By COLlive reporter
Keep your summer to yourself.
That is the message that faculty members of Chabad Mesivtas in Israel are telling the directors and head counselors of Chabad summer camps this season.
“It is absolutely forbidden for managers of camps, day camps and the like to employ students studying in Yeshivos Ketanos (going up to shiurim Aleph, Beis or Gimmel),” the Yeshivos wrote in a joint statement.
Yeshiva Ketana, also knows as Mesivta, is an educational institution that typically caters to bochurim ages 14 to 17, following which they graduate to a Yeshiva Gedola, or Zal / Beis Medrash.
The heads of the Mesivtas told the camps that their students should not be hired or used for any positions such as counselor and teacher, or kitchen and technical staff.
Instead, they are suggesting to bochurim to spend the summer vacation in Yeshivos Kayitz, a summer learning program that resembles the Yeshiva atmosphere, but with more leisure activities available.
One institution, Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim in Elad, has written to parents of their students that “we expect you, dear parents, to make sure that your son does not take part in these camps in any position.”
“We recommend the special programs of Yeshivas Kayitz in which the bochurim receive a spiritual dose of interesting lessons, lectures and farbrengens with the best of teachers, Mashpiim and Shluchim, along with various activities for the health of the body and for rest.”
Staff of Chabad camps for boys in Israel, as well as in North America, South America Europe and Russia, mostly comprise of Yeshiva bochurim who run the program with little or even no pay.
Who is going to run the camps? Also, they’re not suggesting it, they’re forcing boys to choose between extra tuition or doing absolutely nothing! I hope the parents protest this decision.
not sure how much tuition is being paid, education is heavily subsidized in E’Y.
whether this or that, this is being done with good intentions
look around, we live in hard spiritual times
It says mesivta bochurim. Here in the states mesivta bochurim don’t work in camps either. Usually it is zal bochurim
Are the Mosdos paying the $3000-$5000 tuition for these camps ?
Camps cost much more (much more) than yeshiva tuition.
I would rather give this holy money to the yeshiva, than waste it for camp. Let the Yeshiva take the kids and bochurim out on trips and adventure etc… No need to close the doors for over eight weeks. See the Rebbes talks on the matter.
Signed,
A Parent who pays tuition
why is it that bachurim are only considered good if they are learning?! there are many people with many different talents. when a bachur is in yeshiva the only talents he is utilizing is the brain related talents. what about the bachur whose talents are organizing events, teaching, or running activities why can’t their talents be used? since when are yeshivos in charge of every decision a bachur makes. let the bachur make his own choices. a bachur is a lot more than just a learning machine he has a right to his own life too.
Nisht vee amoleke teg
That’s what the Rebbe said should be the system, there are even letters printed in igros that the Rebbe tells bochrim that they should only enroll in the next mossed with the reshus from his current hanholo
in other words the free choice of a bachur was taken away by the rebbe? what if a bachur doesn’t want to follow that directive is he to be forced to follow the rebbes directive? at what point do we say the bachur can make his own decisions how to lead his life? if you take the choice away from bachurim when they should have a choice, in the long run they will make their own choice out of spite. this is a power grab by hanhala. as much as it is good to have a structure it should be… Read more »
If you feel like you need to get out of this system, then what are you doing about it?
Don’t go to camps and earn a little money. Instead, go to our Yeshivos Kayitz and pay us for doing so. Great, got it!
They don’t get paid anyway
The Lubavitcher Rebbe wanted Yeshivas and Chedurim open all year around, In E”Y and in the USA. No summer “vacation”. The Rebbe says that summer vacation is not just something which is not frum, it is something ווילדקייט wildness!
If you want to know where, what, when etc…. You can contact me by email: [email protected] Let’s have a civilized discussion.
From EY I’m sure we all know what teens get up to when they have nothing to do for the summer. I don’t know too much about camps here, but Kids are the same worldwide. They need structure, everyone agrees on that. But WHO IS PAYING FOR YESHIVAS KAYETZ HERE? 20,000 shekels a month – before taxes!- is considered a good salary & while tuition is cheaper, from what I’ve been told camps are expensive. If the Yeshivos want their talmidim not to be working, provide summer learning & RECREATION for free. It’s a chutzpah to burden parents more than… Read more »
I’m all for bochurim having a structured Seder with learning rather than being staff in camps; however, the Yeshivah Kayitz should then be a mandatory part of the Yeshivah’s Seder, like several Mesivtos in America do. What it sounds like is that these Israeli Yeshivah’s aren’t allowing boys to be staff in camp, but are only recommending Yeshivah Kayitz.
i beleive the summer there is only two weks
Very true point. The camp directors head days charge high tuition and get away with paying they’re staff pennies. My son got $300 in a mainstream lubavitch camp for being a counselor for 12 ten year olds for eight weeks this past summer… and then they camps say the parents who already pay high tuition should give big tips to make up for the low salaries…
The justification yeshivot use for giving monetary knasim is that their students earn some money during the summer. That said, it’s only appropriate that these usually institutions cease giving money knasim to their students. They won’t.
I am watching a growing pattern form among a new generation of well-meaning yet completely out-of-touch yungerliet who occupy positions of “mashpia”, magid shiur etc. These otherwise good people have dedicated their lives to improving yeshivos and mesivtas, yet lack any experience in the real world or even that of raising a family. They may mean well, but well-intended rookie mistakes can really hurt the future of the bochurim. This is just one symptom of them trying to solve one problem (hefkeirus in the summer) but being completely oblivious to the repercussions of their proposed solution. So a bochur whose… Read more »
The article states no reasons for the decision!