Q&A: Where to Study Torah
Where to Study Torah
Question
Hello, honored Rabbi,
I am in 11th grade studying at a secular school. I started becoming religious a year ago, and of course it’s an ongoing process. I’m planning to finish my studies at the same school, which is also very important to my parents. At the same time, I very much want to study in a yeshiva and deepen my knowledge of Talmudic text (right now I don’t have much).
Which yeshivot does the Rabbi recommend? Before the army or after the army? I’ll just note that I would prefer to study before the army, so that I can arrive in the army with more knowledge and thus be able to study better during my service as well. And I don’t have any particular leaning toward either Religious Zionist or Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) yeshivot.
Answer
My personal opinion is that Haredi Judaism is a distorted form of Judaism, so I would not recommend that you go there. They probably also would not look favorably on military service there.
If you go to a hesder yeshiva, they study there for about a year and a half or two years before enlistment, and during the service itself you also serve with guys from the yeshivot.
I don’t know whether your lack of background will bother them when it comes to admission, but I assume there will be yeshivot that will agree. If you can study until you get to the yeshiva in order to acquire some skill, that will certainly help.
Discussion on Answer
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Thank you very much for the quick reply. Does the Rabbi perhaps have recommendations on how to find a hesder yeshiva that would suit me, or yeshivot in general with a high level of learning?