שוין א אלטע מעשה. נאר יעצט איז עס אין איזרעלי פרעסע
Ultra-Orthodox men at work at the ImageStore company in Petah Tikva. More men are seeking jobs, even in areas once closed to them.
Tough times push men out of yeshiva and into work
By Yair Ettinger
"Israel is not a state of parasites," shouted Labor's candidate for prime minister, Amir Peretz, at a businessmen's club last week.
He said he was confident he could "reach agreements with leading rabbis that productive work, which provides a living and dignity, is not contradictory to Torah studies."
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But the leading rabbis and ultra-Orthodox public are not waiting for Peretz. The issue of men going to work (ultra-Orthodox women have always worked outside the home) instead of remaining in the halls of study has risen to the top of the ultra-Orthodox agenda.
The growing poverty in this community as a result of the slashing of state allowances without any let up in the birth rate, the Tal Law enabling more flexibility in going to work and social changes in the ultra-Orthodox communities have created a new reality. More men are seeking jobs, even in areas once closed to them.
Colleges and ultra-Orthodox centers for vocational training, which were first set up in the '90s, are now thriving. No less important is the renewal of an ancient ideological argument about making a living and the proper proportion between Torah study and work.
The Belzer rebbe, Rabbi Issachar Dov Rokeach, gives his annual "political speech" at the end of Simhat Torah. His last speech to thousands of followers in Jerusalem's world Belzer center is still making waves two months later in both the hasidic and Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox communities, in Israel and overseas. The speech was partially devoted to going out to work.
"Long-term students in yeshivas who are talented and have the economic means, are fortunate," he began. "But students who after a year see their studies are not going well, whether because of their skills or their economic situation, must learn a profession that earns a living. I'm not talking about getting rich but earning a living, so that one does not fall into debt... One can prepare for this in the yeshiva and devote a few hours a week in the evening to studying a profession."
The Belzer rebbe has always been considered a maverick who goes against the mainstream, whether in his own court or vis-a-vis other rabbis. This is not the first time he has urged his hasids to go to work. But this year he encouraged acquiring a profession in an institution.
People in his court say he is determined to fight to change the situation that forces his hasids to live in poverty. But the main novelty in the situation is that Agudat Yisrael's newspaper Hamodia published his address on its front page.
"The rebbe has advocated going to work for years, as have other rebbes. But the important thing is that this is exactly opposite of what the secular people want - to have the haredis leave the yeshives and stop studying Torah - his message is that they can go to work and continue to study and preserve a Jewish life style," says a senior Belzer source.
This week, on the Kolel (religious education institution for married men) floor in the Belzer center a note was posted on the bulletin board: "Students are invited to a course in real estate, which will open in the next few days."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/661587.html
