{Originally posted on author’s website, Emes Ve-Emunah}
It seems so simple to me. So Logical. It makes so much sense. And yet it seems that logic is thrown out the window when it comes to the ways in which Charedi leaders in Israel view it.
The ‘it’ I’m talking about is economically integrating itself productively into Israeli society without sacrificing its core principles or way of life. Primarily by changing its educational paradigm of full time Torah study with virtually no secular studies of any kind. And doing so for as long as possible – well into an adulthood that includes large families.
This leaves those who ultimately feel the need to work with no real marketable skills at an age where learning those skills far more difficult – if not impossible. While it is true that the type of study skills acquired in the course of their Talumd study are quite valuable and proably surpass those of the average Israeli – there are other basic study skills that are ionored which are essential to the success of the higher learning needed for better jobs. Those skills are better absorbed when learned at an early age.
Aharon Ariel Lavi has written an insightful analysis of the situation in Mosaic Magazine where he essentially makes this very point:
A cherished belief in the haredi community holds that someone steeped in a decade or more of Talmud study is mentally well equipped to excel in any program of higher education. There’s a grain of truth in that. But while a background in Talmud can impart a relative advantage in the area of logical reasoning, it is no substitute for mathematics or basic science, or the ability to read and write in Hebrew above an elementary-school level. Moreover, as anyone who has studied in a university knows, even those skills will not take you far if you lack a reasonable command of English, now more than ever an entry point to almost all disciplines.
One of the Charedi counter claims to this is that there are schools increasingly being created that are designed to overcome this disadvantage. And that they have been successful in producing Charedim with the skills to compete better jobs in the workforce. According to Mr. Lavi that has been less than a stellar success:
For the most part, current programs for haredi employment in Israel take too literally a verse from the book of Ecclesiastes: “that which hath been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.” They supply single-dimensional training, usually for low-paying jobs. In addition, instead of offering even moderate exposure to the outside world, most programs have created cloistered, haredi-only training environments—even separate campuses—and have persuaded potential employers to continue this practice with those they hire. This might make sense in the short term as a means of attracting young haredim, but in the long run it will prevent the creation of successful networking, cripple flexibility, and constrict job opportunities.
The bottom line is what I have been talking about for years now. Without a basic secular studies program Charedim are ignorant in all areas beyond Talmud study. To the extent that any have any education at all beyond that – is to the extent that they are self motivated to seek it. And even for those that are highly motivated to do so, such study which is extra-curricular and extremely is limited by the little free time available to them. It is no substitute for the years of formal study that they would receive in the classroom.