AUDIO: In a fiery speech, a respected Brooklyn Rav called for an all out war against yeshivos that throw talmidim out of their institutions. Rabbi Aaron Krausz, a prominent chareidi Rov from Williamsburg, New York, and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Shaar Hatalmid in Brooklyn, addressed the baalei batim during Shalosh Seudos in his Shul on Shabbos Parshas Lech Licha.
In an explosive speech, which was delivered in Yiddish after the z’man and was recorded, R’ Kraus screamed “Rabosai, there is a fire burning in the Jewish community! All those yeshivos who only take metzuyanim have blood on their hands! We have teens wandering the streets, thrown out because they don’t know a p’shat or a deep Rashba? Stop with the nonsense!” “oh, you wanna build “lomdim”. That’s your goal, right? Look around in shul. Show me all those lomdim you brought up with this system. Show me!!”
Rabbi Krausz continued his stern admonition, urging a financial boycott of all institutions that expel talmidim from their hallowed halls saying, “when they come for you for Tezdokah to support their yeshiva, make it clear to them. Tell them: “I will only support you if you accept everyone, if you care about ALL Talmidim.”
“The Jewish community does tremendous amounts of chesed, but the real chesed of ahavas nefesh yisroel is lacking. NO ONE is doing anything about these children. Everyone sits with closed arms and hands. Rabosai, do you know how many children and teens are in pain? The Jewish community has blood on their hands if we don’t get up and do something.” “If this continues, then Judaism is on the verge of extinction.”
“Yeshivos are not made only for metzuyanim they are made for all Yidden. We need to take to streets and scream of this terrible travesty which is only getting worse. Our hands are guilty for so many teens who are no longer Jewish. We as a community are guilty. We do not do enough.”
Without mentioning any yeshivos by name, R’ Krausz made forceful references to a yeshiva that for years has been known to only accept boys of the highest caliber. “We all know what happened there,” said R’ Krausz cryptically. Without elaborating any further, “I will tell you that they already see the fruits of their labor.”
R’ Krausz concluded by reminding those assembled of the words of “V’haarev na” said every morning in davening, beseeching Hashem to make the words of the Torah sweet in our mouths and that we, our children and ALL the children of K’lal Yisroel should be able to study the heilige Torah.
[Story and audio with permission from VIN News]
Let me be the first to comment on this amazing story. I would just like to say that we here in Lakewood are suffering from the same sickness. I am just so impressed by the Ravs question. Where are all the great lamdanim and Roshei Yeshiva that were supposed to be produced by this system???? Now my humble answer to this question: It’s not about the bachurim!! It’s about the images of those running the Yeshiva. We have lots of “exclusive” mosdos in this town. Each one with 15 bachurim. Of course the next 15 Gedolim, right? And we are paying for each ones building, maggidei shiur, kitchen, dorm, shoel Umaishiv etc. It’s time to “include”! It’s much healthier, better for our future and it might save us from financial ruin too. Just my humble opinion.
I wish some of the rabonim would speak out against this. Where are all the lamdonim? Truth is Yeshivos in flatbush where many of ius Lakewooders leardned in like YTV and YTT and Mirrer ahd many reg bochurim there and we all made it to Lakewood. The situation MUSt be spoken out against berabimand pressure must be put on the ones running the yeshivos to accept all bochurim.
Only metzuyonim?! Nor mit gelt oder groisse protekzia oder kovodige yichus!
Can I ask everyone who is commenting, will you please open a yeshiva?
Instead of just talking about how everyone else should do this and do that, and accept this kid or that kid, why don’t you just step up and do it yourself?
Open a school. Go collecting for your school. Go through all the agmas nefesh yourself of having everyone break down your door to let their grandmothers dogs uncles kid let in. And you of course will let everyone in, even those who dont pay tuition. And you of course will not come home for weeks at a time to your family because you are so busy collecting for your school because most of the parent body wont pay full tuition.
Why dont you do it yourself, instead of sitting here on the comfortable lounge chait on the internet and talking about things you really have no clue about, except that it makes you feel good saying “Yea, lets be nice to everybody” and then WOW you feel so good because you are such a big tzadik and you really have a big heart, and then you just go on to the next story because you really couldn’t care less.
Um…I think that u might be missing the point. The idea is to CLOSE DOWN half the yeshivos in town, save the expenses and have the remaining ones accept some more of the talmidim. We’d be alot better off. Yes, we NEED more girls schools because 2000 girls is a bit too much for a school. But do we need another Yeshiva with 9 exclusive boys?
Btw, there are more than 10 children out of school. U can verify that. If theres no ahavas yisroel, theres no ahavas Hashem. Even if ur walking with the biggest sefer on the st. “we have blood on our hands.” If we were a achdus community, we would all keep our kids home until the rest of hashems children are accepted. Take a minute and think if this child were yours….My child happens to be in an “ELITE” school, but it hurts so bad knowing my sis and bros r suffering. We must organize an ultimatum to the schls, accept all those children by a certain date or we will keep our kids home. WE MUST ACT NOW
The point is for the “Established” schools that have many bochurim and accepting a few “regulars” would not be a detriment. All of us who learnt in YTV and YTT and Mirrer in NY had regular – no yichus bochurim there, parents who were run of the mill and were accepted and went on to be: some bale batim some Lakewood some…. the point is they HAD a yeshiva to learn in with many exceptional bochurim as friends who helped them along who created a strong seviva anyway.
Although at first this Rov sounds so perfectly on the mark, in reality it’s not so simple! If you look at the letters in the back of the third volume of the Michtav Mei’eliyahu you can see this inside. He explains that the difference bet. the way of R S R Hirsch ZTL and the others was exactly on this point. RSR’H was of the opinion that better to make all of Klal Yisroel frum then to make a few Gedolei Yisroel while the others disagreed on this point. Look there to see this AMAZING letter!
To #4btw reb ahron krauss has a yeshiva so please read the artical first
I am not sure what everyone is talking about. Not every boy fits into every yeshiva.
So we throw some in the street!??
I love hearing about how horrible the schools are.
Let me ask all of you a 2 questions?
1. Would YOU go to a school that is labeled a “reject” school? (yes!! you will say that you will go, BUT you WON”T!!!)
2. if a school owner has a huge budget to cover, that IS HIS achrayus NOT YOURS!! should he be “brave” and “heroic” and stand on PRICIPLE to take in all kids, even though he’ll be forced to close because YOU wont send???
Your all dreaming. its NOT the schools faults at all. Its all YOU rishaim that wont go to that school if he takes in “those” kids. He unfortunately has no choice.
YOU HAVEN’T GIVEN HIM ONE!!!
Its not the school owners who will answer after 120, its the parents!!!!
Not that long ago there were several Yeshivas in Lakewood that cater to bais and gimel bochurim. The Kedusha of those Mekomos Hatorah was palpable. Walking in there felt like walking onto theHar Habayis must feel. And, sadly, all those Yeshivos were forced to close their doors, because parents felt that their sons would be stigmatized by attending these mosdos.
What a tragedy. It really Hurts, and I wish we could go Back to those good old days when such bochurim were polished to shine like a Ruby-stone.
i dont get it. is he the only gadol? the gedolim who run such yeshivos obviously disagree! who are we to argue?
i am a big critic but never have i heard of a yeshiva throwing out a bochur for not knowing pshat he witout mentioning names should get his facts straight
For some reason every rebbi who is matzliach feels that he must run his own yeshiva exactly how he wants. This leads to many small yeshivos which are constantly closing down leaving the bochurim in th cold. If a Yeshiva does happen to make it (usually because he has a financial backer) within a few years one of it’s best rebbeim will break off taking a bunch of guys with him.
On an unrelated note why do parents have to send out of town to get a decent secular studies education. Almost every yeshiva in Lakewood doesn’t have english and those that do are a joke (showing marine recruitment videos or a D day movie for history, teaching first aid instead of biology, and not teaching how to write)
It strikes me that schools/yeshivas will act in ways that their communities promote/tolerate.
Those protesting here must be the minority, as Lakewood has repeatedly had issues with children not getting into schools, schools closing, and apparently (based on the postings) has numerous, small yeshivas, which rely on collecting tzedakah to survive.
If there were a real desire for larger yeshivas with a wide variety of students in Lakewood, local educators would answer the call.
Where I live, parents wanted a a local yeshiva HS, so they started one. Parents wanted a Bais Yaakov HS, so they started one. They wanted a Montessori type yeshiva, so they started one. Now parents are looking for a hybrid yeshiva with an online component that would allow for more efficiency, lower costs, and better tailoring of education to student, so they’re looking into starting one. Programs that cannot be self-sufficient or engender enough support fail, while those with extended support succeed. Though the vast majority of students still attend the larger schools, the options are available. Riding buses to HS around the state is a viable alternative to meet the hashkafic needs of the community.
Perhaps the Lakewood community needs to act with a little more cohesiveness when planning its educational endeavors.
Not that long ago there were several Yeshivas in Lakewood that cater to bais and gimel bochurim. The Kedusha of those Mekomos Hatorah was palpable. Walking in there felt like walking onto theHar Habayis must feel.
Please explain or retract that statement.We aren’t waiting 2,000 years and davening at least three times a day for a Yeshiva in Lakewood that accepts all bochrim.If you want to use hyperbole say something like: “Walking into that Yeshiva you can sense the tremendous Gan Eden awaiting the Menhal and Bochrim of the Yeshiva.”
When I was in Mesivta I went to one of the Yeshivos that accepted all. I felt I had to leave because the spirit of the Yeshiva was not one of Hasmada or Shteiging.Therefore I am hard pressed to advocate Yeshivos accept all.Another point is most of the Rabbbonim who advocate more liberal acceptance standards (aside from not having their own Yesivos)do not send their own children to the type of schools they advocate.
On the flip side until today I’m still slightly hurt by the fact that the “Hasmada” yehuva I went to seemed only to value those who were “Metziyunim” and I was really made to feel inferior for not being from the better half of the Shiur in Lomdos and personality.
it is about time that somebody said this.i am waiting for the litvishe gedolim to agree to stop the (moderated) who are killing our teenagers. rav m. solomon shlita told me that somebody who can only teach metzuyanim has no right to call himsef a mechnech. signed in tears a father
Michoel Shnitzler wrote a song about this
i think that reb krouse has a point not every bocher has the same capabilities but if u treat them with love and understanding they will do their utmost. most important of all teach bocherim derech eretz which is so lacking today.
To #15. U have no clue what Ur talking any. I was thrown out of yeshiva in tenth grade cuz I wore a polo shirt bien hazmanim and the yeshiva said I was gonna give them a bad name. MY BLOOD IS ALL OVER THE ROSH YESHIVAS HANDS . at one point my parents got other Rabbi’s involvem but they were THREATENED to keep quite.