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Hi to all!
I would like to receive some information regarding Rav Kaplan’s Yeshiva.Is it as pressured as people say it is? Is it a pressure from the bachurim or from the hannallah?
How many bachurim learn in this Yeshiva?
Does the Rosh Yeshiva have any saychus with the bachurim? Does he know what is going on ?
Please provide what you know.
Between the bochrim and the kollel yungerleit around 350 (all from chutz laretz). It is not pressured but “structured”. They don’t go on tiyulim. You are there to learn. You have to adhere to the schedule of the yeshiva. The shiurim are in yiddish and most bochurim who do not speak yiddish going in tend to take 6 months to adjust to yiddish.
Does the Rosh Yeshiva have any shaychus with the bachurim? Does he know what is going on ?
Very much, yes. He knows every bochur in the yeshiva and what is the best for that bochur.Not only does the Rosh Yeshiva have shaychus with the bochurim, but so does his father, brothers and brother-in-laws. From what I understand, his father and mother host 2 – 4 of the bochurim for the shabbos seuda on a regular basis (arranged by the Rosh Yeshiva).
But they only learn Kodshim.. Brisker style
I have not heard that there is peer pressure between the bochrim. IMO, they look out for each other and find ways to help each other. I know a family where three of the daughters married bochurim from the yeshiva….2 of the shidduchim redd by someone in the yeshiva.
They are currently learning a mesechta in Kodshim (I think Mesechta Krisus).
When asked how he knows every bochur (hundreds) so well, Rav Zvi replied, “when you daven for each bochur three times a day, you get to know them.”
When a bochur had to be hospitalized with a serious infection, I believe, Rav Zvi spent nights with him in the hospital (perhaps until a parent was able to come from the states.
Any bochur whose oifruf is in the Yeshiva, the Yeshiva hosts the entire kiddush for hundreds of guests. The Rebbetzin, who is a granddaughter of the Brisker Rav, and her children, spend hours preparing, maasering food, for the kiddush.
Rav Zvi teaches to have utmost respect for ones parents, not only through example, but by insisting, for example, that a bochur who is becoming engaged to a girl from Eretz Yisroel, that he may not, under any circumstances, announce the engagement until the patents arrive and meet the kallah and the family even if they knew each other before.From what I hear, every bochur in the yeshiva can have a great shuychus with the Rosh Yeshiva.
Just so that you know – there is a lot of pressure. The standards of hasmadah are higher than most similar Yeshivas, and it is expected that you shtell Tzu to that. The shiur room gets locked during shiur; if you need the bathroom, you have to ask the Rosh Yeshiva for the key to get out. On Motze Shabbos, the Rosh Yeshiva gives schmooze for up to three hours at a time. Last zman, he even gave an “emergency schmooze” for all the bochurim and yungerliet, bemoaning the terrible yeridah that bochurim now use the bathroom in the middle of seder, and forbidding it except for emergency cases.
Many people thrive under the pressure – I have friends who learnt in R’ Tzvi’s, whose attitude to learning totally changed – currently some of the biggest masmidim I know. For those who can cope, the demanding and exacting standards force you to rise to heights you didn’t know you had or never had the zitzfleish to reach. For others, however, it can be a little too stifling. (There are not many avenues of outlet there)
My son has never mentioned that R’ Tzvi checks his seforim or that he feels any “pressure”. He came from a Telzer structure here in the US and was able to adapt to R’ Tzvi’s derech.
Yes, his post shalosh seudas drasha can go 2 or 3 hours but I don’t believe that the bochurm are required to attend.
As for locking the door when R’ Tzvi starts shiur….it forces the bochurim to come on time.
A 3 minute or 3 hour shiur/shmooz/dvar torah etc. is for the same purpose….to instruct and share daas torah with the listeners…..the same inyan can be addressed by magid shiur A versus magid shiur B in vastly different ways and levels of detail and repetition ….sometimes, what was expected to be a relatively brief 30-45 minute shiur can go on for an hour or two simply because the rav may have interim thoughts tangential to his main point that he wishes to share, the talmidim take him off on some tangent or he wishes to drill down into much greater detail to make the same point in different ways
R’ Tzvi gives his weekly chumash shiur after seuda shlishi. It can go as long as three hours but is usually less (90 minutes to 2 hours).
GH: I am not sure that your description applies to R’ Tzvi’s shiur. I have never heard from my son what you describe.
I think the Motze Shabbos shiur is the classic Brisker “Chumash Shiur”. Based on the weekly Parshah, he presents a blend of both relevant lomdus, diyukim, and hashkafic lessons that can be drawn from the parsha.
Just saying, I don’t think R’ Tzvi Kaplan has a very bright view of R’ Ovadia Yosef and his shittos. So if you’re a real R’ Ovadianik, oing to a Brisker yeshiva might be a bit of a culture clash.
Rav Tzvis Yeshiva has 350 people, about a third yungerleit. There is no mainstream yeshiva for americans in Eretz Yisroel that takes better care of a bochur then Rav Tzvi. He is so warm personal and caring for each and every bochur, always on top of everyones personal wellbeing. he treats the boys just like a father, and ready to go out of his way to do anything for a bochurs need. there is no pressure from him or from your suroundings, just a happy friendly place where everyone likes.
To MW 13
I was never a big fan of the politicial commentary of R’ Ovadia , Z’TL but I never questioned his lamdus Nor would I imagine that R’ Kaplan thinks Chacham Ovadia wasn’t “bright” or has negative views of his shitos on a generic basis
What do you mean by “out-of-town”? Since he and the yeshiva are in Yerushalayim and he only accepts people from Chutz La’aretz, everyone is out-of town. His yeshiva has bochurim from the US, the UK, Canada, Mexico, France, Australia….
Having learned by Reb Tzvi for a number of years, I can say there is pressure, but not in a stifling way. I never heard him speak against any individual. He honestly worries about every talmid in the yeshiva, and isn’t afraid to give them mussar if he feel they can gain from it. He also takes a personal interest in every Bochur and Yungerman, often paying for extras, like beit Hachalama for their wives after birth, and even sometimes presents for a bochur’s Kallah which his parents didn’t pay for.
as for locking the door for shiur, in five years, I was never locked out and I never had to walk out.By the way, the three hour chumash shiur was entertaining, and never felt like a burden.
Queens is out of town??????? To my knowledge R’ Tzvi doesn’t favor location over another.
mw13, all Brisk yeshivos don’t have bright view of R’ Ovadia Yosef and his shittos?
If there was, I never noticed it.
It would better be said that the culture of the yeshiva is to learn and to be into the learning, everyone likes to fit in.
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