Schooling in Beit Shemesh

Log in / Sign Up

List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Following My Posts Bookmarks

Private Messages Advanced Search Rules New User Guide FAQ Advertise Contact Us

Forum -> Inquiries & Offers -> Israel related Inquiries & Aliyah Questions

1 2 Next

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 11:38 am

Where should a frum/yeshivisha family in Beit Shemesh or Ramot Beit Shemesh send? BY there seems too chareidy for us. Isnt Ahavat Yisrael too "leumi" in hashkaffa? we are neither here not there and don't know where to ask... are there other schools? we need kindergarten through high school... this is hard

slushiemom

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 11:46 am

hate to say it, but you gotta choose. here, there aint no such thing as 'neither here nor there'. or even if you are in the home, you need to decide which of the two are closer to what you are, and then adjust.

Ahavat Yisrael seems to be the closest to an 'in between' school. the girls are from great families- it is more to the right than a typical Dati Leumi school- for example, they have to wear knee socks. but yes, they are Leumi, celebrate Yom Haatzmaut, etc.

Good luck!

amother

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 11:48 am

amother wrote:

Magen Avos?

Ima'la

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 11:50 am

amother wrote:

Magen Avos?

I think so too.

amother

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 11:58 am

I thought of Magen Avos first, as there are many Anglos there. But we inquired more and it's "too much" for us. Too machmir in dress code, videos...

Is the student body mixed (yeshivisha students for example) in Ahavas Yisrael? celebrating YH doesn't bother me at all. I just don't want my children to be the only ones not saying Halel or wearing a black yarmulke.

slushiemom

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 12:02 pm

amother, not at all! my sister is there, and my family says hallel on yom haatzmaut and my father and brother wear black kipahs- knitted, and no black hats. my parents and sister are really happy with the school.

slushiemom

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 12:02 pm

and I can think of a bunch of families off the top of my head who send tehre and are similar to my family (some where srugis that arent black)

amother

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 12:05 pm

I meant to say we DON'T say Halel. We also do not intend on having our sons serve in the army... Would we be the only ones?

My sons wear black but not seruga.

slushiemom

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 12:10 pm

hmm- that I'm not sure, bc I only know the ppl who send from my neighborhood which is more DL. I'm SURE there are RBS families who send who are more similar to you, though. Like I said, I think it's the closest you'll find to in-between.

amother

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 12:11 pm

Also, forgot to say I wear a sheytl. Would I be the only one? I know in Isrel it is very associated with "chareidy only"...

amother

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 12:25 pm

slushiemom wrote:

Where could I see these families?

In the worst case we would be ready to settle in another place as long as it is in Eretz... if there was such a school somewhere... I heard a few names of in between or mixed student and teacher body thrown around in Yerushalayim, but I don't know better.

Ima'la

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 1:35 pm

Sounds to me like Magen Avos might be a better fit if you would be willing to grow into these "chumros" - there simply are differences between what is acceptable/ the norm in yeshivish circles in America and what is considered acceptable in yeshivish circles here.

Where are your children in school now?

sped

Thu, Dec 31 2009, 3:43 am

Welcome to Israel. You really need to choose where you want to be here - with whom you want to associate - and go with that all the way. You can go over to charedi - and do it even if you don't agree with everything there - or to DL - and do it even if you don't agree with everything there. Israel is a land in which kids need to "fit in". I know many people who did this (both ways) and mostly have wonderful kids....But it is hard.

Health is a Virture

Thu, Dec 31 2009, 4:00 am

I would recommend that you send your children to a school that you deem a little bit too machmir for you now. People are much more machmir, especially when it comes to tznius, in Eretz Yisrael. Many people have made the mistake of sending their children to a more modern school and then after a few months in israel and adjusting to here, they realized that they really wanted a more frum school. The problem is is that then it is very very hard to be accepted by the more frum school. Do you have any friends in Ramat Bet Shemash? do you feel you are similar hashkafa and if so where do they send their kids? If you know for sure hashkafically that you don't want to send your sons to the army then anything left of magen avot would not be for you (from what I understand.) Ramat BEt Shemeh would probably be the best place for you, because it is a very wide variety of hashkafos, specially more anglo-ish hashkafos, and more open to different people in general.

You really need to come here, go down to the schools, speak to the principals, the teachers, the parents, etc. for boys's schools there are a lot of other schools also.

you may not want to send your younger children to magen avot as it is known as 'very american', and you may want to send them to a more israeli type of school. in israel, you do have to choose where you fit in. from what I understand, students in magen avot do watch videos and the dress code is very reasonable...basically what the minhag hamakom is to dress. again, I repeat, you really have to come, see the parents, speak to them, speak to the school, students, etc, to get a good feel because things are different here, even in RBS, than in America.

shabri

Thu, Dec 31 2009, 5:08 am

Is Ahavat Yisrael Rappaport? My SIL sends there and wears a sheital. But I think most of the families would be sending their kids to the army--but through hesder

amother

Thu, Dec 31 2009, 9:13 am

Health, I'll tell you what would really be not for us in Magen Avos, from their own website:

There may be no video or DVD in the homes.
Long hair should be gathered back away from the face, without any outstanding hair accessories, bandannas or elastic headbands.
Jean skirts may not be worn.

I don't mind the two last ones at school, but they want it all the time, and it's not possible. I don't see myself telling my girls suddenly all these things are wrong, especially when I totally disagree with it...

I heard good things on Beis Shulamit, and on Imamother I read that ". Like I would 100% recommend that an Americanized teenage girl go to Bet Shulamit. You can wear tennis shoes, jeans skirts and skirts to the ankle. There is no uniform but there is a dress code. Unlike some BY teachers must also abide by it. The female teachers are both shtark DL and charedi, the rabbonim are charedi of different flavors and the guidance counselor is 100% Litvishe.".
While I don't know anything else about it and would love to read the takanon, this sounds like a place my girls would be just fine. Are there other schools, for girls and for boys, in the same style?

Shabri, when you say most families would send to the army, is it most as in the majority, or as in 90%? I'm not opposed hashkafically to the hesder at all, it's just not something that, in my opinion, should be for everyone.

amother

Thu, Dec 31 2009, 11:40 am

Where is Beis Shulamit? Is that the school for girls who are a bit OTD?

shalhevet

Thu, Dec 31 2009, 11:45 am

I'm just curious. I had never heard of it, but since it was mentioned here, I went into the Magen Avos website. To me the takkanon, dress code, book lists etc seemed just like BY/ a regular cheder.

So I have 2 questions:
1. How is it "American"?
2. If it is "American" even only by dint of its parent body, then doesn't this create problems later for the children, who remain quasi-immigrants instead of fully integrating with Israeli society?

fiddle

Thu, Dec 31 2009, 12:16 pm

from what I've heard about that school is that the kids speak english in school.

the boys even though it says no tv's are very tv oriented. someone I know went there to check it out and the boys were singing songs from a hannah montana movie.

imho I think thats the biggest issue with the school. which although perfect for those maybe 8th grade olim or the people who intend to go back to the states, but to all else, a big mishkabable. not accepted among israelies as israeli, nor american amongst them either.

its supposedly an american type of bais yaakov, adhering to the rulebooks in an american mainstream school as opposed to the strictness of the israeli chareidi rules.

if uve ever heard of it, I would compare it to a school in monsey called yeshiva spring valley. a community school catering to those who are frum, not chassidish and not too modern. just plain frum. but I dont think it goes very well over here.

amother

Thu, Dec 31 2009, 12:24 pm

If they "cheat" on the tv rules outside of school, do the girls also dress less strict outside of the school? or is it just the boys??

Page 1 of 2

1 2 Next