Lakewood, NJ – The “freezer” has opened at Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ, with the arrival of Tu B’Shevat. Under the “freezer” rule, new bochurim during their first zeman in the Lakewood Yeshiva are not permitted to enter the parsha of shidduchim – i.e., they may not officially date – until Tu B’Shevat during the winter zeman or Shiva Asar B’Tammuz during the summer zeman.
[There is an exception, which is that if a bochur already started dating before the beginning of the zeman and his official entrance into BMG, he may continue to date that girl and that girl only.]
We wish all those in the parsha of shidduchim much bracha and hatzlacha. May you all find your respective zivuggim bekarov.
{Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}
Haha great pic.
“Freezer”
Upon acceptance to the yeshiva, a student must sign a document stating that he will not enter shidduchim for his first three months at the yeshiva. Students entering for the winter term can begin dating on Tu Bishvat; students entering for the summer term can begin dating on 17 Tammuz. The three month periods are known colloquially as “The Freezer.” The Freezer policy is designed to minimize students’ distractions during the crucial first few months of studies, allowing them to be better integrated into the yeshiva schedule and into the Yeshiva as a whole.
A loophole around the Freezer rule is that a student may continue to date a girl if he began dating her before the start of the semester.
In practice, students comply with the Freezer rule, and it is rarely violated. If a student is found to have violated the rule, the senior faculty (The Roshei Yeshiva) generally will not attend the wedding (which is considered an honor) in protest, and the student may be subject to other disciplinary measures, including suspension of the student from Yeshiva indefinitely, and preclusion from receiving Kollel stipends ($160 biweekly).