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24 Ellul 5761 - September 12, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Sharp Criticism of Advertisements Encouraging Working Careers for Bnei Torah
by Yated Ne'eman Staff

Rabbonim and marbitzei Torah have had sharp criticism of a new wave of advertisements encouraging avreichim to leave the beis medrash to study a trade or profession. In fact, such appeals seek to change the career aspirations of bnei Torah and to create the impression that a "revolution" is in the works among bnei Torah who are taking up these courses of study.

In recent months there have been many advertisements and promotional articles in weekly magazines and local chareidi newspapers. The publicity is aimed to prepare the ground for legitimization of such career goals. Although only a few, from the fringes of the chareidi community, have entered these frameworks up until now, a false impression has been created in an attempt to convince people that this is a widespread trend.

One of the advertisers states, "A broad phenomenon has slowly been growing up from the grassroots, a revolution with far- reaching implications is gradually gaining impetus and changing the face of our entire chareidi society." The advertiser is creating a scenario based on his wishful thinking, in hope that the advertisements themselves will help give legitimacy to this approach. Their goal is to gain widespread appeal. Whether intentionally or not, a side product of their efforts is the undermining of the yeshivos and the chinuch of the younger generation.

Advertisers are trying to create a dismal picture of the family life of the ben Torah who is totally involved in learning as opposed to the lives of those who earn an "honorable parnossoh" -- which they imply can be achieved only through study in their schools and/or by acquiring academic degrees. Aspirations for professional careers and advanced types of employment are introduced. They argue that such careers suit yeshiva students who, with their intellectual capacities, analytic abilities, application and diligence, are eagerly sought after by the commercial sector.

Roshei yeshiva and roshei kollel have recently spoken out against such advertisements that totally contradict the view of gedolei Yisroel that we must concentrate on encouraging dedication only to limud Torah and not try to initiate new ideas, institutions or activities with other goals. They noted that there have always been people compelled to leave the beis medrash in order to earn a living. However, this was never done in an institutionalized way.

"Chazal state that when lomdei Torah are forced to leave their Torah studies and go out into the commercial world for parnossoh, one must lament them with the verse from Eichah, `How have sacred stones been spilled in the markets.' Today, however, certain elements are trying lechatchilah to coordinate a departure from the beis medrash. They do so by means of advertisements and favorable write-ups meant to present an alternative for avreichim who are moser nefesh so that they will be able to pore over their Torah studies with all of their energies. They attempt to create nisyonos and to tempt the families of bnei Torah, while conferring status on those who leave the beis medrash to acquire a `prestigious profession and an honorable livelihood.'

"Our gedolim have raised the glory of Torah in Eretz Hakodesh and have founded generations of those who study Torah betahoroh. They have instilled them with the desire to remain solely within the four amos of halocho and have imbued the students of the talmudei Torah and the Beis Yaakov schools with these ideals. They have guaranteed that the aspiration for Torah will prevail as the supreme, exclusive value out of the profound understanding of Chazal's words that there is no kovod except Torah. They have taught that the life of an avreich who is omeil baTorah is the most gratifying life for him and his family in this world and in the World to Come. Any attempt to cast aspersions upon these ideals, in the form of `Mai ahanu lon rabbonon' or that, `There are enough lomdei Torah,' while focusing on so-called `distress' in families that must be alleviated by sending avreichim to institutions for professional training, totally contradict the views of all gedolei Yisroel.

"Such efforts fly in the face of the entire derech we have received from our gedolim concerning the building of a Torah world which was reestablished besiyata deShmaya after the Holocaust and is blossoming in both quality and quantity."

The rabbonim also noted that the use of names of certain rabbinical authorities and spiritual figures in those ads is a misleading distortion, since the poskim and morei horo'oh, in giving the rulings and advice quoted, were referring only to practical halachic questions on the issue of earning a livelihood and acquiring a profession: questions pertaining to tsnius and about subjects forbidden to study. No approval or encouragement was intended or given either for the current advertisements nor for activities meant to offer avreichim an alternative to the beis medrash. No approval was certainly given for this issue to be discussed in the Torah world.

Those behind these institutions and advertisements initially explained that their purpose was to work only with older avreichim who were in any case forced to leave their studies after many years in the yeshiva and who applied to them on their own initiative. But in light of the insufficient numbers of applicants and tuition-payers, these institutions must justify their existence and the abundant government funding that they receive by showing enrollment figures. "If they are sincere in their purpose, they wouldn't have to post advertisements all over, because anyone needing parnossoh has always found the way. The very battle of these elements over their right to market themselves, and their zeal to proclaim their "vision," testifies at the outset that this is an attempt to create an artificial need, to generate hesitation and introduce aspirations for professional careers into the Torah world: careers that can only be acquired by intellectual exertion.

"Fortunate are we that we have merited dor yeshorim mevorachim. From childhood, our sons aspire to be talmidei chachomim and to dwell in Beis Hashem all of their lives. Our daughters regard devoting themselves to Torah and enabling their husbands to toil in Torah as an ultimate ideal. Let us not permit new goals that involve changing of values to stake claims among us."

 

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