Reply To: WWRAS-What would R’ Aharon zt”l say?

For those of you who are confused by my title, the issue is not just what would R. Aharon say. Yes, I was being critical of the current American Kollel system most of which is based in Lakewood. I don’t think public criticism is a bad thing if the toeles is to encourage positive change.

Let’s take a parallel but theoretical example. Let’s say there is a kiruv organization that brings two families a year back to yidishkeit. Someone comes along and says, “Hey instead of using the current system, I think if you do XYZ you could be mekarev 10 families a year without spending any extra money or hiring new staff.
A legitimate response would be “we tried that 5 years ago and it didn’t work” or “you don’t understand the business like we do and x might help but y &Z would never work”.
A closed-minded response would be “do you know what it means to be mekarev 2 families?! Do you know how much nachas it brings Hashem and how many generations will be affected by these two families?”
So too by the kollel system. If people tell me that my observations are wrong and that the majority do not suffer from any of these ills, great. I will happily shut up and stand corrected. I don’t learn in BMG and don’t live in Lakewood, so for all I know my perspective is warped and there is no room for improvement. But if indeed a significant number (not all- a significant number) do fall into the descriptions then it appears we could improve. Instead of saying nothing but “rah rah we won” maybe we can take a minute of self-reflection and stop being so self-defensive.

Getting back to n0mesorah, I still agree with you on some points and disagree on others. I don’t think that many are regular learners of Dirsh MB and that is why Dirshu was mostly taken over by Chasidim (we can argue about this). Like I said before, if my numbers are off and the overwhelming majority (not just the guys who stay 10+ years) are really connected to a local Rabbinical authority (Rebbe or Rav), are covering ground in learning, living a minimalist lifestyle etc. then super. BH. But if people agree that I may have a point then everyone (not just gedolim) can speak up and change the system.