‫בס"ד‬

‫פרשת יתרו תש"ע‬ ‫שיחות רב עוזר‬

Insights into Torah and Halacha from Rav Ozer Glickman ‫שליט"א‬
‫ר"ם בישיבת רבנו יצחק אלחנן‬
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Truth, Yeshiva Tuition, and the American Economy

‫ ְוכָל־ה ָָע֛ם‬7ּ ֶ‫שׁ ֙ב ְלב ַ֔ד‬
ֵ ‫אַתָ ּה יוֹ‬
֤ ‫שׂה֙ ָל ָ֔עם מ ַ֗דּוּ ַע‬
ֶ ֹ ‫אַתָ ּה ע‬
֤ ‫שׁר‬ ֶ ֨ ‫שׂה ל ָ ָ֑עם ו ַֹּ֗יאמֶר מָ ֽה־הַדָ ָ ּ֤בר ַהזֶּה֙ ֲא‬
ֶ ֖ ֹ ‫שׁר־ה֥ וּא ע‬ ֶ ֔ ֹ ‫ַוי ַ ְּר ֙א ח ֵ ֹ֣תן מ‬
ֶ ‫שׁה אֵ ֛ת ָכּל־ ֲא‬
ָ ‫ִן־בקֶר ע‬
‫ַד־ע ֶֽרב׃‬ ֹּ֥ ‫ מ‬7‫נִ ּ֥ ָצב ע ֶָל֖י‬
In the middle of one of the coldest spells in recent history, our heat went off. We
woke very early in the morning shivering. A quick glance at the thermostat confirmed
that something was terribly wrong, at least in one part of the house. Preserving traditio-
nal gender roles, this famously inept handyman went downstairs to see what he could
do.
After a quick process of elimination, I guessed which big metal box must be the
heater. So that I could report to my wife that I had done something, I gave it a kick.
Nothing happened.
We would have to call someone. You may be surprised but I didn't call the rabbi.
As wise a man as he may be, I did not think his knowledge of ‫ ש"ס‬and ‫ פוסקים‬made him
any more qualified than anyone else to divine what was wrong with our heating sys-
tem. When there is something wrong with my electrical work, I call an electrician; with
the pipes, a plumber. When something breaks, I call the serviceman who has the practi-
cal knowledge to fix the problem.
We have a problem. Fifty years ago, when sociologist Marshall Sklare projected
that Orthodoxy would disappear in the wake of Reform and Conservative Judaism, it
was the day school movement that caused its resurgence. We are in danger of losing the
institution that has saved us. Unless something is done, there will be repercussions for
decades to come.
How so? There are more dedicated teachers than ever before. There are interna-
tional institutions of higher learning that support them with curricula, mentoring, and
professional advice. Although knowledge of the Hebrew language may be poorer than
in the past, more students pursue higher Jewish education after high school both in
yeshivot and on campus. There is more learning of Torah in suburban communities than
I remember growing up when Orthodox gatherings outside the New York area often re-
sembled clandestine meetings of the ‫ אנוסים‬in Inquisition Spain.
As we say in the business world, the economic model is broken. Most day school
budgets rely on tuition as their biggest revenue driver. Over the past several years,
many boards (I know four of them extremely well) regularly increased tuition. School
leaders proudly pointed to the dedication of Orthodox parents for whom yeshiva educa-
tion comes before any luxury and even some necessities. I remember one of the out-
standing leaders of a flagship yeshiva in Bergen County, a dedicated and savvy elder of
the Orthodox community, saying sincerely, "Always raise tuition. Parents must know
what to expect in the future. They will always find a way to pay."
Those times are over, at least for the foreseeable future. Many, many parents
with whom I have spoken cannot cut back any more than they have already. As tuitions
at many schools approach $25,000 per annum (and there are some that cost much more
than this), parents with four children in school can require upwards of $160,000 in pre-
tax income just to pay their tuition bills. What happens to housing, heating, and health
care? How about food?
The answer is not scholarships. As sensitive as scholarship committees try to be,
they must enforce some discipline in the process. This requires complete financial dis-
closure, discomfiting at best and humiliating at worst. And if every Jewish family de-
serving of help asked for tuition relief, the yeshivot would not have the resources to
respond.
The answer is not belt-tightening in the Jewish home. Many families have al-
ready cut way back, eliminating any luxury whatsoever. One just has to sit down with
young families with elementary school commitments and listen.
There may be room for some belt-tightening in the yeshivot themselves. We have
prided ourselves on offering as many extras as we can. Our beloved children should not
have to sacrifice anything other children receive, or so we say. There are full offerings of
teams, clubs, trips, and publications as numerous as any public school. Astoundingly,
we do this while maintaining class sizes significantly below those in the public schools.
Until boards realize that there is a crisis, though, the changes will remain cosmetic. Giv-
en our practice of appointing mostly the wealthy to leadership positions in the Jewish
community, boards can be seriously out of touch with what goes on in the average
home.
When I travel around the country, I see that the problem of day school tuition is
less severe outside the New York area. Our metropolitan centers tend to exaggerate the
good and the bad in our community. We have more restaurants and more shuls; we
also have higher tuition and more extreme lifestyles. It's easier to find a sefer in these
parts. It's also easier to go bankrupt.
Schools outside New York, however, also are feeling the pressure. Expenses may
be lower in some parts of the country but incomes are usually lower, too. Pressure on
the family budget occurs as frequently, just at lower levels.
There are voices in the Orthodox community that eloquently and intelligently
raise these issues. Some appeal to the rabbis to fix this problem. Rabbis sadly usually
don't know much about finance and economics.
The ‫ אור החיים הקדוש‬wonders why the Torah puts ‫משה רבנו‬, our rav par excellence, in
the position of consulting a non-Jew to establish judicial procedures. His fascinating an-
swer should resonate with us:
‫ונראה כי טעם הדבר היא להראות ה' את בני ישראל הדור ההוא וכל דור ודור כי יש באומות‬
...‫גדולים בהבנה ובהשכלה וצא ולמד מהשכלת יתרו בעצמו‬
The reason is apparently so that God may show B'nai Yisrael both of that genera-
tion and every succeeding one that there are among the nations great persons of
understanding and enlightenment. Learn from the intelligence of Yitro himself...
‫ רבי חיים בן משה אִבְּן עטר‬explores the implication of the fact that the excellence of the Jews
is not due to superior intelligence:
‫והכונה בזה כי לא באה הבחירה בישראל לצד שיש בהם השכלה והכרה יותר מכל האומות וזה‬...
...‫לך האות השכלת יתרו‬
The intent is to show that the choosing of Israel is not a result of its greater en-
lightment and understanding relative to other nations. The eternal sign of this is
 is the intelligence of Yitro...
‫ פרשת יתרו‬remains, according to the ‫אור החיים הקדוש‬, an eternal reminder that it is not our
superior intelligence that commended us to ‫ הקב"ה‬but something else entirely:
‫הא למדת כי לא מרוב חכמת ישראל והשכלתם בחר ה' בהם אלא לחסד עליון ולאהבת האבות‬...
‫עכ"ל‬
You have thus learned that not due to Israel's abundant wisdom and enlighten-
ment did God choose them but rather as an act of divine kindness stemming from
His love for the patriarchs...
So what do the wise authorities of the nations of the world say? From Thomas
Mathus to Herman Daly, the greatest economists and political scientists have noted the
relationship between population growth and the economy. Those who rely on a sim-
plistic "God will always provide" philosophy may need to read them to predict what
will happen. In fact, if anecdotal evidence is any indication, it is happening already: Or-
thodox couples will have fewer children only because they cannot afford more. It cer-
tainly happened two decades ago when my contemporaries were having children. This
is very disturbing given the trends of intermarriage in the broader Jewish community.
As an aside, I wonder how many of the Jews who currently self-identify in surveys are
actually halachically Jewish.
Shuls need to constrain their budgets in favor of yeshiva education. Synagogue
budgets need to be more carefully monitored than school ones. Is every youth program
necessary? Striking closer to home, how about visiting speakers? A speaker may have
limited appeal and charge an enormous honorarium. There cannot be money for
everything.
One prominent shul I know recently held a referendum on raising dues. The pro-
posal was defeated. Instead of looking for ways to meet expenses with current rev-
enues, the leadership has floated other ideas it is considering for achieving the same
result its membership rejected: raising fees on essential services like seats for the yomim
noraim, etc. A Senate seat was lost for just this kind of thinking.
Another suggestion for rabbonim: how about a renewed emphasis on that neglect-
ed ‫ מידה‬in many frum communities, ‫ ?צניעות‬By this we must mean more than the length
of a girl's skirt. Is it not a virtue to eschew demonstrations of wealth? The rabbonim of
Passaic, New Jersey, for example, often speak out about the need to exercise restraint in
making simchas. How about more of that in other communities? How about reminding
Jews that they need not have the most opulent McMansion in the community? Is this
not also a component of ‫?הצנע לכת‬
These thoughts are not new. They need, however, to become a regular part of
communal discourse. I don't know many Orthodox people who would consider making
a wedding without a chasson's tisch. Isn't ‫ צניעות‬equally important?
Activists for Jewish education, bloggers, young parents: we hear you.

‫שבת שלום‬

These sichos are published by students of Rav Ozer Glickman shlit"a. We can be reached at ravglickmanshiur@gmail.com
Rav Glickman can be reached directly at ozer.glickman@yu.edu
From our Internet Mailbag

From AHG, Manhattan:

[Y]our analysis of Hallel on Pesach does not take into consideration the minhag to
recite a full Hallel WITH a brachah as part of Maariv, precisely because we do not
recite a brachah at the seder. How does that minhag affect your analysis?

Response:
Actually, the ‫ ר"ן‬himself discusses this issue. We recite a ‫ ברכה‬on ‫ליל הפסח‬
because of the ‫ ברייתא‬in ‫מסכת סופרים‬:
‫ ויום טוב‬... :‫ י"ח יום ולילה אחד יחיד גומר בהם את ההלל ואלו הן‬:‫ר"ש בן יהוצדק אומר‬
‫ ומצוה מן מובחר לקרות הלל בבית הכנסת בשתי לילות של גלויות‬...‫הראשון של פסח ולילו‬
‫לקיים מה שנאמר "ונרוממה שמו יחדיו"; וכשהוא קורא אותו בביתו אינו צריך לברך שכבר בירך‬
.‫ברבים‬
The ‫ ר"ן‬comments:
‫הא משמע כשהוא קורא אותו טעון ברכה שהוא בכלל הימים שהיחיד גומר בהם את ההלל אלא‬
.‫שאם קדם וקרא בבית הכנסת אינו צריך לברך בביתו שכבר בירך ברבים‬
To summarize and expand on the ‫'ר"ן‬s answer:
The requirement to recite ‫ הלל‬with a ‫ ברכה‬once on Pesach night flows from
the ‫ ברייתא‬in ‫מסכת סופרים‬. It is distinct from the requirement of ‫שירה‬. It re-
quires, as we noted last week, an entire ‫ קריאה‬since that is the ‫ברכה‬. There
is a second requirement to have ‫שירה‬. It is more free-form, i.e., it need not
be a single uninterrupted ‫ קריאה‬and therefore does not get a ‫ברכה‬. Since we
have already fulfilled the requirement to say a complete ‫ הלל‬with a ‫ ברכה‬al-
ready in shul, when we recite ‫ הלל‬at the ‫ סדר‬we are free to break it up and
recite it only ‫משום שירה‬.

From YK, Monsey:

[T]he explanation of kriah and shira is very, very nice (makes one wonder if the is-
sue with hakorei hallel b'chol yom is specific to kriah (vs. shirah (spontaneous, not
metzuvah) which may not have the same issue)).

Response:

I also find this ‫ גמרא‬very intriguing. Here's my take and how it relates to
the ‫ חילוק‬of the ‫ר"ן‬. First, the ‫ גמרא‬itself. It appears, of course, in ‫מסכת שבת‬:
-‫ הקורא הלל בכל יום‬:‫ איני?! והאמר מר‬.‫ יהא חלקי מגומרי הלל בכל יום‬:‫[ א"ר יוסי‬:‫]דף קי"ח‬
.‫ בפסוקי דזמרא ע"כ‬,‫הרי זה מחרף ומגדף! כי קאמרינן‬
The ‫ בעלי הסוגיא‬object to the aspiration of ‫ ר' יוסי‬to be among those who re-
cite the entire ‫ הלל‬daily. They do so on the basis of an anonymous authori-
ty who characterizes daily ‫ קריאה‬as blasphemous. The resolution: ‫ ר' יוסי‬is
not talking about ‫ קריאה‬per se but ‫ אמירה‬in ‫פסוקי דזמרה‬. This may mean ei-
 ther the ‫ פסוקי דזמרה‬at the beginning of ‫ תפלת שחרית‬or maybe even just a
general recitation outside the framework of formal prayer.
First, let's assume that ‫ גמירת הלל בכל יום‬means a full recitation in the exact
order that we recite the ‫ הלל‬on the ‫ י"ח ימים ולילה אחד‬of the ‫ ברייתא‬in '‫מס‬
‫( סופרים‬see the previous exchange). Our question is then how can replicat-
ing what we do from ‫ חיוב‬on a day we are not ‫ מחוייבין‬be considered
blasphemous?
The blasphemy in a daily recitation is that it is neither ‫ שירה‬nor ‫קריאה‬. It
isn't ‫ שירה‬because the world works according to the natural laws that God
ordained. On a regular day, no matter how miraculous the laws of nature
seem, they are not ‫ נסים‬in the sense that ‫ קריעת ים סוף‬was. Reciting ‫שירה‬
on such days devalues the ‫נסים‬.
It is also not ‫ קריאה‬since there is no ‫ חיוב‬for ‫קריאה‬. I think there is room
to work here. These are just preliminary thoughts inspired by but not ex-
actly like the explanation of the ‫ מהרש"א‬there in ‫חידושי אגדות‬. Thank you
for the suggestion and I'd be pleased to hear your thoughts on aligning the
‫ סוגיא‬in ‫ שבת‬with the ‫'ר"ן‬s ‫ חילוק‬in ‫פסחים‬.
Come hear Rav Glickman on the road:
This Sunday Morning, February 6, Teaneck, N.J.
Community Shiur
Halakhah and Human Reason: Can a Command-based Legal System Accomodate Rationality?
Evidence from Sugyot, Rishonim, the Rav, and Modern Poskim
Congregation Rinat Yisrael
Rabbi Yosef Adler ‫שליט"א‬
February 13-14, Philadelphia, Pa.
Scholar in Residence
Congregation B'nai Israel-Ohev Tzedek
Rabbi Aaron Felder ‫שליט"א‬
February 15, Bala Cynwd, Pa.
an Advanced Level ‫שיעור בעיון‬:
‫בענין עד אחד נאמן באיסורין‬
Young Israel of the Main Line
Rabbi Avraham Steinberg ‫שליט"א‬
February 20-21, Dallas, Texas
Scholar in Residence
Congregation Shaare Tefilla
Rabbi Ari Perl ‫שליט"א‬
In honor of the Quadrennial ‫ חג הסמיכה‬and Rabbi Joe Hirsch ‫ נ"י‬and Rabbi Jay Weinstein ‫נ"י‬.
TO BRING RAV GLICKMAN TO YOUR COMMUNITY, KINDLY CONTACT:
Ms. Rebecca Goldberg
YU Center for the Jewish Future
rebecca.goldberg@yu.edu
212-960-5400 ext.6350