Q&A: Choosing a Yeshiva
Choosing a Yeshiva
Question
Hi,
Next year, God willing, I’m going to learn in a yeshiva. Basically, I was debating between Ma’ale Adumim and Merkaz HaRav, and in the end I personally am leaning more toward Merkaz, simply because I felt there was much more of a push there to learn, and a very powerful study hall atmosphere. In addition, there are mature students there and many married kollel fellows who are Torah scholars, which adds a lot to the study hall. All in all, I felt it was a better place from the standpoint of learning. I came across your remarks that in your opinion Merkaz is a cult, and you wrote that this is because of the megalomania of a central world yeshiva, and that in fact it is a nobody yeshiva and not really relevant. That shook me a bit, as someone who values what you write. Why do you look down on Merkaz? From what I understood, including from other people, it is considered one of the two best yeshivot in Religious Zionism in terms of learning (Har HaMor being the other one). In short, I wanted to know what your objection to Merkaz is. (Also, as far as I understand, Yerucham has good ties with Merkaz, and you were a ram in Yerucham.)
Thanks in advance,
Answer
Hello,
As for Har HaMor, that really is a cult, although in terms of learning they do indeed study well there. I would be wary of them. As for Merkaz HaRav, that is less true. Their basic worldview about their own central worldwide importance is ridiculous megalomania, but their day-to-day conduct and their service of God are not cult-like. It is a good Haredi yeshiva where they study at a good level, and I definitely recommend it on the learning plane. As for their outlook, I am reserved about it, but if you are going there to learn without adopting outlooks, or at least while listening critically, then there should not be a problem. Also regarding their conservative (Haredi) approach to Jewish law, and a bit to learning as well, I am very reserved.
You should know that this is a Haredi yeshiva (whose students wear knitted kippot), and studying there is roughly like studying in Hebron or in any other Lithuanian-style yeshiva. The style of learning is also very similar (though in my opinion the level in the good Haredi yeshivot is higher. But that doesn’t mean they are nobodies there. By their own Haredi standards, they are at a disadvantage compared to leading Lithuanian yeshivot).
By contrast, in a good hesder yeshiva like Ma’ale Adumim, the learning is, in my estimation, a bit less intensive, but that depends on you. There you will also get additional things that you will not get in Merkaz or in a Haredi yeshiva: ways of looking at things, thought on a good level, and the like.\
Also take into account the matter of army enlistment. In Merkaz you enlist on your own and decide when, and sometimes that does not work out well. In a hesder yeshiva, the track is well defined and done as a group of hesder students. That is more convenient.
Generally speaking, I would say that I do not think the level of the yeshiva is all that important. Most of it depends on you. If you study well, you will grow almost anywhere.
Much success,
Discussion on Answer
In Merkaz there are people who are no less in level than in many other places, but it’s a yeshiva that’s like a cluster of little shtiebels—many kinds of people at many different levels. Each ram teaches at a different level and in a different style, and in general it’s a good yeshiva for someone looking for independent learning. In Merkaz they study mainly the medieval authorities and less the later authorities.
What’s the point of talking from the outside? You go for a Sabbath visit and get an impression. Have you tried Givat HaLevona?
Best regards, Ofer Eyal Dolegin-Kopczynski
Coordinator of Sabbath visits, at Givat HaLevona Yeshiva
And the main thing is not whether the place is considered prestigious, nor the number of outstanding prodigies there and their quality. Rather, it is whether you will “find yourself” there. Only someone who knows both you and the yeshiva well can answer that, and the greatest “expert” is you yourself. And there is no substitute for seeing with your own eyes. Go for a Sabbath visit.
Best regards, Hanoch Henech Feinshmaker-Pelti
My uncle was the registrar of Kol Torah Yeshiva, and he told me it’s all nonsense, and that in every yeshiva there are good boys and not-so-good boys—it’s all aggressive marketing.
In my opinion the main thing is how much the guy invests.
Good luck
I agree regarding the point that it is a Haredi yeshiva in every respect, but is there really a difference between the level at Merkaz and the level at Hebron from a learning standpoint? I’m afraid these are just stereotypes. (Likewise regarding Har HaMor—in my opinion the level there really does not fall below that of Haredi yeshivot from a learning standpoint. Rabbi Mordechai’s lectures are at a very high level.) As someone who studies in Merkaz, and who has heard Rabbi David Cohen’s general lectures many times (the rosh yeshiva in Hebron), I can say that the level in the yeshiva “raid” is pretty much the same and they speak the same language. It could be that in Hebron the percentage of analytical learners is higher, but that is less critical, because in Merkaz you definitely have people who are no less than them in level.