Reasons for a girl to go to Seminary? Israel or domicile country?

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  • #618702
    Alizgit
    Participant

    No preconceived notions here.

    Two Questions:

    1. “Going to Seminary” has very different meanings for different people, both for parents and girls. For those “in the parsha,” either as a parent or girl. What “going to seminary” mean to you?

    2. What are your reasons for “going to seminary” in Israel vs. where you live/USA?

    #1194364
    zahavasdad
    Participant

    As far as I know There are no real Seminaries in the US like there are in israel. In fact the only seminary I can think of not in Israel with Dorms like Israel is in Gateshead

    #1194365
    Person1
    Member

    zahavasdad what makes a seminary “real”?

    if it’s the dorms, in E”Y virtually all seminaries for Israeli girls don’t have dorms. Why are dorms necessery for Americans then?

    If there are other qualities about seminaries in Israel that make them special, why don’t they open more seminaries with these qualities in the US? And what are these qualities?

    #1194366
    WinnieThePooh
    Participant

    There are plenty of seminaries in the US, even more now to fill the need of those who don’t go to E”Y. I’m a bit out of date on them, but you can see the adds in the frum nagazines/newspapers. The need for dorms will depend on whether the student body is local or not, and whether the community can board students or not. But I don’t think that a dorm makes a seminary.

    But I guess this is what Alizgit means that “going to seminary” means different things to different people- ZD, to you it means moving away from home to a school with a dorm.

    #1194367

    Israel is where we all belong. It’s important for a Jew to love Israel and have a desire to live here. There are different standards, so it’s easier to leave gashmiyus behind and you are away from other things so you can choose what you want to really focus your life about.

    Seminary for me means getting on a bus from my house to the seminary and being in an atmosphere that’s growth conductive.

    #1194368
    Lilmod Ulelamaid
    Participant

    1. There are very few seminaries in the US. The few that there are for a certain type/types, and for many girls, there is nothing in the US that is their type. I know girls whose parents didn’t let them go to US for sem, so they had to go in the States, but there was nothing at all matim for them.

    2. Person1 – Israeli girls are not considered to be “going to seminary” the way that American girls do. In the Israeli BY system, seminary is a continuation of high school. You learn in the same school, and it is called ?-?, since it is just the fifth and sixth years of high school. The basic difference is that you have a “maslul” (major) but that makes it college, not seminary.

    3. A big part of the seminary year is to be in a dorm – to grow in independence, to learn from other girls, etc. Also, if you are talking about a girl who is really trying to change, it is usually easier to do so away from her home and old environment.

    4. Most importantly, as Shopping said: “Israel is where we all belong…(see post above)”

    The question isn’t “why are you going to seminary in EY?” but why are you in the US in the first place??!! We are all supposed to be in EY all the time, presumably anyone who lives in chu”l, it is only because there are reasons why they feel they have no choice, but we have a chiyuv to live in EY as much as we can, so at least for the first year of adulthood, one should start off in EY, even if they can’t stay longer.

    I would also guess that there are many people who ended up living here post-marriage becase of their year in EY. It is very hard to move to EY post-marriage, and it can be very hard for the girls whose chasans are learning, and they don’t know anyone and don’t have any kind of social setting,etc. I would imagine that it is much easier for those girls who already spent a year here, so they know people here and they know their way around, etc. It is very different to move to a place that you have never been to before and to move somewhere where you already spent a year and are very familiar with.

    #1194369
    Lilmod Ulelamaid
    Participant

    5. Also, many mothers are overly-dependent on their daughters’ help. This is usually particularly true of the oldest girl in a family. I feel that those girls really need a chance to get away, have a break, have a chance to do what they want to do and not always be busy helping their families, and have a chance to develop a sense of self.

    It is also good for their mothers to learn how to manage without their daughters.

    #1194370
    WinnieThePooh
    Participant

    LU, everything you said about seminary in Israel is true, it’s an experience that is life changing and wonderful.

    But there are some girls whose parent can’t afford it- think about how much it costs, x however many girls there are in the family.

    Also, some don’t feel it is right for a single girl to be on her own, far from her family, even if in a supervised dorm. Some girls grow and mature, and some don’t handle the freedom well.

    Mostly, chasidim feel that way and don’t send their daughters to learn in E”Y.

    These are legitimate viewpoints, and girls shouldn’t be made to feel second class if that is their circumstances.

    If more girls stayed, there would be more options in the US, just as the options in E”Y have expanded with the increased demand.

    #1194371

    LU: They have normal sems for american israeli’s here too.

    With english classes, american israeli hashkafa, only kodesh, trips, shabbatons, etc.

    #1194372
    Lilmod Ulelamaid
    Participant

    Shopping – true, but they have dorms. I was responding to Person1’s statement that Israeli girls go to sem but don’t have dorms. My point was that the typical Israeli girl who goes to a seminary w/o a dorm is not “going to seminary” the way Americans do.

    I was going to mention that Ofakim and the seminaries for American-Israelis are different, but like I said, they do have dorms. Also, they are not typical Israeli seminaries. The typical system is different.

    You had mentioned that you are not in a dorm, so I guess that girls who go to these seminaries don’t always dorm, but I imagine that it is always an option. (correct me if I’m wrong). I would also guess that it is not the same experience if you are not in the dorm (although I guess that some prefer that – I know one girl who chose her seminary on that basis).

    #1194373
    Person1
    Member

    I’m still curious as to how going to seminary in E”Y has become part of the US frum chinuch system. I’m not trying to play down the advantages. I’d understand it if some of the girls did it, but from what I hear (I’m not American) almost everyone does it.

    The connection to E”Y is one answer that satisfies me.

    #1194374
    Lilmod Ulelamaid
    Participant

    “The connection to E”Y is one answer that satisfies me.”

    I think that really is the main one. But I think that people feel like they need to come up with other reasons (and there are many) to justify spending so much money to send a girl away from home to learn. From my perspective, we should all be here anyways. But when I am speaking to people in America and trying to convince them to send their daughters here, I have to keep in mind that they themselves live in the US, so why should they think that davka their 18 year old daughter needs to come here for the year?

    But since the seminary year is about growth, I can talk about the fact that you can’t grow in chu”l the way you can in EY, and the people here are different and there is so much to learn from them, etc.

    And in addition, I do think that it is very good for many girls to get away for a year, especially those who are over-burdened at home as well as those who are from more modern backgrounds and want to or need to change.

    In terms of how it started, it probably started (at least in the BY world) when Rebbetzin David, shlit”a decided to start a seminary in EY. I don’t know if there were any seminaries in the States at the time, but if there were, I imagine they were not on the same caliber.

    And then, more and more girls wanted to come, and they couldn’t all get in, so new seminaries opened up, and the process kept repeating.

    #1194375

    And actually american israeli sems have dorms too. Not everyone uses them, but they exist.

    #1194376
    Lilmod Ulelamaid
    Participant

    That was exactly my point. They have dorms and therefore, one does get the real seminary experience there. The typical Israeli seminaries do no have dorms and one does not get the “seminary experience” there. (although, one get other things).

    #1194377
    Lilmod Ulelamaid
    Participant

    How many American-Israeli sems are there anyhow? I only know of Chedvas and Pninim. And Michlalah sometimes used to have one – I don’t know if they still do. Are there others?

    #1194378

    Pninim isn’t exactly american israel, the majority is plain american. There’s rinat tzipporah who caters to both and 2 or 3 other places I do not remember the names of. One in bet shemesh, one is tsfat, (Darchei Emunah, I think) and another is Jerusalem

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