chofetz Chaim-ers” that joined the yeshiva. The derech wasn’t even a consideration. Why? Because it made no sense to one who is not familiar with the benefits of the derech.

If someone wanted to go to college and then work, why would he go to a yeshiva that constantly talks about the greatness of Harbatzos HaTorah?

If someone wanted to go into Harbatzos HaTorah why would he go somewhere where he couldn’t do that until he turned 30(Average age of semicha there)?

And if someone just wanted to learn all his life, then again, why would he got to a yeshiva that would push him to go into Harbatzos Hatorah at some point?

Therefore, outsiders would not consider going to Chofetz Chaim, and this is also the reason why some of the Rabbeim spoke so openly (within the walls of the yeshiva)about the benefits of their approach. Because within the yeshiva the bachrim would ask those same questions so the Rabbeim had to discuss with them the benefits of the derech as opposed to the others.

(Note: there was a previous where he quoted a talk given by one of the Rosh Yeshiva about Rabbi Shaya Cohen’s speech he gave in which the Rosh Yeshiva tried to explain his words differently. “Counteract and explain” was the quote. I just wanted to clarify so there wouldn’t be confusion that that they were not disagreeing on any major hashkofic issues(as for as i can recall, i am sure you will correct me if i am wrong)but rather on a discussion about weather a certain sefer can be brought to discuss Muchruch Shmoozin(for more about this you can read the introduction to the book “pinnacle of creation” where it discusses the anatomy of the “Shmooze”).

(Also just to clarify I am fairly sure the Rosh Yeshiva quoted was not R’ Henoch Leibowitz but one of the present Roshei Yeshiva who is a chaver to R shaya Cohen and they are quite close.)