In a meeting of the Rabbinical Committee for Education of the Moetzas Gedolei Yisrael held in conjunction with the directors of the seminars held at the Rav Meir Seminar in Bnei Brak, it was decided, on the orders of Gedolei Yisrael, to tighten the supervision of girls’ schools including Beis Yaakov. Teachers applying for jobs who have earned an official academic degree from a college or university will not be considered.
Taking part in the meeting were Rabbi Mordechai Stern (Vizhnitz), Rabbi Yaakov Cohen (Sanz), Rabbi Videslavsky (Gur) Rabbi Meir Kessler from the Litvish community Rabbi Natan Zukhovsky, Rabbi Chaim Mann, Rabbi Shlomo Breuer and committee secretaries Rabbi Avraham Rubinstein and Yosef Draiman were present. In addition, the directors of the seminars were Rabbis Wolf, Lieberman, Mendelssohn, Hildesheimer and the secretary of the committee, Rabbi Austerlitz.
It was learned that during the discussion, those present spoke sharply about the break in the chareidi community, with more women and girls from the community permit themselves to attend mainstream academic institutions, at times, with permission from their husbands.
The rabbis discussed ways to stop the breach and prevent the phenomenon from spreading, and mentioned the previous directive to ensure that chareidi schools do not receive teachers with academic degrees.
The rabbis argued that while this remains an abstract threat to the present day, it is now necessary to tighten the supervision and enforce the regulations with great severity so that every Jewish woman will know that she will lose if she studies outside the permitted framework as outlined by Gedolei Yisrael.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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10 Responses
How is this going help? I can’t imagine that women are going to a mainstream college with only the hope of getting a teaching job in a Bais Yakov…
I agree, but I would go further. I Think no fummer yid should see a doctor who has an academic degree. After all, if the chinuch of our heilige children is too important to trust to people with degrees, than our health (sakanta chamura meisura) even more so. Also, the article mentions women going to college with their husbands consent. Those prutzas who go without their husbands consent should be stoned (or at least have bleach thrown on them).
“every Jewish woman will know that she will lose if she studies outside the permitted framework”
On the contrary, she will gain–she’ll get a job at a high-paying regular school, rather than a low- and late-paying Beis Yaakov.
Also, dear “YWN Israel Desk”—the word is “seminary”, not “seminar.” And you don’t even need an academic degree to know that.
This is sad for three reasons: 1. for the families who will suffer in poverty because neither parent has a degree and their opportunities to make an adequate parnassa are much fewer. 2. For the way it creates more dependence on tzedaka, mainly from the diaspora, which is not a dignified or sustainable way to support the whole chareidi tzibur in Israel. And 3. for the division it will create in the chareidi world between families who don’t go to college and families who continue to go because they need a way to support themselves.
She will not lose. The Beis Yaakov schools will lose. She will find employment elsewhere. The schools will lose a rounded, well educated teacher. oops, sorry, that is the last thing they want. They want narrow parochially educated Beis Yaakov graduates, both so that the “Rabbis” can retain control and to guarantee “jobs for the girls”. The world is moving on. We can either jump on board or get left behind.
Knowledge is a dangerous weapon when trying to keep control of a community.
All this will do is bring more unemployed to our doors,
Do they have a contingency plan for when the Education Ministry threatens to cut off funding for the seminaries and revoke their operating licenses?
I read this article just after a feeling of disappointment that YWN is overly flooded with “communicated content”.
Is there not a connection here? Why can’t there be Frum controlled colleges?
Perhaps we’ll then be able to scroll YWN and see more articles than collections. Perhaps.
So it’s better their fathers or husbands or children should come to “The States” to collect from all the college graduates for their ill, depressed, poverty stricken, overworked or unemployed daughter, wife, mother?
There are in fact frum (even chareidi) colleges here in Israel with separate men/women. No compromise with halachah. Unless you include chareidi halacha.