The essay of HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, ""Distance Your Path from It" - The Dangers of Academic Study" (delivered as a talk last year at a gathering of parents of seminary girls and published in this column two weeks ago) presented to the public one of the most complex and difficult issues which are being dealt with at this time. By its nature, it is a very relevant and contemporary issue, and because of its intricacy, it cannot be encompassed in its entirety in this limited format. We feel it necessary, however, to expand on it, to sharpen some of its aspects and clarify them in a more precise light in order to know and understand how and where our Torah leaders are leading us.
As was highlighted by HaRav Hirsch, the reality is that academic studies generally have a markedly negative impact on students, both from the aspect of the actual material, as well as from the dubious character of the teachers and lecturers. A young person exposed for the first time in life to misleading ideas stated with aplomb and tremendous self confidence on the part of a lecturer who presents as a highly intelligent person, is liable to become confused and absorb the poison Rachmono litzlan. When a bare-headed lecturer, or one with a knitted kipah, who interjects scattered words of scorn and abuse against Torah scholars and avreichim, or when the curriculum exposes heretical views interwoven in the study material, it filters down like venom. It can develop into disdain towards Torah scholars and avreichim in particular, as well as to cool off those exposed to them towards meticulous adherence to Halacha and a firm stand on the guidelines of tznius. Experience proves that in many cases, those who attend such places cannot withstand the spectrum of nisyonos, and their love for Torah and respect towards its scholars and their own yiras Shomayim diminish.
On the other hand, one cannot ignore the chronic problem facing us. Our generation has been fortunate in that the majority of young married men continue their Torah study indefinitely, even with the growth of their families, and large sums are needed to maintain the household properly. There is a constant inflation in the cost of living and even those who are not tempted by this-worldly comforts find it impossible to exist from the very meager kollel stipend and a low income supplement from minimal work like baby-sitting etc., which cannot promise even bare subsistence.
Concurrent with the constantly rising costs, the availability of teaching positions is limited in comparison to the huge supply so that in most cases, there is no real possibility for women to find employment in this field.
Thus, a situation is created whereby there is no sanction to take courses in colleges, which as already noted, constitute a spiritual risk for the women as well as for their future generations, nor can we turn the seminaries into vocational colleges, as HaRav Eliashiv ruled very outspokenly, as well as our current gedolim like HaRav Shteinman, who declared: "What's the difference if I bring the thing to the fire or if I bring the fire to the thing?"
Meanwhile, the pressing problem of parnassa is surely a main concern of our rabbonim, not only from the material aspect. Surely whoever deals with the public is fully aware that poverty takes its toll; it is a difficult nisoyon even on the spiritual level. It can be fertile ground for errant growth, dropout and many related serious troubles. Jewry is not forsaken, and our generation has sprouted valorous people who bravely stand up to the trial of poverty. Nevertheless, there are many others who cannot do so. The gemara says that the challenges of poverty can lead a person to despair and to forsake his Creator. All the leaders of past generations, our shepherds of all times, exerted great efforts and time to assist their flocks in every possible area, especially in that of livelihood, which has been described as an organ which the soul needs as well. Gedolei Yerushalayim, the Maharil Diskin and HaRav Shmuel Salant, toiled exceedingly in establishing new settlements such as Petach Tikva and others, with a main objective being to help Jerusalemites in the area of parnassa, being fully aware that lack of income is a grave danger.
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Resisting the temptations of the yetzer is not easy. Success lies in the middle path, narrow and delicate, as the Mesillas Yeshorim explains in the first chapter: "A person is faced with battles forward and backward... If he is victorious on all sides, he will be the Odom Hasholem and cleave to his Creator..."
The gedolei hadoros have always paved a path for each generation based on the reality on the ground. An example was Sarah Schenirer who founded the Bais Yaakov movement. Even though there was much opposition, the Chofetz Chaim and other gedolim gave it firm support. In retrospect we know it saved Klal Yisroel.
The gedolim of our generation, who hear daily about the pain and stress, feel severely the lack of parnossoh and try to find the proper solution for our generation.
With their encouragement and guidance, various new subjects have been investigated for inclusion in the seminar curriculum to enable women to acquire a profession that will provide a respectable income without compromising the religious profile of the students. This is against the background of the clear understanding that teaching does not provide an answer for most families any more.
Many new subjects have been introduced such as computers, which has proved successful for significant numbers of women. (It goes without saying that in addition to ensuring that the learning environment is proper, it is also essential to ensure that the work environment is compatible with a chareidi woman. But this is not the subject of this article.) Other subjects are also been explored, including the introduction of non-degree studies that can qualify a women to work in certain areas that traditionally require an academic degree. One example is the need for professional educational consultants and those with specialized educational skills.
There are many things being explored, but we must remember that there is no quick and simple fix, and progress can only be made deliberately and with careful assessments of the risks and rewards.
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In many circles an academic degree has considerable prestige, beyond its economic value. In some cases this spirit has found its way into our own camp. Even in terms of shidduchim, there are reports that a degree sometimes has unwarranted influence on choices made. This must not be allowed to continue. If a woman feels superior because she has a degree, or if her husband broadcasts this feeling, no outside rules can help. She will not be able to be a mother in the traditions for imoseinu hakedoshos who founded Klal Yisroel on a basis of pure emunah and love of Hashem and Torah.
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Our generation has been fortunate in that prestigious educators, the talmidei chachomim heading our yeshivos and seminaries, are doing their utmost to inculcate in their students the fundamentals of emunah and a Torah viewpoint, but this is not enough. All educators repeatedly warn that the main substance of chinuch must lie in the home. The family must imbue a clear identification and recognition of basic tenets of emunah, such as, in Creation, the Giving of the Torah, reward and punishment and firm reliance and trust in the words of Chazal.
Each head of household should examine well to what extent his sons and daughters understand the importance of Torah study to our People; upon what our Torah and our faith is based; how they see their mission on earth and to what extent they understand the value of a life of Torah. Regretfully, these parents may be surprised to discover that some of their children have nothing more than a herd mentality of "that's what everyone does" and "that's what my Mashgiach/seminary teacher told us."
One whose foundations of avodas Hashem are based on the fact that he or she was never exposed to people from the Outside, will, undoubtedly, upon meeting such people, have their beliefs undermined or shaken up. If spirituality is based on their sheltered, greenhouse lives, they will falter and maybe fall when they discover a different kind of society and lifestyle.
This can be compared to an infant who emerges into the world. His parents take every precaution that he not be exposed to germs and sickness. There are two aspects to such vigilance: to guard against exposure to sick people, and second, to bolster his immune system by feeding him healthful and body-building food and vitamins so that he will be able to ward off and fight disease. A parent who will suffice with merely protecting the child from the outside while ignoring building up his stamina will be ruining his child's future with his own hands, for sooner or later, the child will become exposed to damaging bacteria and will be unable to deal with them.
The same applies to this subject. It is not sufficient to send our children to Torah institutions, even the best of them. We must first fortify them from within, to raise them with the true awareness of Hashem and His Torah. This is a primary requirement, particularly in this generation, when in too many instances our children come in contact, one way or another, with the world outside. Inner immunity is not optional but essential. The simple truth is that we are not even talking about dangers from the outside but of something basic, integral and qualitative in the entire structure of avodas Hashem, Who seeks our genuine awareness, our hearts, and not just our lip service.
