Why the Protest?
At the massive gathering of all the seminary students in
Yerushalayim that was held on the last day of the
shiv'oh for HaRav Shach zt'l, HaRav Yosef
Efrati ylct'a, announced in HaRav Eliashiv's name that
no changes should be made in the running of the Bais Yaakov
seminaries and that the structure that was established by
gedolei Torah when Bais Yaakov was founded, should
remain.
At a gathering for Bais Yaakov students that was held
recently in Bnei Brak, HaRav Aviezer Piltz delivered a
similar message in HaRav Eliashiv's name. At the same
meeting, HaRav Michel Yehudah Lefkovitz expressed his
opposition, in a letter, to the changes that are being
proposed.
These calls have prompted many concerned parents to ask what
the hue and cry is about. Surely hitherto, a Bais Yaakov
education has always been one of holiness and purity, without
any foreign influences.
In order to provide a response to this question, I have been
asked to briefly explain Rav Eliashiv's fears, with which I
am familiar by virtue of the mission that he entrusted to me,
namely, to serve as the coordinator of the Rabbinical
Committee for these matters. (Although the entire subject
requires fuller treatment, which will be forthcoming, an
essential explanation is important at the present time,
especially in the light of the call of the gedolim to
take action in order to prevent any breach.)
The Ministry's Agenda
The Ministry of Education, which is the arm of the
irreligious regime for dealing with all educational affairs,
is also in charge of our educational institutions. However,
according to our leaders' instructions we are vigilant in
maintaining full educational autonomy, so that no outside
influences affect the content [of our programs] or the
structure of our schools. We must never forget though, that
among those in power are parties whose stated objective is to
put an end to Bais Yaakov's uniqueness. (And unfortunately,
there are serious grounds for fearing that these arguments
have been accepted to a degree and that they are liable to
infiltrate our institutions.)
Officially, these attempts are presented as "professional"
arguments and demands for "criteria of equality." They argue
that one cannot recognize a certain type of educational
institution as being on a par with all others when the
teaching and tuition in the latter are on a "higher" level.
They therefore demand that there be equality between all
institutions. Anyone with a little insight can see the
struggle between purity and impurity taking place behind this
facade. What they want is to uproot Bais Yaakov's purity and
holiness.
They are not trying to achieve their ends by open defilement
of our educational system, for they know that by using such
methods they will not succeed. Instead, they work cleverly
and insidiously.
The Ministry of Education is supposedly concerned that the
level of the studies in Bais Yaakov should be sufficiently
high. In their opinion, high school studies should be
oriented towards the students taking [finishing] exams on a
high and at a suitable general level. The students ought to
invest such time and effort into their studies that they may
thereby attain certain minimal accomplishments and general
knowledge that are required of any intelligent modern woman.
They employ all the means at their disposal in order to
attain these objectives. We must be aware of this, for every
little erosion they succeed in making leaves a hole, with
unforeseeable consequences for the future.
Pressure to Adopt Bagrut
For example, when the argument that the Bais Yaakov External
(Chutzim) exams, which are prepared for the network by
Marvad (the Bais Yaakov-Szold Examination Center), are not on
a sufficiently high level was voiced to the Education
Ministry, they immediately saw an opportunity for introducing
"enlightenment" into the schools. They deducted the wages of
the teachers who prepare the students for these exams and of
the teachers who grade them from the Bais Yaakov budget,
arguing that the funds are only earmarked for the Bagrut
finals of the general school system!
We must realize that gedolei Yisroel view the Bagrut
exams as posing grave danger for the spiritual welfare of
Bais Yaakov students, for two reasons. First, passing these
exams enables students to progress to forbidden places of
study or work such as universities, which will not accept
applicants who do not have Bagrut. Second, taking the
examinations allows the Ministry of Education control over
the programs of study in preparation for them, with the
obvious dangers that this entails.
These budget cuts were a trial for the Bais Yaakov
institutions. The additional earnings from work associated
with the External examinations made a significant difference
to many teachers' monthly wages and the Ministry's move made
many principals consider switching to Bagrut exams. This
proposition was also considered by the Education Ministry.
Although on the whole, government bodies are not known for
their generosity towards the chareidi community, and they are
on the lookout for opportunities to make cuts and reductions,
in this instance they were prepared to finance such exams,
provided that they would be organized by a special department
of the Education Ministry, namely, "Bagrut for Chareidim."
Though they promised that the exams would not lead to any
changes in the programs of study, in who prepares them or in
who grades them, it was clear that once all the examinations
would come under their direct control, there would be no long-
term guarantee of freedom from tampering. At a time when all
sorts of budgetary cuts are being made, nobody looks for
additional expenses. Indeed, at a preparatory meeting held by
the Education Ministry to discuss the proposal, there was
already talk of the need to make changes in the English
exams. Who knows how such a process might end?
We remember that HaRav Shach fought determinedly against all
Bagrut studies. It is well known that at a meeting of the
Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah on the eighteenth of Sivan 5729
(1969), a clear and unambiguous resolution was passed not to
introduce the program of Bagrut studies into Bais Yaakov. In
Sivan 5748 (1988), a letter signed by HaRav Shach, the Gerrer
Rebbe (the Lev Simchah) zt'l, the Slonimer Rebbe
zt'l and ylct'a the Vishnitzer Rebbe, declared,
"We hereby express our Torah opinion that the decision of the
Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of the eighteenth of Sivan 5729
forbidding the introduction of Bagrut examinations into Bais
Yaakov seminaries, remains in force."
How Long to Train a Teacher?
An additional cause for concern are the small breaches that
have already been made, that can lead to wider ones. The
Education Ministry has introduced a four-year course of
studies into its teacher training colleges and does not allow
anyone to teach without a B.A. degree. For years, the
Ministry claimed that the level of teaching in Bais Yaakov
was low and that it was impossible for the Bais Yaakov
graduates, or anyone else, to become teachers by spending
just one extra year in preparation after the four years of
high school. They succeeded in making a second post-high
school year mandatory.
We can appreciate the gravity of Chazal's admonition about
listening to the yetzer hora: "Today he tells a
person, `Do this' [a `slight' transgression] and tomorrow he
says, `Do that' [something much more serious]." We must guard
against any further changes.
After the authorities had managed to introduce the second
post-high school year, the gedolim of the time, led by
HaRav Aharon Kotler zt'l, told the seminary principals
that even though a second year had been agreed to -- to their
great regret -- without asking them at all, if the idea of a
third year were to be proposed and accepted, the rabbonim
would fight it publicly.
The gedolei haTorah saw then and see today, that such
an idea holds many dangers to the establishment of new Jewish
homes. One problem is that it would cause girls to marry
later.
Another objection is that it would mean devoting time
unnecessarily to studying for the sake of studying, as the
universities do. This in turn would create a need for filling
the extra time with new study programs that would introduce
modern learning, which banishes yiras Shomayim. All
the studies that are truly necessary for training to teach
Jewish daughters are already provided.
At present, all the gedolei Torah are united in their
strong opposition to the introduction of a third post-high
school year. The Education Ministry is trying its hardest to
have the measure adopted by withholding certification from
the new seminaries that are opening at an increasing rate,
besiyaata deShmaya. They refuse to approve a seminary
that does not have a third year and will not issue its
graduates teaching certificates. They are also threatening to
withhold funding.
Higher Teachers' Qualifications
The Ministry fights Bais Yaakov in another way. Graduates of
the two-year post-high school teachers' training program can
only teach in elementary schools (this includes graduates of
old, established and fully certified seminaries). In order to
teach in the high school grades, a Senior Teacher's
certificate is necessary. In other words, further study is
needed, which amounts to the third year which the ministry is
trying to introduce. However, since the gedolim oppose
this, the students cover these studies by taking one of the
Additional Study Programs. Usually these involve a broad
range of topics which the gedolim have also forbidden,
stating that in the absence of a permanent supervisory
system, the introduction of undesirable study programs or
material is inevitable.
In order to teach in post-high school grades, a qualification
that is the equivalent of a B.A. is necessary. In order to
obtain such qualification, the graduate must study for four
or five years and hear lectures delivered by speakers who
have doctorates, or an MA. at the very least. Where these
speakers obtained their education and their qualifications is
obvious -- and as we know, the products of an unclean animal
are also unclean.
This is how modern learning finds its way into Bais Yaakov,
not through the back door but by the main entrance. The
ministry will not approve a principal's salary budget for any
teachers lacking these qualifications. This is a very short
step away from forcing the principals to accede to their
demands.
A Slippery Slope
With university style learning and ideas and ambitions for
further education already squarely inside the system, the two
existing post-high school grades now offer various
specialized courses. These are purportedly on a higher level
and are of assistance in securing jobs, just as in the
universities. These courses are taught by university
graduates, and include assorted topics that are very risky
for the spiritual welfare of a Bais Yaakov student.
This is what has lain behind Rav Eliashiv's frequent outcries
during the past two years. Parents ought to be aware for
example, that in some seminaries, students of computer
engineering are connected to various Internet sites. Even
linking up with a harmless site is terrible, for it
establishes a connection with the source of impurity and
evil.
There are also seminaries that work together with external
academic programs that provide professional training for the
chareidi community. These programs are supposedly under
rabbinical supervision but the fact is that there is no
supervision over the yiras Shomayim and terrible
mishaps have already taken place.
The community should also be aware that there are seminaries
that offer specialized courses in biology, history and the
like, at high levels, because of competition. To teach these
subjects, they bring in teachers who obtained their knowledge
in university. Although these women are observant, they imbue
their students with ambitions for education and for further
connection to the sources of impurity. Rav Eliashiv has been
protesting all of this.
Let Us Decide!
This article has dealt very briefly with several major areas
of concern. There are many, many more nuances involved in
training young Jewish daughters, who are on their way to
setting up Jewish homes. Not all of the students can
appreciate where the damage lies but we must follow the
directives of the gedolei Yisroel.
We must certainly say to the Education Ministry: Leave us
alone and grant us full educational autonomy. Let us
determine the structure and the framework within which the
future teachers of our daughters will be trained and within
which tomorrow's Jewish homes will be fashioned.
We are the only ones who know how to convey Torah education.
Outside parties do not comprehend it at all. They judge it
according to their own narrow views, that are accustomed to a
completely different type of educational system, which we
distance ourselves from all contact with. Our Torah leaders,
and they alone, will determine the style of the learning, the
number of years, who will convey the material, what image the
teachers ought to project, how the desirable level of studies
and training is to be fixed and what the programs of study
ought to be. We will determine everything ourselves, from
within.
Everybody understands that a rosh yeshiva, a
mashgiach or a maggid shiur, don't obtain their
positions according to how well they meet the criteria of the
Ministry of Education. Neither should a teacher of girls have
to meet the ministry's criteria before she can obtain a
job.
Fulfilling the instructions of gedolei Yisroel alone
is all important. If we insist on this, we will be able to
uproot the ideas of connecting ourselves to the world of
academic learning that have begun to take root. We will be
able to return to learning in purity and providing a Torah
education in a framework of holiness and yiras
Shomayim, in keeping with the true Bais Yaakov spirit.
