Last week in Israel, there was a gathering of Charedi rabbis who banned college for women outside of of the “Beis Yaakov” system. Being that I am neither Charedi, nor Israeli, this news did not feel very impactful to me. The Orthodox rabbis that I go to (I’d describe them as “centrist” or “right-wing Modern Orthodox”) are very much in favor of college for both women and men. But I started hearing from women in the black hat/yeshivish/Charedi world who were up in arms.
These women used words like “existential crisis” and “betrayal” to describe what this ruling meant to them. Many of them explained to me that a ban on college felt so extreme and so far from reality that they didn’t know how to reconcile the fact that rabbis who they had been taught are the leaders of the generation could say such things.
Several people asked me to write about this topic, so I did some research. I have friends who are leaders in every part of the Orthodox Jewish world who I respect very much, so I went to my yeshivish contacts in the U.S. and Israel since I figured they’d have the inside scoop on this story. None of the rabbis and layleaders I spoke to wanted me to put their name on the information they gave over to me, but this is what I learned:
Here’s my take away:
7 comments
Sort by
I agree with you. A few points:
1 ) This an Israeli issue as Dr. Leslie Ginsparg Klien wrote in the Forward, and irrelevant to any American, Charedi or otherwise.
2) The Bais Yaakov degrees question and the Israeli government is not a new thing. There was a similar situation a few years ago (see “The Bais Yaakov Edicts – Are We Next?”, Cross Currents, 1/11/07 by R. Yitzchak Adlerstein and “Misguided reform”, in Mishpacha, 9/8/05, by Jonathan Rosenblum on the Jewish Media Resources website ).
3) I also agree regarding the communication issue concerning statements attributed to Israeli gedolim. It’s not a new problem either, but I wonder if anything can be done about it.
Trying to stop women being highly educated both in Torah and general education is myopic thinking driven by scared self appointed leaders living in self imposed ghettos.
Men of mediocacy.
They will fail in their quest at isolationing people from G-ds world.
Apologists love to read between the lines. Fine, but that is not the point. Rav Steinmen and Rav Kanievsky didn’t put out any clarifications that they do not stand behind the decree.
Yes, I get it that many in the Haredi world ignore these things and buy iphones and go to college. These decrees put on the official face of the Haredi world and they cannot be explained away.
Thanks for your comment, David. I guess my question is – do they even know this happened? Is R’Steinman on YWN and twitter where this is being discussed? Whenever I’ve made the same points I’m told that they’re not plugged in and don’t do PR statements. It is very frustrating. VERY. We don’t even know who said what…
Rav Steinman is a very old man, we had him some years in our community. I didn’t have the impression he is very close to what bothers younger people in terms of economic survival and the like.
Personally, even or because I am part of a very, very orthodox community, I find it scandalous that our rebbeim are young people and women not giving acces to higher education (religious or secular alike) to get into jobs to support our families much better. I believe if this trend goes on, and people will more and more break the walls of our shtetlechs, young people will break away. Also because not everyone is able to be a yoshev. It only creates bigottry if we go on like this.
People are getting more and more informed and the chance to be educated on high levels is much better than ever before and we are shunned from it.
This can’t be and will not be productive in the end and I also believe deeply that this is not the will of HKB”H.
This ban was not meant to be against all college, rather, it was intended against the colleges that teach things that are against what it says in the Torah . Lateley, there have been founded many new “Charedi” colleges that their purpose is to “change Charedi society and values” – and this is what the ban was about.
Tha rabbis have no problem with college fo women as long as there is nothing against our values.
The secular anti-Charedi media in israel had a heyday misquoting all the great Rabbis. There was never any ban on higher education for women.
Almost anything that is reported in the secular media about Charedim is misquoted, and purposefully, to make Charedim look like some sort of quasi-jihadist Neanderthals.
Thank you Alison!!!! I identify as chareidi, and I’d like to get an advanced degree, so this was bothering me for a long time. Your takeaways made me feel so much better!