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| Illustrative image from the Jerusalem Post (2020) |
But is that really what the Torah requires? Is Limudei Chol (secular studies) unworthy of our time? One of the biggest Gedolim of the 20th century Europe Telshe founder, R’ Eliezer Gordon, did not think so. He founded a Yeshiva that offered a full secular curriculum during the latter portion of the day. A system that is used as a model by most of the Lithuanian type Yeshiva high schools in America. He saw nothing wrrong with devoting a portion the the school day to Limudei Chol.
The Telshe model was copied in the US by virtually all Yeshivos after the Holocaust when there was a mass immigration of religious Jewish survivors. One of the most prominent Charedei Yeshiva high schools in Amercia, the Talmudical Academy of Philadelphia (better known as ‘Philly’) was known to have an excellent secular studies curriculum. That Yeshiva was founded by R’ Aharon Kotler, considered by Charedim to be the undisputed Gadol HaDor of his time.
Not long after these yeshivas were established the many of the Chasidic sects started opening up their own Yeshivos. Most of them did not include any secular studies. curriculum at all.
They were moving along swimmingly for decades under this system until some of their students realized that by not being educated in Limudei Chol they were being denied opportunities for better employment. Although it seems like the vast majority seem to be happy in their ignorance, a significant number of them are not. In a world that has increasing become avaialbe to all – no matter how insolated they try to make themselves - some began to see what they were missing . And they wanted more for their children than they were getting in their schools.
Long story short those schools were sued by a group of expatriate Chasidic students for their stated goal of mandating a studies curriculum. But this group, (YAFFED) was accused by defenders of those schools of having an ulterior motive: The destruction of the Yeshiva system as we know it - if not Yiddishkeit itself!. And that they were doing it because they hated the Torah.
I have no clue whether those accusations are true. Depends who you ask. But to me it doesn’t matter. the issues are real. What they were complaining about was true. And their stated mission of trying to fix that is the same as mine. The details might clash with what I’m looking for. Bur that is bedside the main goal of fixing the system to include a decent seecular studies curriculum If these schools don’t do it themselves, the state should mandate it..
Lithuanian style Yeshivos like Telshe had no problem with such mandates. They hired qualified secular studies teachers for a curriculum that closely matched what was going on in public schools. That gave their students a choice. If they wanted to learn full time, Telshe was the right school. If they wanted to pursue a career the curriculum in Telshe enabled them to do that.
Unfortunately NYSED (New York Education Department)/had originally responded by proposing a truly draconian mandawe. One that would have practically eliminated time for religious studies. That did not sit well with me, nor did it sit well with advocacy groups like Agudah who argued the state was interfering woth the rights of parents to teach their children their religious values. Which of course includes providing a more than a token amount of time for religious studies.
Long story short they have now come out with what they should have done I the first place. From VIN:
After years of deliberations, the Education Department is proposing several options for private schools to demonstrate that their secular studies are “substantially equivalent”
…If the guidelines are ratified, most Yeshivos would be able to avoid inspections and reviews.
One option would allow private schools to give students state-approved tests in core subjects like science, math, social studies and English, to show students’ academic progress.
Another option would be to earn accreditation that is approved by the state. Unlike past proposals, the new guidelines would not include a mandate of a minimum number of hours of specific subjects.
This should have been the end of it. All Yeshiva high school would then be on the same page. The page most of them were on before those Chasidic schools existed. Unfortunately Agudah is challenging even this:
In response to the proposal, Agudath Israel issued a statement objecting to the fact that the new rules would not factor in religious studies.
“For a yeshiva to be judged on the quality of its educational program without taking into account these religious studies would make a cruel mockery of the review process,” the statement says. “By ignoring this essential component of yeshiva education, the proposed new regulations may result in yeshivas having to make major changes to their school day schedules to be deemed substantially equivalent. This is entirely unacceptable.”
Private schools that do not use one of the options would be subject to academic reviews by their public school district, which is highly controversial and likely to be challenged by yeshivos
In other words they are saying that their religious studies can in some instances replace what would otherwise be a secular subject. But that is inaccurate. All the state wants to do to assure a quality education is to test those students to see that they got one. I don’t think it mandates any specific courses. It only mandates they learn those subjects well enough to pass state tests.
What about the fear of the state injecting cultural values into those tests that contradict Torah values? I don’t see anything objectionable about basic science, math, or English. Social studies might be a problem but that can be worked out with the state so that questions about social values that contradict Torah values can be eliminated. I don’t think the state really wants to indoctrinate children to violate tenets of their religion. They just want to make sure those children have a decent shot at a more financially secure future.
In my view, instead of opposing these guidelines, Agudah should be endorsing them with the caveat of ironing out possible problems. But what I really think is motivating them is give the Chasidic community the right to ignore Limudei Chol altogether.
In my view they are not doing them any favors. They are instead helping them perpetuate the harm caused to – not an insignificant number of them by denying - or at least broadening the opportunities they would otherwise have.