Thank you, Bemused, for that wonderful post. Chazak ve’ematz.
Havesomeseichel, agreed 100% it’s a chillul Hashem. The gentiles will look at our divinity scholars and will see that they need government subsidies because the community doesn’t pay enough to support them, and they will tsk-tsk at our lack of respect.
What paper will do an expose on the kollel yungeleit who are taking government subsidies? The liberal papers won’t touch the subject, as anything attacking their sacrosanct liberal subsidies won’t be touched. The conservative papers, run by Christians tend to respect religion and religious study more than Jews do. (Churches are whisper-quiet on Sundays. Shuls are noisy on Shabbosos). The only scandal worth noting for papers is when people lie and cheat to get programs they don’t deserve, or evade taxes. That’s what sells papers. That doesn’t apply to kollel people. It applies to working people who hide their income.
With a stubbornly high unemployment rate that will take until 2017 to return to 2006 levels, nobody will be begrudging those who deserve it from taking it, especially if they’re engaged in intellectual pursuits instead of criminal activity.