feivel, how long was your son there for?
I chose not to go to Israel for sem partly because of the financial aspect but mostly because I knew myself and that I could be very attracted to trouble so I wanted to avoid that whole field. Instead I went to a half-day seminary in town, worked in the afternoon, and was in college at night. I didn’t have a second to breathe and no time to get into trouble and b”h I had a very successful year and grew up.
My friends came back a year later and they were all different, some girls really changed in their hashkofos and frumkeit, some just stayed the same and had a great relaxing year with no responsibilities and good lectures, and a few unfortunately did not have good experiences and were able to do whatever they felt like and therefore came back as totally different people.
When I saw some of the girls that changed for the worst my immediate thought went to the 25,000 dollars that were down the drain. That money could’ve been saved and used towards their wedding, future apt…but instead they came back with absolutely nothing.
Chaval.
For those that are thinking of sending your daughter to Israel, please please make sure she is strong enough to withstand the nisyonos going on there, and if you have even the slightest doubt then keep her somewhere closer to home where there is less freedom! ex: yavne, detroit, lakewood…