Thanks to the writer of the letter about the Lakewood tuition issues for a deep and thoughtful expression of the current situation. Tuition is our biggest expense by far. This is perhaps the most important topic touched upon by The Scoop because it impacts each and every one of us, rich, poor or middle class, working, learning or doing both. Thanks as well to The Scoop for providing an open and honest forum where the greater community can have these conversations openly.

I enjoyed reading the letter and the thoughtful, sometimes humorous replies in the comments section and feel compelled to touch on a number of points behind the issue and offer a different perspective to consider in coming up with solutions.

I will, b’siyata d’shmaya, bring two complimentary tracks into the conversation, first being the forces driving the issue in economics and the second being the perspective of hashkafa, without specifically recommending a corrective course of action.

First, the economic forces at play.

On a micro level, the Lakewood community has been in a protective bubble until the recent influx of families seeking a better life away from the big cities. This translated into enormous strains being borne by the existing infrastructure, bringing in much more wealth and allowing many established Lakewood families to profit greatly from increased home prices on one hand, and on the other hand, making the Yeshiva lifestyle out of reach for those not fortunate enough to benefit from an early investment in real estate. This also allowed for entrepreneurial opportunities to serve this growing, more affluent crowd as evidenced by many new retail and commercial developments. For the Yeshiva crowd, it created a situation where outward signs of affluence became so prominent, that funds were set up to ensure that children have fine clothes, can attend expensive day camps and summer camps, and have some of their shabbos and yom tov expenses supplemented, even sheitels covered by the more affluent in the community. There are halls where simchas can still be done in a modest manner, and much is done to help kallahs obtain enough to start out in a dignified way that reflects the higher standards now expected from respectable Bnei Torah families. Boys are given generous support to learn in Kolel, but girls are expected to work to support their families and unfortunately, this need for support continues even after their children are married. Let’s be honest, there isn’t a way to change the expected standards of the community and B”H there are networks of support for those who must (yes, must!) adhere to these new standards which would have been unheard of 20 years ago. These are not going away, and neither are the increased costs of housing and basic living. What it boils down to though, is that the cost of tuition is, for every growing family eventually, more that the cost of a home mortgage, whether the home is purchased or rented, whether it’s $400,000 or $600,000, $2,000 a month or $6,000 a month. The solution is not to abandon Lakewood, or to start riding a donkey to NPGS to afford tuition.

On a macro level, let’s consider the following. Inflation of basic costs is crushing, and wages even for those in business is not keeping pace. Even the affluent who have cushions of wealth are feeling this, which is evidenced by less donations to Yeshivas and B.Y. schools, even to Tomchei Shabbos. Let’s now back up before drawing any quick conclusions. For the history buffs, or for those few whose families were in America before WWI, it’s important to understand that the income tax was considered unconstitutional, and it was put in place to finance “The Great War” as a temporary measure. In NJ today, we pay about 50% of our income in taxes, including Federal, State, Local and taxes on consumption like Sales Tax, not including inheritance tax. Chazal tell us that Pharaoh demanded a tribute of our crops of 20% lehavdil. We have allowed ourselves, or perhaps adapted to a reliance on government to provide for things like health care, social programs and education without considering the real cost to our community. Without a doubt, is there anyone who could say that every working family receiving nearly 50% more of the fruits of our own labor would not fix this entire problem ourselves without reliance on government programs? We’re not a political community, and this is not a political discussion, but let’s be perfectly clear that the root cause of this problem is that about HALF of our earnings are confiscated without our consent so this is not an issue of thrift or extravagance or scarcity, it’s about misdirection or ignorance of the economic reality at play. The slavery we thus find ourselves in today was not by choice, we cannot blame one another for 2% or 3% or even 5% of imposed extravagance when 50% is being ignored. Even the noble efforts to obtain school vouchers will not solve this problem, it won’t even put a dent in it. Let’s not lose sight of the underlying economic root of the issue.

Now, the hashkafic side of this issue my be startling but let’s consider the following. In Europe, full time learners would go on to a shtellar and become polished and refined gedolim, leading communities who would support their leadership and scholarship to serve their needs, and these needs were not limited to education. They lived far outside their comfort zones. Women would raise their own children, and the men of the community would have enough to support their families. Many of the gedolim had businesses as well. These shtellars are almost non existent today, and mostly exist within a closed community bubble. This dynamic of ours in Lakewood now, is one not seen since the days of Rabbi Akiva and I feel it is important to point out the parallels here, so we do not C”VS fall to the same mistakes of that generation of gedolim.

In that generation, it is said that the 24,000 students did not give one another the proper kavod, which in light of the fact that Rebbe Shimon and the other remaining students (who, I might add, lived out of town) were considered the LEAST of the 24,000 talmidim of Rabbi Akiva. This doesn’t shtim. The point brought out by many meforshim was that the students each wanted to be a greater learner than the other, they grabbed Torah at the expense of the learning of their chavrusas and because of their greatness, the plague ensued. Where Lakewood is today is not exactly the same, but we cannot help but notice that there is great resistance to giving tsedaka towards tuition as pointed out by others. In the very same way, the schools (for boys and girls) have degraded into an admissions crisis (there are over 100 girls still not accepted into High School, and many are waiting more than two years!). The same mistakes created a shidduch crisis. There is no scarcity of schools or Rebbes or Roshei Yeshiva or Principals in Lakewood, or of wealth, or of Yeshivishe boys to marry eirleche girls; we’re being asked to choose between giving to that kupah which makes us feel good, mishing with those who give us honor to the exclusion of others, or those causes which may cause others to learn more than us, or detract from our own sense of greatness, which is creating divisions and hurting the future of our people – our children.

Perhaps it was a coincidence that immediately following the largest Siyum Ha Shas, we experienced a plague, R”L, or perhaps it was a divine message to give “Kuvid” to others who wish to learn and who may become greater than us, more successful than us, or be more respected than us. There will always be poor among our people, but there is no excuse for us to make others poor for the sake of a Torah education (or to exclude anyone for that matter). THIS should be the primary focus of Lakewood, educating ALL of our children, before anything else because if this were solved, the need for most of the other charity would be unnessicary or greatly reduced.

A Lakewood Jewish Parent.

TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to [email protected].