Lost in Kollel » out of town

The OU Out of Town Community Shmorg

aaron — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:28:22 +0000

On Sunday 6/14, the OU is holding their “Emerging Jewish Communities Fair” at Lander College for Women in Manhattan.

Should you go?

I attended last years’ event in the Grand Hyatt and was somewhat disappointed. If communities are really looking to grow, you’d think they would at least have some real reasons why their communities should attract people to them. But all they had were some glitzy brochures and other schwag extolling their shuls, schools, mikvahas, and federations. Not exactly things that would motivate people to pick up and move from the greatest concentration of Jews in the world outside Israel to some dusty forsaken place they have almost never heard of.

If you are serious about moving out of town, save up some money and take a trip there. The best thing is if you could go there for a Shabbos. If you go during the summer, you can even leave on Friday morning and return on Sunday morning (or even Motzoei Shabbos if you are being on the West Coast). That should give you enough time to see the schools and sights of the town on Friday (and even check out some homes) while experiencing the full flavor of an out of town shabbos – complete with community Kiddush!

If you are looking to narrow your choices, you may want to attend the fair. But remember, most of the presenting shuls are OU synagogues, which means they are usually Modern Orthodox. If there is another shul that is more right wing, they will not be represented. So take everything you see there with a grain of salt. You can ask questions, get some contact phone numbers, and follow up with the right people. Then you can narrow your choices down and make plans to visit the community with the most appeal.

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Out Of Town May Be the Answer If…

aaron — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:37:27 +0000

It comes a point in many kollel yungerleit’s lives that they consider the choice of “going out of town”. Surely, they think, there are kollelim out of town that are dying to get “solid guys” who are willing to pay “good money” just to have the privilege of me learning in their midst.

Wrong.

Having recently visited an out of town community, there can be nothing further than the truth. In fact, many out of town communities struggle financially to support their kollelim. Some of the people in the community may not appreciate the need for a kollel. The yungerleit in the kollel are not all treated with respect. Life is not prettier out of town.

Unless…

There is a way that works. When you live out of town, you have an opportunity like no where else to give of yourself. You can learn with appreciative baalei batim. You can invite people for Shabbos meals and inspire them to grow in their yiddishkeit. You can give special shiurim to the community. You can be a friendly face in shul, making people feel recognized and special. Your wife can befriend the women in the community and be an inspiration to them.

Almost none of these things can be done in Lakewood. These are the true opportunities of out of town Jewish communities.

Are you still interested? Then choose a place on this map. I look forward to hearing about all the good you are doing there soon!

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Kollel is Going Extinct

aaron — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:44:22 +0000

During the difficult financial situation we find ourselves, kollelim are begining to close – making it very difficult if not impossible for an older yungerman to find a “well-paying” kollel that will accept him.

For years, anyone who was considered good in learning and who wanted to stay in kollel “long term” was always able to rely on finding a higher paying kollel to join and manage to stay in learning longer. Not anymore. Kollelim are finding it harder than ever to meet their payroll, as donations have been drying up. In the eyes of donors, there are things that take priority over supporting a kollel made up of “older” yungerleit.

In Brooklyn, 2 of the premier kollelim for yeshivishe yungerleit have closed their doors in recent years, under the guise of “moving to Lakewood”. The remainding ones are struggling mightily to stay afloat. In Lakewood, kollelim abound, but they don’t pay hardly anything. Even the always-to-be-relied-upon “out of town” kollelim have to shut their doors to new applicants as their local support base struggles with supporting the existing local institutions. In Detroit, where Gary Torgow just opened a new kollel, there is a din torah over its opening, as the existing kollel claims that the new kollel will drain support away from them.

When there is too much of something, move away from it. Seek out the forsaken territory and excel there. In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is king. Instead of trying to stick it out in kollel like everyone else is scrambling to do, show the world that you can learn while being in business. It has been done in the past, and it can be done in the future.

Who knows? Maybe we are being taught a lesson – its time to take things back to the good old days, before this insanity began.

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