Queens, NY – This yeshiva offers weightlifting, bench pressing, and a college degree. “We want our guys to be physically fit,” said rosh yeshiva Rabbi Dovid Rhodes. “Mind, body, and soul.”
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Located inside an Inwood storefront, Yeshiva Yesod Yosef will accept its first class of 20 students this August. In partnership with Excelsior College, an accredited online school based in Albany, the yeshiva will offer a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, alongside studies in Gemorah and halacha.
“Young people need direction,” said Rhodes. “Sometimes they go to Israel to study, but how will they make a parnassa (livelihood)? With this financial crisis, parents can’t afford to take care of their grown kids.”
As an alternative to private college and more expensive local yeshivas, the cost of education at Yesod Yosef, including books, tuition and degree, is expected to top out at $17,000. Married students will be exempt from yeshiva tuition, while paying for the costs of the college degree.
Working alongside Rhodes, the mashgiach of the yeshiva, Rabbi Tzvi Zylberberg, comes from a background in counseling, leading workshops in high schools for Sholom Task Force.
“The cost of private college and going to Israel are expensive,” said Rhodes. “We provide a sense of direction, with a structured approach.”
Read the full story at The Jewish Star
this is great.. where can i donate? im sure that the yeshivash & chasidish rabbis will all be against it. but i hope that people wont listen to them until they offer an alternative ‘derech’ to make parnusa.. and before you guys respond (i mean a legal parnusa without govt. assistance.)
Good it’s about time a yeshiva does the right thing. May they be a role model for other yeshivos.
Mazel tov he figured out yeshivaos a kollem with a degree
Thumbs up!!!!!
i would like to start such a yeshivah – how do u find students?
I knew something was strange about Yeshiva University. Why do they need 4 years and charge $150,000? And YU may not even have such a good weight room.
Kol Hakavod to Rabbi Rhodes.There is such a need for an affordable Yeshiva and college degree program.My son is already in Waterbury,otherwise I would definitely look into this.Much hatzlacha.
I hope and pray this is the beginning of a new trend
Kain Yehi Rotzon
I think the Rabbi is crazy. How dare him try to do things right? And. to make sense and have bochurim take care of the health is absurd.
This will not work. People like having the status quo where you marry some rich shver and go to Florida for passover.
Sounds great, what about the young married men who work and still would like to learn and go to college because they need a real profession.
Who said bench pressing is healthy? Get a treadmill. Otherwise kol hakavode.
Bench pressing is a weightlifting exercise, so for you to say that the yeshiva offers “weighlifting, bench pressing” is like saying ,”He was wearing clothes, a shirt” or “The doctor examined my body, my chest” or “We will be serving meals, food,” etc.
Kollel boys are encouraged to call the Yeshiva. Special program for them available. They can learn and get their degree and recieve a stipend. Hurry space is limited.
It is bizarre to me that earning a living is regarded as a waste of one’s energies. We are creating a generation of paupers with gemara kops. And the wives will suffer most – having to work and care for children and indolent husbands. Kol hakavod for Rabbi Rhodes display of azus d’kedusha. Eem ayn kemach, eyn Torah. (And I know the corollary, thank you.)
Yasher Koach to a Rosh Hashivah who is at long last addressing the pressing needs of this generation. We need many more rabbis and yeshivahs like this one. May his efforts be blessed a thousand times over!!!
This is very nice, But this online education does not seem like it will land someone with a good job, but still, much hatzlacha Rabbah!
A great idea that makes sense. I sense a ban on its way.
I appreciate all the berachos and well wishers. We are working with Rabbanim and everything is according to halacha. There are many types of degrees available. We have guidance counselors for our talmidim to help guide them in their careers. For a full picture of what we do please go to yesodyosef.org
This Yeshiva claims to be helping ppl afford a college degree during the financial crisis. A degree from Excelsier isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. Any job you can get with it – you can get without it just as easily.
YU has it’s problems, but its still ranked about 50th in the nation and its graduates actually obtain respectable jobs.
This Yeshiva will simply lure kids who want an “education” and leave them empty handed.
Better of at a local yeshiva and Queens College.
I think this is a good idea but I just checked the website and the schedule indicates that secular studies are only one hour a day. I don’t believe that 4 hours a week of college classes is going to be enough to educate or bring someone to the level of a Bachelors Degree in anything in a year and a half.
If they are going to do this, they should do this right. Frum men need to be prepared for the real world and this just does not sound like a real solution. It is not reality or logical to believe that courses can be taught for one hour a day, four days a week and that would be enough of an opportunity to learn anything. Why does the program fill the entire day with learning Gemara, etc? Obviously learning for only one hour four days a week, would not give the student enough of an opportunity to gain enough to reach their goals. The same goes where preparing for a parnasah is concerned. I think they should rethink this area and give it more thought. Maybe they should take a dinner break and come back for 2 or 3 hours of real study and preparation.
First time I think all agree with anything. Hope this works. Great idea!
“This yeshiva offers weightlifting, bench pressing, and a college degree.”
Well, I guess if they wont be bentch kvetchers in Kollel – the should at least have some sort of bentch kvetching skills! ;))
I fail to see what’s new. We have YU already – and there, you at least get a real education – not this online farce.
Indeed, one of the great Yeshivas in Europe was “Press”burg.