NCSY Warning to Parents

If NCSY is going to continue recruiting for haredi (ultra-Orthodox) baal teshuvah (newly Orthodox) yeshivas and seminaries, every secular Jewish parent must receive a warning letter, and it must be posted on all NCSY websites. Something like this:

Dear Secular Jewish Parent,

Fair warning: NCSY actively recruits public high school graduates for ultra-Orthodox institutions and dual curriculum schools in Israel and in the U.S. We are not just about shabbatons and “identity.” We want your kids to be Orthodox, and do not believe they will remain that way if they go straight to a regular college. So please understand that at NCSY, your child may be discouraged from attending the better colleges, and instead may be encouraged to attend a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) institution, and enter a haredi lifestyle that if followed properly starting and at a young enough age, offers limited socio-economic opportunity. This is official NCSY policy. You may think that because of the values you instilled in them, your kids are better suited for a quality secular education than born and bred Orthodox Jewish kids. In fact, from where we are standing, and certainly from where our haredi partner institutions in Israel are standing, that makes them even more at risk if they attend these places, and such colleges an even less appropriate option. What is difficult enough for born and bred Orthodox kids is an exceptionally difficult challenge for yours. It is certainly done, obviously, but this is not what we will advise.

We are believers, and we want your kids to be believers. That is to say, fully practicing Orthodox Jews. For us, this is paramount. And between the choice of college and a secular lifestyle or ultra-Orthodoxy and poverty, we would choose the latter for your children. We are not saying it has to be that way, but the fact is, the ultra-Orthodox options for secular Jews from a public school background are more readily available than those advocating a Modern Orthodox outlook, and that does translate into a greater risk of disengagement, underemployment, and even eventual poverty (at least by your standards) if they go to one of our recommended haredi institutions. We have been operating since 1959, and even according to a dated study (baal teshuva yeshiva and seminary growth has been exponential in recent years) historically have influenced more than one out of four public school kids to significantly change their educational and vocational trajectory.

Please review our Educational Guide for general policy and our list of recommended yeshivas and seminaries for a partial list of whom we recruit for. But do not expect us to explain the downside of these places. We want your kids to be Orthodox. That’s it. The rest is your responsibility.

Sincerely,

Signature [Regional NCSY Director]