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I do not have statistics, but suffice it to say that the phenomenon of at risk youth and those who have dropped out of yeshivas has grown enormously. Our personal obligation to do something about inreach is no less than our responsibility to augment outreach endeavors. Let me quote from letters of two present talmidim.

“Coming to Neveh Zion has been a life changer for me. Before coming to Neveh, I was your ordinary teenager who had been beaten by the system – the system that requires you to practice Judaism whether you like it or not. I eventually drifted from Judaism and dropped out of yeshiva. I didn’t really keep to any of my Jewish customs, and the things I did do were out of rote; nothing with true meaning or love towards God.”

So many young people today feel beaten by the system. Most often they leave yeshiva either by choice or are asked to leave and the street is waiting for them. Most drop all remnants of observance although the writer of the letter above did a few out of rote.

Another young man wrote this year.

“Throughout my life I was always a misfit, I was never able to fit into the regular yeshiva system. After jumping from yeshiva to yeshiva and feeling like I didn’t belong I finally wrote it off as something that wasn’t for me, and went to work.”

Although this writer described himself as a misfit, he actually is a very intelligent and talented young man. He managed to know how to learn, even lomdus, and is now a peer leader. For both these fellows, it wasn’t easy to even consider returning to a yeshiva.

“When I dropped out of yeshiva, I wanted nothing to do with rabbis or anything of the sort. I strongly disliked them and hoped I would never have to deal with another rabbi again” The second fellow left yeshiva and went to work and even started up his own company. When he was approached by a Rebbi from our yeshiva he writes, “I was very conflicted. I still had the bitter taste of my yeshiva past lingering in my mouth and I was very reluctant to go back to a system I swore I would never return to. After much thought I realized that despite all the good I had in Lakewood, deep down I felt something was missing. So leaving a great job and prospect behind I jumped back into a world I never thought I would be a part of again.”

The secret of in reach is quite simple. All you need is a Rebbi who is sincere and really interested in the drop out as a person. Although he can’t condone what he is presently doing, he can accept him as a person. With focus, insight and understanding you can find the good beneath the disturbed veneer. When asked by others, what if you can’t find any good whatsoever? I answered that it hasn’t happened in 38 years and I don’t expect it ever to happen. If you delve deep enough there is a spark of good in every Jew. That spark happens to be where he connects to his Creator. It’s also a foundation upon which to build a fine person and a committed ben Torah.

Next week we hope to explore how these two young men have changed and where they are now in their own words.