S/o seminary necessary? Did you go to seminary?

amother

Mustard

Sun, May 05 2019, 11:03 pm

I went to seminary in Israel and I felt like I got a lot out of it. It was really the first time I got to learn lishma instead of for a grade. I really enjoyed just sitting and listening to high quality shiurim without worrying about taking notes and catching every word. I took courses that interested me, not ones that I thought I could do well in if tested.

I learned how to live with other people, which sounds funny, but I had always had my own room until seminary. I had to learn how to negotiate chores and shower times and food prep and when to shut off the overhead light. I had to learn how to get along with different types of people as well because my seminary wasn't just one type.

I gained a lot of Independence by cooking my own meals or working with roommates to cook together. I learned how to navigate in a foreign city to go shopping for groceries and other necessities and to get my hair cut and to go touring or out to eat occasionally. I learned how to deal with bureaucracy, which is no small thing in Israel. My Hebrew improved, although it's still not great because I am terrible at languages.

I think seminary didn't necessarily instill within me a love for Judaism and Eretz Yisrael, because I already received that from home, but it crystallized it for me. This stood me in good stead when I went on to college because my foundations were rock solid and not at all shaky like some people who went straight from high school to college.

Seminary helped me grow up a little and so did a year or two of college and only then did I feel like I knew myself well enough to figure out the rest of my life.