Jerusalem – An influential Israeli rabbi has slammed two prominent Israeli yeshivos, saying that the vast majority of students enrolled in those institutions of higher education are doing little, if any, learning.
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Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen, an outreach activist and a self-proclaimed kabala expert, took both Yeshivat Chevron and the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem to task in a scathing rebuke, saying that of the thousands of talmidim enrolled, only a minute percentage are actually engaged in their studies, as reported by Israeli website Kikar Hashabat.
Rabbi Cohen said that while others have been afraid to speak publicly about the subject, he felt it necessary for people, particularly parents of these bochurim, to know the painful truth. He charged the yeshiva world with being “totally corrupt” and estimated that of more than one thousand students enrolled in Yeshivat Chevron, less than ten percent are in the beis medrash at any given time.
“There are 1,100 bochurim on the streets or in their beds,” said Rabbi Cohen. “1,200 bochurim in the Chevron yeshiva and you won’t find even 100 in the beis medrash.”
Rabbi Cohen also took to task the many yeshiva students who hitchhike and said it pained him to have to speak so harshly.
“It is better than I wouldn’t have been born than to have to air our dirty laundry like this but I have no choice,” said Rabbi Cohen. “Maybe I will be the Nachshon ben Aminadav and I will drop this bomb and maybe our eyes will finally be opened to the truth.”
Rabbi Cohen also took aim at students of the Mir, saying that while the yeshiva takes up an entire block and has thousands of talmidim, the same problems exist.
“Go during seder and see how many boys are sitting in the bais medrash and how many are sitting in local restaurants,” remarked Rabbi Cohen. “All of the restaurants and bakeries in the Bais Yisroel neighborhood know that during Nissan and Tishrei their business is terrible because the bochurim are away on vacation.”
Adding insult to injury is that parents who invest their entire being into raising their children send them to yeshiva in Israel, think that their sons will grow in their learning and fear of G-d, but many succumb to grave temptations, according to Rabbi Cohen.
“These boys go downhill,” said Rabbi Cohen. “The rabbonim cover for them and pretend not to notice and the parents have absolutely no idea. In previous generations things never deteriorated as far as they have today.”
Critics in the yeshiva world denounced Rabbi Cohen, saying his remarks had no basis in reality and defended the two yeshivas in question, as well as their students, saying that the majority of students are immersed in their studies throughout their waking hours.
“Better that he deals with what he knows how to do best, if there even are such things, instead of getting involved in things he knows nothing about,” said one.
When I was in Israel with my husbnd, many years ago, I noticed how many bucherim hang out in the streets. Their parents pay huge tuitions hoping their son will ” shteig”.. For that reason I will never send my son to Israel to learn.
As a former talmud myself I can say, oh is he right! Presious time is wasted by to many.
Not a chiddush…except for who is speaking about it now.
I’m sorry but this guy sounds like a farbiterta Rosh Yeshiva who can’t attract more than a mezuman to his yeshiva.
so is college a waste of time, you think there are no parties in college?
Very few among us can sit and learn diligently hour after hour. And yet, the system is set up so that the majority will fail. There are untold social issues owing to the kollel system that is currently in place. Once in a while it is good to look at what we are doing. Thanks for posting this.
A be gerett. The Mir has gotten a lot stricter on who they accept into the yeshiva and a lot of the riff raf is gone. But like in any yeshiva including Brisk and Ponevitz you always have guys slacking off. But it definetly is not 90% not learning.
He should look at the many kollilim where most of the young married are supposed to be learning . Most of the students are there because it doesn’t look good not to spend years ”learning” after marriage They can be seen in the streets mid day walking around or pushing baby carriages..
He is behind the curve. This was a problem when I learned the Mir. However, towards the end of R Noson Tzvi’s life time, the rosh yeshiva ZT”L starting cracking down. The current rosh yeshiva R Lazer Yudel got even tougher. The mir no longer has an open door policy. In fact, believe it or not its not so easy to get accepted to the mir any more. (albiet not as hard as Brisk). I know many bochrim who got rejected. The mir is know much more organized and well run.
I also take issue with his complaint that “All of the restaurants and bakeries in the Bais Yisroel neighborhood know that during Nissan and Tishrei their business is terrible because the bochurim are away on vacation.” So what? Is there something wrong with shopping at a fresh bakery during bein hasedorim. Yes those stores loose money in Nissan and Tisheri. But thats because even during allocated lunch& supper hours there are no boys around to shop at their stores.
It’s very simple. Test the students. If students fail, send them packing.
everyone knows this. he is right for pointing out corruption.
This whole limud toreh is for a small part of the youngeleit by small i mean mAYBEE 10 per cent, the 90 per cent are lofers fakers,they are wasting their lifes away and those gownups who are supposed to lead them their parents included are indifferent to their childrens future,it is mamesh similar to killing ones future life they will have to be dependent on the government handouts it is a truely an injustice of the first order.
Because the yetzer hora does exist , it is possible to see negativity in the world. However I Learned at Mir. There are thousands of people in the BM learning. I would say less than 10% are on the street. There would have to be 1000 on the street which there aren’t. The learning going on in the yeshivas are a major kiddish hashem. Do not ever doubt it.
The Mir gives test and pays if you get a decent mark.
No reason to debate the issue. Just take a stroll down Bnei Brak or Yerushalayim main streets at any hour of the learning day.
This is the reason I pay big money for my son to learn in a smaller yeshiva which is known to have hashgacha on the buchrim , who I can say because I’m anonymous here , he’s not a trouble maker , he’s a top bucher , I still wouldn’t sleep well if he’s in those huge yeshivas. Even so — nothing is guaranteed… We all need to daven that our children shouldn’t be the ones making the bagel guy rich .
Only ten percent in the Beis HaMedrash at any given time?! That is a gross and irresponsible exaggeration! He clearly was one of the ninety percent not in those Batei Midrash when he was a bochur!
Maybe people need to come to grips with the reality that only about 15% of guys are cut out for seriously learning 12 hours a day indefinitely, and that they should therefore preparing themselves for the workforce starting from Mesivta.
What he doesn’t understand is…. We’re not talking about kids in elementary school. We’re talking about 20 year old adults.
The yeshiva function is to create a place where whoever wants to learn can learn.
You can’t force people to learn not should you.
Every individual has free choice.
If this is where the generation is holding them let him bemoan that fact….
We live in an age that a huge portion of the frum community believes that every single bochur belongs in the bais hamedrash. This idea is extended to the first bunch of years post-marriage. This across the board declaration is not without its flaws. No one should claim that it is not wonderful to be involved in learning in a serious way. Every bais hamedrash should be full. But not every individual there belongs there.
It is disgraceful when a seat in the bais hamedrash is being occupied by someone who is not learning, lacks the skill or passion to be there. Since the yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel tend to have little to no hashgocho, they become a haven for anything but learning. It would be unfair to say that learning boys are not there. But the system is full of loopholes. No one takes attendance, and absences are never detected. The enrollment is easily done for the line in the shidduch resume. That’s a bizayon.
Even if the problem is not as bad as this report, it still exists. It did in my days there, and certainly is live and well today. It should be a place for serious learners to advance their learning, not a way station for those uninterested or lazy.
He is way off base.true in any yeshiva there will be boys hanging out,but being the proud parent of 4 boys who learnt in the Mir the past 10 years,I have seen first hand the packed bais midrash and the kol Torah.furthermore the rebbeim do Keep an eye on the bachrim and have confided to me that if the PARENTS showed a active involvement there would be less boys on the street..
I find it fascinating how different people see things the way they want to see them.
You have several people on this board saying how “just take a stroll outside the yeshiva” and commenting about how they “see people on the streets”… meanwhile not one person here bothered to mention to look or actually looked inside the Batei Midrashim. Most people I know come back from visiting Israel telling me how inspired they were by seeing so many packed Batei Midrashim.
Are there some people wasting their time & parents money? Of course, but if you walk in to the Batei Midrashim during first or second seder they are absolutely packed.
This person who wrote the article obviously has no clue… for every 100 people you see outside there are over 1,000 sitting and learning.
This percentage has not changed from when I was there as a “bocher” fifteen years ago (when I couldn’t find a seat) to the few times I’ve gone back to visit.
P.S. I am speaking in reference to The Mir, all though imagine Chevron is not much different… obviously this “Rabbi” has an agenda and is bitter about something.
And how many young women are marrying these so called yeshiva bochurim?
This man is a Malshon and we can only hope he does t’shuvos because he has been motsay shaim rah on thousands of tzurva ne’Rabanne. I have personally witnessed fully packed Mir batay medrish with an amazing kola Torah in the Mir. This is a chutzpah noraah and total motsay shaim rah. When I learned in lakewood there were people who told me that in lakewood half the bochorim don’t learn, and I told them I’m learn there and i see for myself the hasmada and I happen to be friends with the weakest of them all, and even those guys learned two sedarim!!! There will always be those who are malshin on Torah, tzadikim yelchu vampire, veharishaim yikashlu vam!
Everyone who learns in kollel should also learn a trade so he can provide for his family a decent life and anyone who shirks from that duty is the biggest sinner of them all,the rosh yeshivas are the ones who are destroying they younths furture its truly a sin.