But In the Shtetl There Was No Kollel!

A lesson in chinuch from people who want to go back to shtetl days

From time to time, the question is raised- why do we need so many people in kollel? The question is two pronged. A. Why do we need many thousands of people in kollel? Allegedly, there was no such thing in Jewish history at this scale, ever.¹ And B. Why is there an expectation in chareidi/yeshivish communities on the individual level that every man learns in kollel?

But in truth, these questions miss the point. The question is not really about kollel, which refers to married Torah scholars, and which for the typical chareidi, does not usually last past the late twenties. It is about any extended yeshiva studies, including post-high-school and high-school itself. After all, at no time in recent history was it normal for teenagers and adults to continue all-day Torah studies past cheder, besides for the most elite geniuses and the sons-in-law of the wealthy. Children would leave cheder at 10 or even younger. Why has yeshiva attendance all of the sudden become obligatory for teenagers and adults in their 20s? Why can’t vocational training, college, and/or work from a young age be the norm instead? At the heart of it is the question about why modern chareidi chinuch is necessary, and what it accomplishes.

Some may argue that this phenomenon is simply a natural function of the fact that the world is wealthier. Extended Torah study has always been an ideal, but in the past it was not financially feasible for everybody to attend yeshiva, and certainly not for an extended period. Therefore, this privilege was reserved for the wealthy and the elite. Nowadays, we have means enough for everybody to attend many years of yeshiva. To these respondents, it can be compared to Esrogim. A wealthy person is expected to procure a nicer Esrog. In the shtetl, few were lucky enough to even have their own Esrog. Nowadays, we are prosperous enough for everybody to have their own, beautiful Esrogim. Therefore, the question of “But In the Shtetl There Was No Kollel!” is as valid as the question of “But In the Shtetl There Was No IDF!”

This is a nice response, but unfortunately does not quite answer the question. It is undoubtedly true that the world is wealthier and can support more Torah, but the mesiras nefesh that the chareidi community puts forth goes well beyond the difference between a spotted and clean Esrog. They are willing to sacrifice years of college education and work, which according to the normal laws of economics, must assuredly impact the finances of their families. In Israel, they obstinately forgo army service for the sake of yeshiva, refusing to trust secularists declarations that their manpower is needed in the army (even though under ordinary circumstances, chareidim would have no problem trusting secularists when it comes to questions of a secular nature). With the absence of education and army service, the ability to provide for their families can be severely diminished, consigning many to a life of poverty. This is an immense sacrifice for the sake of extended yeshiva studies, much more than we would be willing to do ordinarily to fulfill a lechatchila mitzvah. This is much more than simply, “Well, now we can afford to do this good thing. Great, let’s do it.” Therefore, the question demands a better response.

To understand chareidi chinuch more fully, we must delve into that which we already know, that Torah study is not like any other mitzvah and it is not like any other study. Torah study is the lifeblood of Judaism, it is the beating heart of the Jewish Nation and requires tremendous mesiras nefesh to fulfill. This is expressed in many statements of Chazal, too numerous to mention, but we will mention a few:

Yerushalmi, Pe’ah 1:1

וְתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה. רִבִּי בְּרֶכְיָה וְרִבִּי חִייָא דִּכְפַר תְּחוּמִין חַד אָמַר אֲפִילוּ כָּל־הָעוֹלָם כּוּלּוֹ אֵינוֹ שָׁוֶה אֲפִילוּ דָּבָר אֶחָד מִן הַתּוֹרָה. וְחַד אָמַר אֲפִילוּ כָּל־מִצְוֹתֶיהָ שֶׁל הַתּוֹרָה אֵינָן שָׁווֹת לְדָבָר אֶחָד מִן הַתּוֹרָה. רִבִי תַּנְחוּמָא וְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן זִמְרָא חַד אָמַר כְּהָדָא. וְחַד אָמַר כְּהָדָא. רִבִּי אַבָּא אָבוֹי דְּרִבִּי אַבָּא בַּר מָרִי בְשֵׁם רִבִּי אָחָא כָּתוּב אֶחָד אוֹמֵר וְכָל־חֲפָצִים לֹא יִשְׁווּ בָהּ. וְכָתוּב אֶחָד אִוֹמֵר וְכָל־חֲפָצֶיךָ לֹא יִשְׁווּ בָהּ. חֲפָצִים אֵילּוּ אֲבָנִים טוֹבוֹת וּמַרְגָּלִיּוֹת. חֲפָצֶיךָ אֵילּי דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה. דִּכְתִיב כִּי בְּאֵלֶּה חָפַצְתִּי נְאֻם ה.

 “And Torah study.” Rebbi Berekhiah and Rebbi Ḥiyya from Kefar Teḥumin One said that the entire world is not worth even one saying of the Torah. The other said that even all commandments of the Torah are not worth even one saying of the Torah Rebbi Tanḥuma and Rebbi Yose ben Zimra, one said like the first and one said like the second. Rebbi Abba, father of Rebbi Abba bar Mari in the name of Rebbi Aḥa: One verse says (Prov. 8:11) “all desirables do not equal it;” the other verse says (Prov. 3:15) “your desirables do not equal it.” “Desirables” are gems and pearls, “your desirables” are the words of the Torah, for it is written (Jer. 9:23): “For these I desire - saying of the Eternal.

Rambam Talmud Torah, 3:3

אֵין לְךָ מִצְוָה בְּכָל הַמִּצְוֹת כֻּלָּן שֶׁהִיא שְׁקוּלָה כְּנֶגֶד תַּלְמוּד תּוֹרָה אֶלָּא תַּלְמוּד תּוֹרָה כְּנֶגֶד כָּל הַמִּצְוֹת כֻּלָּן שֶׁהַתַּלְמוּד מֵבִיא לִידֵי מַעֲשֶׂה. לְפִיכָךְ הַתַּלְמוּד קוֹדֵם לְמַעֲשֵׂה בְּכָל מָקוֹם: 

None of the other mitzvot can be equated to the study of Torah. Rather, the study of Torah can be equated to all the mitzvot because study leads to deed. Therefore, study takes precedence over deed in all cases.

כַּךְ הִיא דַּרְכָּהּ שֶׁל תּוֹרָה, פַּת בְּמֶלַח תֹּאכַל, וּמַיִם בִּמְשׂוּרָה תִשְׁתֶּה, וְעַל הָאָרֶץ תִּישַׁן, וְחַיֵּי צַעַר תִּחְיֶה, וּבַתּוֹרָה אַתָּה עָמֵל, אִם אַתָּה עֹשֶׂה כֵן, (תהלים קכח) אַשְׁרֶיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ. אַשְׁרֶיךָ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְטוֹב לָךְ לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא:

Such is the way [of a life] of Torah: you shall eat bread with salt, and rationed water shall you drink; you shall sleep on the ground, your life will be one of privation, and in Torah shall you labor. If you do this, “Happy shall you be and it shall be good for you” (Psalms 128:2): “Happy shall you be” in this world, “and it shall be good for you” in the world to come.

Berachos, 63b

דָּבָר אַחֵר: ״הַסְכֵּת וּשְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל״ — כַּתְּתוּ עַצְמְכֶם עַל דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה. כִּדְאָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ, דְּאָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ: מִנַּיִן שֶׁאֵין דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה מִתְקַיְּימִין אֶלָּא בְּמִי שֶׁמֵּמִית עַצְמוֹ עָלֶיהָ — שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה אָדָם כִּי יָמוּת בְּאֹהֶל״.

The Gemara offers an alternative explanation of this verse: “Keep silence [hasket] and hear, Israel”; break [kattetu] yourselves over words of the Torah. This is in accordance with the opinion of Reish Lakish, as Reish Lakish said: From where is it derived that matters of Torah are only retained by one who kills himself over it? As it is stated: “This is the Torah: When one dies in a tent” (Numbers 19:14); true Torah study demands the total devotion of one who is willing to dedicate his life in the tent of Torah.

אָמְרִי דְּבֵי רַבִּי יַנַּאי: מַאי דִּכְתִיב ״כִּי מִיץ חָלָב יוֹצִיא חֶמְאָה וּמִיץ אַף יוֹצִיא דָם וּמִיץ אַפַּיִם יוֹצִיא רִיב״? בְּמִי אַתָּה מוֹצֵא חֶמְאָה שֶׁל תּוֹרָה — בְּמִי שֶׁמֵּקִיא חָלָב שֶׁיָּנַק מִשְׁדֵּי אִמּוֹ עָלֶיהָ. 

In the school of Rabbi Yannai they said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “For the churning of milk brings forth curd, and the wringing of the nose [af] brings forth blood, so the forcing of wrath [appayim] brings forth strife” (Proverbs 30:33)? With regard to the beginning of the verse: For the churning of milk brings forth curd; in whom do you find the cream of Torah? With one who spits out the milk that he nursed from his mother’s breasts over it; one who struggles with all his might to study Torah.

Nedarim, 81a

הִזָּהֲרוּ בִּבְנֵי עֲנִיִּים, שֶׁמֵּהֶן תֵּצֵא תּוֹרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״יִזַּל מַיִם מִדַּלָּיו״, שֶׁמֵּהֶן תֵּצֵא תּוֹרָה.

Be careful with regard to the education of the sons of paupers, as it is from them that the Torah will issue forth. As it is stated: “Water shall flow from his branches [midalyav]” (Numbers 24:7), which is expounded to mean: From the poor ones [midalim] among him, as it is from them that the Torah, which may be compared to water, will issue forth.

Properly learning and fulfilling the Torah means making it the center of life. For the vast majority of people, there is no hope of becoming the Vilna Gaon, but it is of vital importance to aspire to it. “Reach for the stars and you may just land on the moon.” In the past, when poverty meant the edge of starvation, reaching for the stars may have meant the tremendous sacrifice of sending one’s sons to cheder until the age of 10 instead of having them work. Nowadays, it may mean forgoing college education at the typical age, and learning in yeshiva for as long as one is able (This is not to say that extended yeshiva and kollel is for everybody. Those who feel they are not “cut out for learning” after making a serious effort can still remain Bnei Torah. This essay is about the overall chinuch system.)

Obviously, those who don’t appreciate Torah study in the first place will not appreciate the critical importance of mesiras nefesh for Torah study either. This is why it is hard to have a conversation about chareidi chinuch with a secularist. To him, Torah study is like any other study at best, and he will not agree that it should take precedence over anything else, such as secular education, work, or army service. But to chareidim, it is the very point of existence. Consequently, it is practically impossible for there to be cooperation and compromise between chareidim and secularists on matters that relate to chinuch, since the values are so different. We simply cannot trust our chinuch, the lives of our children and children’s children, to those who at best don’t believe in it, and at worst stand diametrically opposed to everything we stand for.

But there is another critical aspect here, which has to do with the bitter lesson learned from the haskalah and confrontation with modernity. In the past, most Jewish communities were essentially separate from non-Jewish society, set apart by cultural, linguistic, geographical, and legal barriers, and the entire individual, family, and communal life revolved around the Torah. It was very difficult for people to just go “off the derech” without converting to Christianity and Islam, which would completely cut them off from their previous life. And although it is impossible to overstate the awesome importance of Torah study, as mentioned, in those times and places, extended Torah education was not necessary to keep young Jews in the fold. This is similar to the way formal girls education in the form of Bais Yaakov was unnecessary in those times and places. It was perfectly possible to be a “Ben Torah for life” with the equivalent of a third grade Torah education.

But once emancipation and the Haskalah arrived, Jews were exposed to the non-Jewish world in ways that they had never been before, and started exiting in droves, first in Western Europe and then in Eastern Europe. In America as well, even without the forces of Haskalah, most people naturally drifted off the path given the almost total freedom that was available to them. After the war, the progenitors of today’s yeshivish communities recognized that in the modern world, extended yeshiva study is necessary, not just to produce elite scholars, but simply to create and sustain a viable Torah society. They understood that Rabbi Hirsch’s approach of “Torah im Derech Eretz” would simply not work to keep young men attached to their Jewish heritage, and something more powerful was needed. This realization bore fruit and led to the flourishing and vigorous non-chassidic chareidi communities in the US and Israel that we have today. Chassidic communities, on the other hand, were able to keep themselves isolated enough from secular society that they retain many elements of shtetl existence, and correspondingly, extended yeshiva is not as critical for them to this very day. Unfortunately, the Modox did not learn this lesson. They cooperated with secularists who did not appreciate the value of Torah at all, and generally sent their children to schools that gave equal weight to Torah and secular studies, and then straight to college (or in Israel, the army) at 18, leading to the abysmal retention and observance that we see now. May Hashem help them see the errors of their ways and save us and all of Nation of Israel, Amen.

For more information on the historical underpinnings of modern chareidi chinuch, I would encourage you to see this paper from Rabbi Yehoshia Inbal, here.

1. However, according to Chazal, this existed in the generation of Chizkiyahu (Sanhedrin 94b). Moreover, the main occupation of the tribe entire of Levi, which numbered in the tens of thousands, was learning and teaching Torah, as stated in many places in the Torah and Neviim. It is also impossible to estimate how many people made learning their primary occupation in the past, when most Jews were religious. For example, in מעגל טוב, the Chida’s diary of his journeys throughout Europe and Northern Africa, he tells of many communities in which there were yeshivos filled with lamdanim. This of course included the communities in the Land of Israel, which generally subsisted on charity from the Diaspora.