NCSY: Helping your high school student turn down Harvard
November 21, 2006 Kiruv, NCSY, Orthodox Union
And actually bragging about it!
Gosh, some of the best NCSY success stories just don’t make it to their website! You have to find them in the periodicals just for other Orthodox Jews.
Like the story found from last year, another inspiring story about how the best and brightest middle class kids (oh yes, there is more than one in this story) are taught to ruin their lives defer college (til when? Who cares!) in order to attend wonderful Charedi institutions. Take NCSY’s high school “club’s” success at Stuyvesant, the prestigious public high school in NYC.
The Orthodox Union’s magazine Jewish Action wrote,
Many club members ended up turning down the finest universities in the nation, including Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Boston University, Brandeis, New York University and other esteemed institutions of higher learning in order to engage in some genuine “higher learning.” Some of us went to study at Ohr Somayach or Kol Yaakov in Monsey, New York. One member deferred Harvard for a few years, ultimately becoming one of the metzuyanim of the Mir Yeshiva kollel in Yerushalayim (and undoubtedly left someone in the admissions office in Cambridge scratching his head). Two club members went to Neve Yerushalayim College in Jerusalem […]In truth, deciding to defer college in order to further our Jewish education was the proper application of the Stuyvesant school motto, “Pro scientia atque sapientia” (For knowledge and wisdom).
Of course it was. And good news, parents!
“NCSY has over one hundred public high school clubs across North America. To support this effort, please call Rabbi David Felsenthal”.
Actually, Rabbi Felsenthal is no longer running these clubs, because NCSY promoted him to Director of Alumni, so “Rabbi Dave” can give many, many more kids can get the chance to pass up their college education and attend Charedi institutions instead, which is what he is so talented at. But remember, it was their choice! So don’t blame NCSY! They were just giving the kids “options.” And isn’t the Jewish Action article so inspiring?
For help on how to get your secular child to chuck his or her professional future into the trash can where it belongs, please contact the Orthodox Union and NCSY. They can help, because they’re connected.
It’s all in the relationship!
5 comments
as we get closer to the coming of mashiach, more and more jews are understanding that connecting to one’s soul and to heaven is more important in life than western, secular education.
just because they get a religious education doesn’t mean that at some point they can’t or won’t go into the professions.
but maybe this is a great tikkun and a kiddush H’. i’d rather have it that way than the other way around.
this is, of course, from an eternal perspective. not a perspective that is limited to the material world of today.
And what about that line in Genesis that states men should earn their living on the fields in the sweat of their faces?
Sarah/froylein, Mashiachniks don’t need to worry about Genesis. They have the New Testament!
Brandeis is one of the ‘finest universities in the nation’?
Froy you are all over the blogosphere putting down the Orthodox Folks. (its LBChasid
)
Man was talking about Goyim. If a Jew has the ability to learn torah as a profession more power to him. Does it change how you day flows because this travesty is happing all over the world?
As for DK. Nice blog. Another place for secular Jews to @$%&% about the orthodox lifestyle and commitment to Torah. Did you go to one of these schools? So instead of going to Harvard to graduate and run a blog kvetching they are going to take a break and go learn sometime outside of the secular box. Maybe mature a little bit and then when they do go back to college they might be better for it.
Naaa they should have rushed right from High school to a heavyweight college and if they drop out they can always write a blog.
Gut Shabbos.
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