Before I comment on the article below I want to let you guys know that in Israel having over 100,000 Avrachim learning in Kollel, is not sustainable, not for the families of the Avrachim and not for the State. The Avrachim have an average of 8 children, bli ayin hara, and even though they all get government subsidies, they cannot make it financially. There isn't enough income to generate savings to make weddings or other simchas or to buy them diras!
Their wives work, true, but most of them work as teachers, or assistant teachers in the Bais Yaakovs and make a pittance, ask MK Minister Goldknaupf, the Gerer Chasid who is presently the Minister of Housing. When he ran the Bais Yaakovs in Bnei Brak, he made sure to fire the Teachers right before they became eligible for benefits.
Article:
It was recently announced that a new yeshiva will be opening in Beit Shemesh headed by Rabbi Dovid Leibel which will incorporate secular studies outside the yeshiva in an Open University format.
On Monday, Rabbi Dov Landau, who currently heads the Council Of Torah Sages, wrote a sharp letter criticizing the initiative. The letter was published in Yated Neeman and signed by all of the members of the council except for Rabbi Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi, who is currently hospitalized in serious condition with respiratory problems.
DIN: Let's not forget that for years, The Yated's prime and distinguished writer was none other than the author of Kid's speak, Chaim Walder, the sexual predator and rapist who broke up countless families. Chaim Walder was also the founder and director of the Child and Family Center of Bnei Brak, and performed all kinds of Torah prohibitions under the noses of Rabbanim such as Rav Landau and his late father. The paragraph hints that the only reason Harav Ezrachi (who Should have a Refuah Shleimah) didn't sign the letter was because he "is currently hospitalized.
Interesting, that both Rav Ezrachi & Rav Zilberstein would sign a letter against a Yeshiva incorporating secular studies, since they made it their business to address The Agudah Yarchei Kallah in Yerushalayim in 2022 to an audience of Baalei Batim of whom 90% graduated college, and of whom 100% attended Yeshivas with secular studies!
Rabbi Landau heard about the initiative during a trip to the US from a Rosh Yeshiva who explained to him the details and warned of the dangers in establishing such an institution.
DIN: Who was the Rosh Yeshiva? What is his name?
I'm wondering if this "Rosh Yeshiva" himself attended a Yeshiva that had secular studies?
All Litvishe Yeshivas in the USA have secular studies in their curriculum and most have their students take the regents! Why would a US Rosh Yeshiva who most probably attended a Yeshiva with secular studies and has his own children in a Yeshiva that has secular studies, put his nose in Israeli Chareidie education?
Rabbi Landau requested that his letter be signed by the other Gedolim and published in Yated Neeman.
DIN: He will no doubt find "other Gedolim" who are worried that Avreichim will finally come to their senses and start learning a trade and leave them. R' Landau wants it published in the "Yated" the paper of the notorious pervert!
The letter was co-signed by Rabbi Meir Zvi Bergman, Rabbi Baruch Dov Povarski, Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein and Rabbi Zvi Drabkin.
The letter states that “Torah study has always been clean and unsullied by any trace of mixing with other disciplines, and our rabbis devoted themselves and fought holy wars against any plans to mix even the slightest amount of other studies within the walls of the Torah fortresses and holy yeshivos.
DIN: Having secular studies in a Torah environment is something "not clean and sullied?"
Rabbi Landau with all due respect, Yeshiva Torah Vadaas, Yeshiva Chaim Berlin, Yeshiva Mir, Yeshiva Chasan Sofer, Veener, Ger, Stolin, Bobov, Tzelem, and yes even Satmar all have secular studies in their curriculum. These Yeshivas were headed by the greatest Gedoilim of the 20th century including Rav Moshe Feinstein, R' Yaakov Kaminetzki, Mattesdorfer Rav, Tzelemer Rav and R' Gedalyeh Schorr etc. etc.
“However we have now heard that people are planning to establish an institution called a yeshiva gedolah which mixes the holy and the profane, Heaven forfend, in the city of Beit Shemesh.
DIN: Excuse me... did they just write "that people are planning?" Who are those "people?" Rav Rabbi Dovid Leibel, the president of the Achvas Torah communities, is just "people?" So he isn't a "gadol" because he disagrees?
Most people in Ramat Beit Shemesh where they are planning this Yeshiva are Anglos, who want this Yeshiva for their children, to make it possible that their children become financially independent and would be able to support their wives as promised in the kesuba, they don't want to come to the US to schnoor because they're children cannot make it financially.
Kol Ha'Kovod to these parents.
By the way, these parents are Bnei-Torah, who sacrificed to make Aliya, run to shiurim, and set up massive Chesed Organizations. They moved to Beit Shemesh, not to Bnei Brak, because this is exactly what they want for the children!
“It is our duty to warn against this and to raise a huge storm to alert the Yere’ei Hashem wherever they are that they should not send their children and disciples to this place or give them any support G-d forbid.
DIN: "G-d forbid????" "Alert the Yere'ei Hashem?" ????????
Did you "alert the community" of Bnei Brak when a Chareidie harbored knowingly an illegal Arab and his brother in his home, that turned out to be a terrorist that stabbed his neighbor an avreich.?
Did you "alert the community" the "Yer'ei Hashem" when Chaim Walder was sleeping and raping married women of your community?
This little fact was known by the Bais Din of Bnei-Brak for 5 years before the community was "alerted." One of those women went public and stated that she took the sex-fiend Walder to Bais Din in Bnei-Brak, five years prior, and that the Bais Din ruled that she must leave her husband but refused to notify Walder's wife, the woman subsequently learned of 4 other woman in the exact same circumstances. And even when the facts came out, most of the Litvishe Gedoilim said it was "Loshon Hara" to expose him.
Are we living on different planets?
If you don't want to send your children to this school , then great, but to announce in the "Yated Pervert Paper"that people should "not support" them is a chillul Hashem, and is actually going against countless Gemarras that not only advocate work, advocate a trade but in fact state that working in Israel and learning a trade is a parent obligation!
“Happy is he who can uproot this scourge before it begins, and will keep the House of Israel faithful to Hashem and his Torah free of any aspects of this iniquitous culture, remaining sanctified to Torah study, keeping Mitzvos and following the Torah path.”
DIN: Happy is the one who can learn a trade, support his family in comfort, and still keep up with learning Torah "be'naachas ube'kavod"
A Kiddush Hashem would be to support this new Yeshiva Gedoileh headed by an outstanding Talmud Chachem and a prominent leader of a great community!