MOChassid

The rambling thoughts of a Modern Orthodox Chassid (whatever that means). Contact me at emansouth @ aol.com

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Aliyah III

Joe Schick and The Town Crier defend the Orthodox Jewish community saying that the number of people making aliyah, around 2500 - 3000 this year, is not that low. Everything is relative. While Nefesh B'Nefesh certainly deserves props, I think it's still a drop in the bucket.

But Joe makes a great point which is full of irony. The same schools that do a miserable job of promoting aliyah spiritually will probably be the biggest driver of aliyah in the years to come for entirely practical reasons. As it becomes increasingly more difficult for large families to deal with yeshiva tuition, the financial advantages of living in this country narrow relative to living in Israel where tuition is virtually free.

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9 Comments:

  • At 2:59 PM, Blogger DovBear said…

    The same schools that do a miserable job of promoting aliyah spiritually will probably be the biggest driver of aliyah in the years to come for entirely practical reasons

    Ha. The schools driving aliya are places like HAFTR, Shulamith, RAMAZ, MTA, Flatbush and Frisch. In other words, most of the Aliya, and the enthuisiasm for Israel comes from the schols that are the most expensive.

     
  • At 3:15 PM, Blogger DovBear said…

    You said: "The same schools that do a miserable job of promoting aliyah spiritually will probably be the biggest driver of aliyah in the years to come for entirely practical reasons."

    But the most expensive schools are the ones doing the best job encouraging kids to love Israel, to celebrate yom haatzmaut, to march in the parade, and to study a year abroad.

     
  • At 5:10 PM, Blogger The Town Crier said…

    not only tuition, but i hear that the socialized medicine in israel makes a huge difference.

     
  • At 6:05 PM, Blogger The Town Crier said…

    every little bit helps
    what about the ultra long fully paid maternity leave?

     
  • At 6:06 PM, Blogger The Town Crier said…

    What the statistics dont show - is how many more Israelis there will be if a thousand new olim each have even one or perhaps 3 or ten children...

     
  • At 12:34 PM, Blogger The Town Crier said…

    AFAIK for many years, Rabbi Y. Marcus formerly of the Young Israel of Staten Island had setup a special shul fund, that allowed for a stpiend paid by the shul whenever members of the community made aliyah. I beleive the plan is still in effect. Why the idea never caught on is beyond me. Why not introduce the concept at Aish?

     
  • At 1:24 PM, Blogger DovBear said…

    You are way off. The percentage of kids from Ramaz, HAFTR and Frisch that go to Israel is way below some of the other schools. And marching in a parade, saying hallel on yom ha'atzmaut is hardly a way to encourage kids to move to Israel. You've got to be kidding me.

    You've got to be kidding me. Every one I know who made aliya went to a place like HAFTR, MTA, Shulamith. Everyone I know who wants to make aliya either went to a school like that, or currently lives in a place like Teaneck on Highland Park.

    All the flag waving during childhood is hard to overcome. Meanwhile, the kids who went to Darchei Torah or similar charedi schools were taught to be indifferent toward Israel, and that, too, doesn't wear off quickly.

     
  • At 2:12 PM, Blogger The Town Crier said…

    kishke, did they "make aliyah" or are they on constant tourists visas, coming home to flatbush at least once a year for 6 weeks of pesach?

     
  • At 3:41 PM, Blogger yeshivaguy said…

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