It’s easy to explain away this phenomenon on extraordinary siyata dishamaya (divine intervention) for those that survived the holocaust. But siyata dishmaya is only a good explanation for a particular individual’s success. But how do explain the fact that so many of them were inordinately successful – while the odds were clearly not in their favor? (No connections, anti semitism, immigrants, language barrier, unfamiliar culture, etc.)

I believe the reason for their success is because they simply had no safety net to fall back upon. There was no choice – either succeed…or go hungry. If they wouldn’t have been successful in business, there was such thing as family to to bail them out or Tomchei Shabbos to deliver meals to their door. There was no food stamps or HUD, no school vouchers or Gemachs to fall back upon. There was only one clearly marked path for them in life – work hard, build a successful business, and have food to eat. There was no other choice, and so they did what they had to. Success came at a price, but it was a far better choice than the alternative.

Today we are faced with many choices – choices that cause many of us to lose our way from succeeding in life. Should I learn in kollel for years on end, or go to work as soon as possible? How about getting a degree in (fill in the desired career path here)? Or perhaps I can join the family business? Should I continue being supported by my parents while I “get started” in business? What about government programs – if I go to work don’t I lose my eligibility?

These “decisions” make it that it becomes difficult from just doing what it takes to succeed. Our fathers and grandfathers didn’t have all these options, and thus success came naturally. Therefore, our job is to see beyond the confusing array of choices we face – and do what it takes to ultimately be successful in life.

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Compared with the average family in the US, a frum family has at least double (most likely 3x) the expenses. Tuition, kosher food, clothing, summer camps, etc. Earning that extra money means having to work harder. But we also have much less time than the average person in the US. Between learning, davening, Shabbos & Yom Tov, family obligations, etc. much of the time is simply not available for work.

That leaves us with having to accomplish twice as much in half the time. Nevertheless, we somehow manage to do so.

The reason we are able to do 4x as much as the average person is because we have to. Its amazing what gets done when there is no other choice. Under pressure, a person accomplishes more than otherwise would be reasonable to expect.

The problem most kollel guys face is the lack of pressure. Why bother accomplishing, when there is nothing forcing them to do so? Of course they are dedicating their lives to Torah, but as long as there are no specific goals to accomplish, they are satisfied with the fact that they are simply learning.

If kollel would be a job with real goals and deadlines, how much more could be accomplished? Certainly, a lot more than is being done now. The real challenge of a kollel yungerman today is to treat his years in kollel like a true job, by setting challenging goals for himself. That way, he really comes out of kollel with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Nothing is like the real world with its actual challenges and demands. However, a kollel yungerman can go a long way by artifically making it hard for himself. Pressure can be a good thing, for it makes us do things we otherwise would think are just not possible.

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