Seminary/Yeshiva in Eretz Yisrael (merged)

Motek

Thu, Aug 28 2008, 12:33 pm

raisin wrote:

Q. how much do boys yeshivos cost per annum?
and is it easier to get scholarships for boys yeshivos? is it easier for boys yeshivos to fundraise so they can ask for less money?

why is this only a girls issue?

Because girls cannot attend a school without paying tuition. I don't know about all yeshivos, but many of the big ones (Mir, Brisk) do not ask for tuition or it's minimal.

I rememember many years ago getting a phone call from someone working at the Brisker yeshiva who asked me for a donation. I asked about tuition. The conversation ended with that.

I have no interest in subsidizing those who feel like learning in Brisk or any yeshiva in Israel. Pay or don't go.

Imaonwheels

Thu, Aug 28 2008, 1:11 pm

Clothes a girl needs anyway and what she wears in Israel will be way cheaper. Ditto cellphone. If you want to talk overseas skype is nothing. They are part of girl in sem, not Israel. How much does a good US sem cost? I do not think the experience is the same if a girl is at home and not dorm.

There is a store that sells embroidered black baseball caps. One of them says "This is all I can afford, I have a daughter in sem".

BusyBeeMommy

Thu, Aug 28 2008, 1:33 pm

Imaonwheels wrote:

When a girl goes to sem, she has to go extra shopping to buy a lot of stuff b/c she cant get anything there and doesnt want to do laundry that often. A cell phone plan in seminary costs more than the $10 it costs to add a cell phone to ur family plan in America. Skype is through the computer and many seminaries will not provide that or the internet.

Imaonwheels wrote:

There is a store that sells embroidered black baseball caps. One of them says "This is all I can afford, I have a daughter in sem".

They say that if they would have takanos on seminaries, they wouldn't need to have takanos on weddings! LOL

amother

Mon, Sep 01 2008, 9:27 pm

[font=Comic Sans MS]My daughter went to sem several years ago -- was it worth it YES YES YES !!!! she grew up to be more assured and more self sufficient-- she learned about the world and opened her eyes about different topics-- but this was good-- she did not do anything wrong she knew better from her home environment -- but she was able to see other people's behaviors and accept them for who they are with out getting involved in negative behaviors. I feel that doing so under a protected environment is better than hitting a university in America where there is more confusing behaviors and less supervision --

PS she decided to go to a Jewish university vs a secular one !!

Fox

Mon, Sep 01 2008, 10:42 pm

One of my problems with discussion of the seminary experience is that it often degenerates into personal testimonies that virtually always include some version of, "It was such an incredible experience." While I don't disbelieve anyone who says that she had an incredible experience, placing a year of seminary on the "incredible experience" scale doesn't really answer any of the concerns that people raise.

So far, I've been able to pin people down on the following specific advantages to a year in an EY seminary:

1. Girls often develop a more concrete love of EY as a result of living there for a year.

2. Girls often develop better problem-solving skills as a result of living on their own in what is essentially a foreign country, resulting in more self-assurance and confidence.

3. Girls often have the opportunity of receiving personalized attention from tremendous Torah personalities who help shape and inspire them.

Now, these are far from trivial benefits. However, I am somewhat bothered by the assumption that seminary is the only way to achieve the goals embodied in these benefits. Frankly, it's a bit like saying that if your goal is to stay warm in the winter, wearing a fur coat is just incredible. Well, that may well be, but if someone can't afford a fur coat, she can also purchase a wool or down-filled coat. They may not provide quite the same quality of "incredible experience," but they'll enable her to meet the basic goal of staying warm.

Not every family can afford the tuition and transportion costs involved. Not every girl is mature enough immediately after high school to live with minimal supervision or to benefit from the experience. Not every seminary, unfortunately, provides the shemira and guidance that it should. For girls who are ready and enthusiastic for seminary and whose families can afford it, yasher koach! But it's ridiculous to cram everyone into a one-size-fits-all experience, and I genuinely believe that it's time we start thinking of alternatives to achieve the same goals.

soulful music

Tue, Sep 02 2008, 8:09 pm

Fox wrote: