Dr. Chavi Goldberg – CyberSem
It seems that for the past several years, at least, COLlive has been publishing, in various formats, complaints about Seminaries.
As an educator, having gone back for my own Continuous Education when I felt that I needed some upgrading being that I had gone to Sem over 2 decades earlier, discovered that one could study almost anything online, except that one could not go to Seminary online.
I spoke with a prominent Rav in Lubavitch for his take on it, and he said if the boys can get Smicha online, then girls should be able to go to Seminary online. That was my mandate to move forward. In those days, educators were still grappling with the issue of college attendance, and accreditation of their own schools.
With the promise of higher pay for the girls with a college degree, I enrolled in a doctoral program so that with an Ed.D. (Doctorate in Education), I would be able to secure accreditation for my students down the road, which is exactly what happened.
In the meantime, I have developed a wonderful program of courses, with more to come. I am able to use the best of content developing talent from all over the world, because we are online. I do not employ any male instructors but do use them to develop content.
We have written courses that are stimulating for students who have a day school background. They include Chumash, Rashi Sichos, Historia, Navi, Public Speaking and Writing and Mishlei, and in production is a fabulous course the halachos of Shabbos and yomtov in the Kitchen, that is fully graphic and clear. Over the summer we are working on teacher continuing education courses. We have other courses for women of various backgrounds.
My students have a chance to continue their Torah education on a stimulating, rigorous level, not the same as they did in High School. They will interact with similar girls from around the world and learn the 21st-century skills to gain appropriate employment afterwards.
I have built self-regulation skills into all of my courses which gives the students the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to merge into the adult world and become lifelong learners.
The courses are full 12-week semester courses with preparation, discussions, homework, and assignments included in the week’s study. The students interact with the material and are not just passive recipients. They actively extend their own knowledge and share with both fellow students and instructors. The cost is a small fraction of a full seminary curriculum, and the girls can be involved in other pursuits while continuing their studies from the convenience of their homes.
CyberSem does not replace a live seminary, and it is not intended to. For girls and their families for whom any aspect of the traditional seminary does not work, explore the CyberSem option. I welcome your interest and inquiries. Visit us online at cybersem.com.
By the way, there is no application fee for CyberSem.
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Just to correct you, it is perfectly clear in all of my correspondence that CyberSem is NOT to replace the traditional seminary. Only in the case where a girl cannot go to a face to face Seminary for whatever reason, is CyberSem there to at least give her the opportunity for advanced Torah classes. I always say that CyberSem does not replace the traditional Sem. This expands on it. We are there for girls who finish HS and do not go on to Seminary, and for those girls who finish Sem and want to continue.
Before anyone borrows or takes a second mortgage I would suggest seeking advice from a financial planner first. They are better equipped to decide if this venture is truly affordable or not..
one of the most important benefits of a seminary ,is that it gives you the opportunity to be totally immersed in yiddishkeit and chassidishkeit, precisely because there is no longer the pressure of limudei chol studies. . while i applaud the founder of this on-line sem ,for her true ahavas yisroel,and good intentions,,I am in total disagreeement with the concept that it can replace the sem. environment ,and its benefits. Girls need at least one year of immersion in limudei kodesh,to solidify their identity as a bas yisroel,and bas chabad. in summary ,the program offered should be the reverse,i.e. a… Read more »
non-Chabad seminaries are also expensive.
I teach many students who are not Chabad and who go to non-Chabad seminaries. The fees in those places are much more than Chabad seminaries. So, no, they are NOT way more affordable. That doesn’t mean that Chabad seminaries are not becoming only affordable to the elite, but please don’t make it sound like it is better in non-Chabad places.
Send ur daughters to a non chabad seminary in Israel let her be the “Shlucha” there and see how royally they treat you and how they are way more affordable. A lot of people are doing this i see!
I hope the author of this article comes back to check on the answer. Your comment was the answer itself. The online courses do not cost nearly as much as the land based ones do and CyberSem is especially generous. The girls who are going to college can get credits by learning Chumash, Chassidus, etc. The girls from CH and other communities can get together online and have interesting discussions, extend their learning, learn 21st century skills, expand their knowledge, all for an inexpensive cost. For #17, That was also one of the reasons I started CyberSem. ie, that 1… Read more »
Going to Israel is copying the modern orthodox. No other chareidi groups go to Israel except Israelis who live there. Look at Chabad before Gimmel Tammuz and other groups in Boro Park and Williamsburg. Also, seminary used to be two years in Chabad, but now most girls do only one year like the modern orthodox.
Yeshiva Erev for young Women in CH /other communities. Save the bill for Chasuna and first year of marriage support.
Why Online Seminary should cost so much? When all online courses are cheaper in general?
No you are mistaken, because some girls camps charge money both to apply and a deposit that they never return. If you aren’t accepted maybe they return the application fee but not if you’re accepted. It’s absolute theft!
Of course everyone wants to be in Yerushalayim. But parents are starting to speak to each other and share experiences that their daughters had.
Are the Administrators menschen?
Do they really know how to relate to North American girls?
Is this just an opportunity to make US dollars?
Yes, there are some very very good people and many girls benefit, but eventually is someone is not suited for a position the organization will fail.
The Seminary in NY is starting to get a name for itself and the girls are really enjoying it.
Again an answer from the author of the article. When I was doing my research for my dissertation, I did a study of all of the Chabad High Schools for number of graduating young ladies, and on the flip side tallied the number of spots in Seminaries. The numbers even back in 2010 did not match. Due to many of the points that have been brought up during the conversations on this posting, I understood back then that we would be running into a sheer numbers issue going forward. If your daughter gets accepted into a land based seminary, kol… Read more »
The reason that is so competitive to get into the seminaries is simple because they are so small. The Chabad seminary in Yerushalayim has space for about 65 girls. Rosenfeld’s Sem in Tzfas is around the same size from what I have heard. Chitrik seminary in Tzfas is larger but I have heard about 200 girls. So if you think of the numbers it, unfortunately, it’s really a matter of space. Not so many seminaries and the ones that exist are small. Lots of girls in Chabad these days B’H.
To #6
You are mistaking
The. camps dont charge an application fee. It is like a deposit once the child/camper is excepted Then they charge you (and deduct it from the camp fee)
I tell my students who are applying to sem ,that it’s really not necessary to go to eretz Israel The price is beyond most parents ability to pay.they should think carefully before they fall in to peer pressure,social pressures . So far as a good education is concerned,Bh the seminary in NY is staffed by great teachers. So far as experience, I’m sure that’s wonderful but1-a summer trip with all the bells and whistles, will cost a fraction of the price of 8 months in seminary, and 2-i understand, but a Lexus IS also much better than their parents second… Read more »
A true Wonder Woman!
Several years ago I sent out an email through the shluchos network encouraging them (with a discount) to enrol their young shluchos in CyberSem, so that in addition to the girls giving to their communities they would be encouraging the girls to advance in their own right. I thank you for your post and truly hope that others will be encouraged to do the same.
Seminarys charging $18,000 don’t have a deficit !!
High application fee are a “money grab”
My son applied to a Zal that had a $300 application fee. Camp application fees are also becoming exuberant.
Unfortunately, the chinuch in Lubavitch doesn’t get internalized – not by the hanhala and not by many of the students. How does charging exuberant fees, etc. fit into the concepts of chassidus?
That may be a perfect solution for us . Maybe a few great girls would like to teach for us and since we are in Europe so a few hours ahead if New York . Girls can get the Shlichus/ teaching experience and the online den in the afternoon
It is normal for any school to charge a large fee. It is because of the deficit that the Seminary is running at to begin with. What is not normal is everything I mentioned in my previous comment.
Sincerely,
The same confused Rabbi as before.
As a Rabbi who went through both secular and Chabad school/Yeshiva systems, I don’t understand.
Seminary is not a College. It is a place to grow in Yiddishkeit. It should not be a place that is competetive to go into. Selective, I understand. We do need to make sure that bad influences don’t get in (though the amount of Anash girls that are the real bad influences is laughably massive).
Why is Sem’ treated like an Ivy League College?
I was never on any waiting list for Yeshiva, nor Smicha. Why make the girls wait?
– A confused Rabbi
Before seminary back lash begins have you ever turned to, spoken, inquired, researched any of the seminars to ask them about the seminary process?
Wouldn’t that be appropriate?
Speaking of sem and application fees, I’m finally in 12th grade so this conversation is so relevant! This whole situation is rediculous. Paying a $90 fee for a Seminary that probably won’t even accept me for reasons beyond my control…. Plus paying for flights to ch for interview… crazy!!! I was sitting with a friends at the entrance exam and we were calculating how much money sem gets just from application fees based on how many girls showed up to take exam! I’m paying them for a 2 minute interview? And please don’t tell me it’s for the research they… Read more »