Dear Matzav Inbox,
This past week, two frum podcasts featured young frum men discussing the fraud they committed and the consequences they now face. I’m writing this letter as a call to action for the frum community. If you think these are isolated cases, then you have your head in the sand.
Why, and how, are we allowing this to happen?
Have we forgotten to teach our children the basics of honesty? Why do we assume, “I won’t get caught”?
Perhaps the problem lies in what was mentioned in one of the episodes: “All we talked about in yeshiva was the guy we knew who left kollel and, in less than two years, owned 15 nursing homes.” Why are our children idolizing people with wealth?
Why has the assumption become that to succeed, one must “wheel and deal”? Why do we all feel the need to “get rich quick”?
Those who understand the basics of business know that 99% of these “gvirim” aren’t truly wealthy. They’re burdened with staggering amounts of debt, stacked precariously in a financial tower where one bad hand – rising interest rates, a few months of bad tenants, etc. – can make it all come crashing down. It’s an illusion of wealth!
Before anyone suggests forming an organization to vet investments as the solution to our problems, let me let you in on a secret. It already exists! It’s called education! We have schools, and all our children attend them. Maybe, just maybe, instead of cutting secular education and pretending that every child will be the next gadol hador and spend his life in chinuch, we should actually educate our children. The two goals are not mutually exclusive.
We need to start educating our entire community about reality and the laws of the land.
C.J.
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It has no shaychus to secular education. It may be a problem but having them sit through secular studies that the boys aren’t interested in and making trouble isn’t the answer. MAybe a good mussar seder instead
I agree and not just the importance of this type of education but we should teach the actual pratim so people should be aware and not say I never knew this is osur.
Great talk from Rabbi Sholom Ahron Ehrenfeld on what money guarantees
https://torahanytime.com/lectures/278219
Listen people are people. I don’t believe proportionally there are more yeshiva alumni who get in trouble financially than in any other sub group of the general population, correct me if I’m wrong and back it up with statistics. Should we be educating our children to be financially responsible? Sure, both at home and in our mosdos. Many are doing this, and calling attention to it can certainly help, but no need to go overboard and create new crises (yes, that’s the correct plural, look it up). This is a human issue not a Jewish issue. And yes, we need to be on a higher moral standard, and BH we are.
People, whether frum or not, will break the law as long as they think that they will get away with it.
Why do people speed and drive while holding cell phones? Because they think they won’t get caught.
Same thing with the bigger crimes.
Maybe start having English with a full curriculum in high schools
The kids won’t admit but they’ll all be happier and more content and the learning will be better
Most kids can’t learn all day in 9/10th grade
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instead of looking to kill the day with various things and long breaks
The ikur is, we have to put down and shame those that own smartphones. All else pales in comparison.
Are smartphones worse than internet?
The term smartphone is an oxymoron. Phones are inanimate objects incapable of thought or action. Similar to a car, a smartphone is a paperweight without a human being. Therefore, it never has been the phone that is an existential issue. The use of the phone can be an existential issue. Instead of shaming others it is probably more beneficial to have them occupy themselves with something other than the media-crity stream or a movie or a song. Alas, and I know this personally, sometimes you have to decompress and take in a distraction from the noise and nuttiness surrounding you. If Rav Yisroel Salanter couldn’t change the world through harbotzas mussar and could only change himself then the ikur is having people justify changing themselves. Remember, I can’t means I don’t want to.
It is naive to think that if these kids went to secular classes they would not do the frauds that they did. Fraud is fraud. Lying is lying. Stealing is stealing. Secular classes will not change that or teach them right from wrong
Dont get me wrong I am all for secular classes, but it wont stop the get rich quick schemes
You’re motzi shem ra on the entire Klal Yisroel because 2 men committed some fraud! Shame on you. Then you write “99% of these “gvirim” aren’t truly wealthy” More nonsense with no proof.
Getting a secular education is not the answer. It’s education on honesty and being truthful which should begin with lessons in Chovos Halvovos. You, C.J. need a good education on this too.
Reb ruby schron the ultimate baal tzedaka didn’t go to college and he is a billionaire that shows it’s ALL Yad Has-em.
This is what happens when we try to outsmart the previous generation.
Rav Elya Svei Zt”l, Rav Yaakov Schneidman Shlit”a, Rav Meir Stern Shlit”a, Rav Yitzchak Feigelstock Zt”l the list goes on…were all talmidim of Rav Aharon Zatza”l AND ALL HAVE ENGLISH IN MESIVTA. WHY DO LAKEWOODERS, WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHO RAV AARON WAS LOVE REWRITING RAV AARON????
WHY AT ADIREI HATORAH IS THERE NOT ONE OF THE TALMIDIM THERE??? (BESIDES FOR RAV ZUCKERMAN SHLIT”A.
WE LOVE REWRITING HISTORY.
Rav Meir Stern Shlit”a does not have a mesivta (though I’m sure that if he did it would have English)
If they are indirectly trained to live on public funds – WHICH IS OK with me – it gets to be a great nisayon as life moves on the expenses rise faster then the ‘public funds’ income. Also many people can survive with Public funds for day to day living but when simchas such as Bar Mitzvah / Weddings come into play the deficit grows bigger and faster.
The solution is very murky and non are really practical.
No