Chuck: no, it’s not too small. It’s too big. For thousands of years, the only ones who were sitting and learning the entire day were the leaders, and those who would become the leaders. It was the best and brightest that were supported while they sat and learned all day.
In many speeches you could hear about the “glory days” in Europe, and all the yeshivas which existed before the war. Rabbonim talk about the tremendous loss we had when the yeshivas were destroyed. How many people were in those yeshivas? They weren’t even close to the size of yeshivas now! There were maybe a few dozen students, that was it. The Mir yeshiva in Yerushalayim now has over 4,000 people learning there! Yes, it’s great, but it’s not feasible. It was never done in thousands of years, so why should it happen now? Judaism is supposed to be based on what we learn from our parents and grandparents, build on the traditions of previous generations. Why is this changing?
For thousands of years, only the best and brightest sat and learned in kollel all day. That is how it should be now. Let’s follow the traditions of our grandparents.