Seminary Makes a Killing off Rejected Applications

Beis Chana in Tzfat is one of the most sought after seminaries in the Lubavitch “system.” Each year as graduation day looms, hundreds of high school girls who dream of spending a year at this prestigious institution file an application and go in for an interview, but only a lucky few are accepted.

What has come to our attention, and is the cause of many heartbroken girls and furious parents, is that despite the fact that the seminary only accepts about 15% of the applications it receives, the girls must pay an $80 application fee regardless of whether they are accepted or not.

Since about 200 girls filed applications during the seminary administrator’s latest visit to Crown Heights, of which only about 30 were accepted, the seminary earned almost $14,000 merely from the rejected applications.

In an interview with Crownheights.info, a student of Beis Rivkah High School in Crown Heights – who wishes to remain anonymous – said she would never have paid the $80 fee if she had known that she only had a 15% chance of getting in. “I worked extra hard this year; I really thought there was at least a 50-50 chance I would get in,” She said. “This whole thing is ridiculous.”

Another girl recounted her experience with the application process, which she described as “intimidating.”

“You come in, and there are many other girls waiting there as well. They give you an entrance exam, which is entirely in Hebrew, and contains many difficult and detailed questions on various subjects. The exam is designed so that no one – not even the smartest girls – can feel like they did well. Only a computer can remember so much information.”

The other part of the exam contains private and personal questions, from whether your father has Smicha (“why does that matter!? What if he is a Ba’al Teshuvah!?”) to whether your mother went to college.

While she was waiting, she witnessed girls exiting the interview room. “Many were shaking, a few were sobbing lightly,” she said.

“The whole seminary thing is messed up, “another girl proclaimed. “Many studious and well behaved girls are rejected, while other girls who have family connections are accepted. It’s corrupt.”

So why do so many girls put themselves through this?

“Many girls are made to believe that if they don’t have a seminary with a prestigious name on their resume, they will not find good Shidduch,” one girl said. “I don’t believe that. A bochur will marry a girl for her personality; he doesn’t care in the slightest which seminary she went to.

But,” she added, “maybe his mother does.”

199 Comments

  • Bravo!

    About time this is brought out in the open. Note that most girls apply to at least two seminaries, spending a minimum of $150 on application fees alone! It is not as if these mosdos don’t make a killing off of the $15,000 tuition (which does not include airfare, or room and board on yomim tovim). It’s time to stop the mishugas now!

  • Rabbinical Overdrive

    Pirkei Avos: And one who make personal use of the crown of Torah shall perish.

    Shulchan Aruch: see laws of mekach umimkor, misleading sales etc.

    I’m wondering why institutions are given a free pass to charge these kinds of fees, why is there no “hechsher” assigned to them just like there is for food? There is a certain amount of work that is required from the school i.e. ticket to USA, Office staff etc, but to just have a nonrefundable fee like this seems outrageous.

    Perhaps all the students who were rejected this year should get together and call them to a Din Torah.

  • Ruth Seliger

    this is sensationalism. every college is like this as well. find something else to write about that is real.

  • after money

    Apply to any college and there is a fee too. the seminaries fly in, do research and work hard to put together a solid group…work needs to get paid somehow…nothing is free in life and it aint better on the other side..trust me i’ve been there the whole world is after money…

  • College not sem

    Maybe these girls will get smart and realize that they are better off going to college and learning a profession, rather than having their parents spend thousands of dollars so they can party in Israel for a year.

  • Been there, done that

    Oh my goodness. Poor girls. I feel bad for what they are going through. I went through it 8 years ago. I wish someone would have told me to skip the whole Seminary thing. It’s way overrated. Girls: I know you want to go away, especially after feeling caged up in Crown Heights your whole life. Be smart. Let everyone else go. Stay in Crown Heights, get a job for 6 months, save up money, then go to Israel and meet up with all your friends! If your serious about learning, there are options. Not your typical Chabad Sems in Tzfat, but there is a program in Yerushalayim lead by Mrs Apel – maybe you can join her Seminary for a few months?

    Or pick a place on the map and go with a few friends to work for a Shaliach somewhere (just make sure it’s a good shliach – do your homework. There are amazing shuchim out there , but a few sour apples as well.)

    Alternatively, go to Australia – there are 2 really good options there- OC and a more alternative one, Merkos Women. I hear good things about the Sem in Florida. And don’t beleive what anyone tells you about Seminaries and Shidduchim. Some of the sweetest girls I know went to the “top seminaries” are single, and they are 30 or over. Do what feels right to you, and always be true to your self. It’s a really hard year – deciding on Sems etc. and then the year after that. Your whole life in Crown Heights your meant to conform – and never really express your individuality. And then you leave your last year of high school, and are supposed to start figuring things out for yourself and your handicapped in a way. You were never allowed to think for yourself and now this big wide world beckons and your meant to start making some huge decisions: about marriage, career etc.
    My parting wish girls, is be true to yourselves. Love yourselves. Don’t care too much about what other people think. You will find someone,b’h who loves you and cherishes you – not what some Seminary application form represents
    -Been there, done that

  • INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE!!

    Forget about the 80$.!! Who the heck can afford 20k ++++ to pay for one child to go to seminary?!!! are you kidding me?!! And then the school admn. can’t comprehend how a chassidish lubavitch girl goes to a free college??????

  • things are no longer the same anymore

    Protectzia!!! That is what Lubavitch has turned into. It’s not what you know, but who you know. They ask those intrusive questions to see if you have the “name” that will earn them recognition. There are very few honest people left in this world and unfortunately in lubavitch specifically regarding the chinuch of our children. This is no longer the system the Rebbe set up.

  • Please....

    I married off children and never once was asked by the boy or never did a boy ask which sem my daughter went to. It is a hoax. Noone cares which sem you went to. The sem is totally overrated. The girls get a year of fun in Israel.

  • Criminalizing

    Wow, I think there should be a fair trial. Perhaps it costs the seminary money to conduct these interviews, and the deposit covers that cost?

  • Eli

    The whole yeshiva/seminary system is corrupt.. if you don’t have money or yichus.. you are treated like a nobody.. except for the case of a few yeshivos../seminary’s this is the real hard case truth.. life is unfair.. what can you do.. Chabad welcomes in the baa’l teshuvah.. non observant etc.. but a frum person who was brought up in chabad, if you are not up to par then you are treated as such.. what a double standard… then you wonder why so many are going off the derech…..

  • No need to go

    Who says u must go. I know a few parents who refuses to let thedaughter go to seminary.

  • the mother of 2 girls

    *IF* and that’s a big if, seminaries were run like colleges and universities, applicants would be told:
    – number of applicants
    – number accepted
    – ideal applicant has the follwing grades, test scores, etc. OR last year’s applicants had an average grade of __ and an average test score of __

    Yes, an application fee is fair, it does take time to review and process every application. Perhaps it would be more fair/just if applications started in September for the following September instead of January and trying to squish in as many girls as possible.

    Most universities today charge an application fee of $100+, $80 sounds about right for sem.

    In regards to family questions, college applications do ask how many years education your parent had and what degrees they have. Smicha is comparable.

    PS there is absolutely NOTHING WRONG with saving your parents’ money and going to Bais Rivka Seminary, a fine upstanding Sem that turns out qualified teachers.

  • Chabad Parent!

    Cant wait to see all the comments on the topic. SO TRUE, our whole education system is corrupt and unfair!

  • agreed

    AGREED, especially to the last parts. the word is called thievery

  • Been there, done that

    I can tell you one thing for sure, this article is gonnu attract 100’s of comments!! because SOOOO many of us feel this way!The whole Chitrik system is totally and completely unfair, and that is a well known fact! As the author writes so correctly, and I can echo her sentiments totally . . . the best , most aidel, good girls are rejected, whilst those whose middos/ behavior etc leave a lot to be desired. . . ARE accepted! Why?? Because of their family background, yichus and ‘name’ :(( FACT!
    The whole system is rotten, and thats another well known fact! I promise you, from experience, the bochurim do not only judge or consider girls from THE Chitrik Sem when a shidduch comes up. . . the middos, personality, character etc play a huge part;
    Hatzlocha to all of you who are ”rejected” from ‘Bais Chana” , you never know it might just be a blessing in disguise

  • One sided

    No mention of a Beis Chana comment?
    Should the writer have perhaps asked the seminaries for comments?
    You call this journalism?

  • 5 Time Seminary Mother

    FINALLY, this is being publicized. The seminary system is totally broken. After these interviews and rejections the girl’s self esteem is shattered. Is this what we want to teach our girls? That you worth in life depends on how smart you are and what seminary you get into?
    What the author does not address is #1 what should the other 85% of the girls do for seminary and #2 if the girl is accepted to seminary (especially in Israel) the astronomical amount of money that will be spent for substandard living conditions.
    I have had ky’h 5 girls go through the system with the experience getting worse each time. B“H I have only one more daughter to send to seminary but honestly I’m not sure that it is even worth trying.
    Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution other than to open more seminaries. But that won’t solve the problem because people will still want to go to the ”prestigious” schools.
    I think that it is time for all the high schools to put their heads together and try to come up with some kind of solution for this problem. What should the other 85% of the girls do that will be acceptable in our society?
    By the way, when I inquired about my daughter-in-law, I asked which seminary she attended and then promptly forgot! That should NEVER be a major consideration for a shidduch.

  • a bochur

    me and my friends as bochurim we dont care what seminary a girl goes to first of all we dont know the difference and we go thru the same thing with yeshiva we understand what u r going thru so there is no reason to go crazy its not worth it to pay just to sign up to a place where u wont get excepted i say the girls should all boycot this seminary and that way the seminary will learn to be honest

  • Yitzchok

    Another Scam directed at the community in the name of yiddishkeit. With these types of stories is it any wonder that our kids are going away, off the path. The system is rotten and like fish it stinks from the head.

  • incorrect numbers

    Of the 200 interviews conducted by Beis Chana this winter in New York 140 were accepted!

  • Wrong

    I think the Seminaries should be interviewed by the students – and the seminiaries should explain why we are worthty enough to have you come study by us and take our money!!

  • Milhouse

    $80?! How much do you think it costs them to administer the exam, mark it, interview the applicant, and consider the application? Surely more than $80. How much do *you* think they should charge? Or do you expect them to do it for free?

  • mechaneches

    I might add that prospective students are advised that they should apply to more than one seminary given the strong competition for every place, thereby doubling parental outlay. In addition students from outside Crown Heights including those from Europe can pay as much as 700 dollars to fly in for this interview process.And there are simply not enough seminaries places world wide to cater for the growing number of really wonderful Lubavitch girls. After these initial expenses come the actual seminary fees which are very high and which put a great strain on even healthy house hold incomes.

  • Nobody

    It basically has the acceptance rates of Cornell (which is nowhere near as low as a Harvard or Yale). And Cornell’s application fee is $75 (and yearly tuition is about $25K per year for a NY state resident, more for out of state). Better universities have a lower acceptance rate.

    Sorry, but that is a bunch of unjustified whining. 50-50, really?

    There is only one seminary in the world to go to to get a good shidduch??? Seriously? It’s not true about an elite university for a job, and it is not true about a Shidduch either.

    I’m all happy that CrownHeights.info exposes the problems here (I’m sure Beis Chana doesn’t disclose the acceptance rate on its website), but the real problem is the fad thinking. “This seminary is the best.” Every year a different pre-school teacher is the “must have” etc.

    Going to (or sending your child to) a Seminary or Yeshiva just to have it on a checklist on your resume is a really bad idea. Go because you have a goal to get out of it, or do something else.

    And when you are looking for a shidduch, don’t let a two year old decision by some admission committee substitute for your own ability to decide things.

  • CS

    Fascinating article!

    Not to compare our Seminaries to, L’Havdil, Ivy League colleges, but
    I was curious what the admission rates were for Harvard, Stanford, etc…

    It turns out, acording to the source below, that they can accept 7% of 27,000 applicants!! (Harvard 2008)
    At a $65 Application fee — That’s $1,755,000 !!!!

    http://www.education.com/re

    (Removing the word “killing” may be recommended in the title…If needed it could be reserved for $1 million plus…)

  • we are the big fools!

    how true and so sad! we are doing this to ourselves. when will we realize that we have only ourselves to blame instead of sending a message to our children that seminary has become something that is no longer affordable for the average household and its quite ok to go to a local intown seminary like bais rivka and for your information i keep on seeing time after time that the girls who get engaged first in most classes are the girls who didnt even go to seminary! so therer is for your theory on shidduchim!

  • Very Petty

    This article seems very petty. The admissions process costs the school money too. The application fee also helps ensure that applicants are serious. Moreover, compared to the costs of application fees to secular schools, $80 seems ridiculously cheap.

  • bais chana alumni

    i can completly relate to how the girls gave over how the interview goes… i was one of those girls who walked out crying…. however mrs chitrik is not accepting girls based on ur fathers smicha or mothers collage degree… because if that were the case i would have been rejected! The fact is mrs chitrik has her game she plays with you and with ur answers, she picks up on ur personality……. bottom line is what impression u give off to her
    ps: dont forget to never fold or close ur hands when she is talking to you :))))

  • been there - done that

    i agree with this article.
    seminaries charge an exorbitant fee for the application, put girls under so much stress and make them feel as though it will define the rest of their lives. Let me tell you – it doesn’t.
    There are so many girls who go to seminaries and then a year or two later they are completely different to the ‘seminary mold’.
    Plenty of girls from Chitrik are there for the intellectual stimulation and that is all. The yerushalayim seminary simply because it is located in yerushalayim. Rosenfeld, the year is defined by the group and most probably has the most ‘mixed’ type of girls.
    Don’t forget the girls that got in because of connections!
    Therefore – in terms of shidduchim – which seminary you went to CAN NOT be a judge of who that person is.
    Boys have no idea what the different types of seminaries mean. The mom’s may care but 2 years out of seminary there is no point even asking where they went, only perhaps to find other girls to use as references.

    Girls – don’t worry – seminary will not define the rest of your life.
    It is a shame that there is such pressure placed on the girls.

  • Reeks of elitism

    Isn’t this the very scourge that we venerate the Baal Shem Tov
    for eradicating? I mean, who, in the Rebbe’s name are we to speak against the misnagdim of 200 or so years ago when we are following in their very footsteps?! Come on, why should it matter that a family member is not 100% to your liking? Weren’t there great Rebbes, including Lubavitch, who had siblings or children that went off the derech?

  • Crown Heights mommy

    This whole seminary business is absurd!
    Parents, please stop caving into the peer pressure, there is no need to dish out so many thousands of dollars!
    Your daughter can get a very nice seminary experience in Crown Heights!
    If you complain that you want the experience, then go tour Israel for a few weeks! Enough is enough!

  • Go to College Instead

    Firstly do any “regular families” have daughters that get into that seminary? I was uner the impression you only went there if you had a “name.” In fact I don’t know anyone that went there that doesn’t have some kind of “name staus.”

  • disgusting

    You think this is bad? Rosenfeld only accepted 1/2 of the amount of girls and then charged $500 application fee to those girls who were rejected by Chitrik and came to apply to them! Who’s making a killing on the cheshbon of the parents who are trying to scrape money together just trying to put food on the table??

  • student

    This is an old story…the same was always happening with Lubav seminaries be it Ztfat or Melbourne and the parents should get smarter and dont play into their hands.As far as the Smicha and the college are concerned that is even more ridiculous becouse we all know what the today’s Smicha is worth and girls get most of the credits from Beis Chana for college.

  • Been there...

    The whole system is corrupt. They should have a point system which should include attendance, behavior, midos/derech eretz, and learning. Those with the most points should have the first options. At least those that deserve it would get in first.

  • And thats who the shidduch goes through!

    It goes through the mother beofre the boy. if she’s that judgemental “no girl is good enough for my son”, then yeah.

  • la girl

    the reason the seminary charges a fee is bc they dont want everyone to apply just bc theyr is a small chance they will get in and it doesnt hurt bc if they dont get accepted at least they didnt loose anything. plus if they dont charge a fee then the amount of applications will rise which will take time from the school to go through each application and to interview each girl. and anyways the money is going to tzedakah so its not the end of the world.

  • Henry

    Better not to go, this whole seminary business is bad for the girls, and a scam. Better off going to college, or work. This is besides the fact that Tzfat is a boring and depressing place to be in. Further finding the right shidduch has nothing to do with which seminary a girl went to; a girl is a better person without seminary. It’s all a scam, and overpriced. It may even be a bigger waste of time than yeshiva, and that’s bad!!!

  • What rubbish!!

    Sorry you guys should find out your facts before writing articles.
    You can be sued for slander.
    Approx. 50 girls from Bais Rivka applied.
    Approx. 25 .were accepted.
    That’s a 50-50 chance
    I heard that 115 out of the 200 girls were accepted.
    That’s the biggest Seminary for Lubavitch girls.
    True it’s a tough system but one shouldn’t blaspheme just cause they weren’t accepted!
    Anyone going for an interview is nervous….ever been to a job interview?
    This article shows why she wasn’t accepted…..
    Seems like they actually know what they’re doing!

  • so sorry for these girls

    all my girls graduated Seminary not bais rivka & even 20 years ago the system was horrible. You had to be lucky or really well connected to get in. My kids must have been lucky because we don’t have any pull. I know how hard it is and how discouraged they must be. Something needs to be done and i blame bais rivka.

    Heres the reason. there is a mechaneches still there, who told one Seminary “if xxx got in to your seminary it must be terrible.” The Director of the seminary told me and told me who said it.

    My daughter was xxx. This uber-chassidishe teacher hated my family because I had once spoken to the principal about what she said in the classroom. She made it a campaign to make sure my kids didn’t get to seminary but she wasn’t successful B”H. Parents, please be warned about teachers bias and dislike of your kids, it can go back years and affect their seminary applications. It doesn’t have to be fair or true!

    PS My daughters are ALL on Shlichus! Feh to that teacher!

  • Aron

    AND typical jews, it’s all about connections. They never give the good people a chance. Seminary is the worst institution a girl can be in…nebach!!!

  • Gelt Iz Blote

    each interview takes about a half hour – why do they have to charge $80 for THIRTY minutes? ok, there is also paper work involved, but -$80 for 30 minutes???!!! GEVALD!!!

  • a 12th grader

    while many or i can say most of what’s writen in this article is true, the fact that “all” the good girls get rejected and only if you have “CONECTIONS” do you get accepted to the seminary you wish, is wrong. i for myself know many great girls with “CONECTIONS” who’ve been rejected, and many girls who got accepted the seminary of their choice on their own merit. (yes there are many girls who do get in for being “great” girls!!!) yes, there are cases where girls are accepted to seminary only because of conections, but this has been generalized and become almost a fact to comfort those who feel rejected. putting others down in order to raise yourself up is not acceptable and wrong!! there are many, many, many(hundreds) great girls appling to seminary and the seminarys need to chose some over others. this definetly does not make the girls who aren’t accepted not good girls, but sometimes there is simply NO ROOM!
    it just makes one upset to get insulted and think its anything personal! because guess what? IT’S NOT!!! yes it is extremly hard to face this kind of rejection, when for many it is the biggest if not the first real rejection they ever feel.

    the main point is that during this endlessly long and emotionally draining process, many tend to forget that hashem runs this world. he decided on rosh hashana where everygirl is going to end up the next year, and no matter how many “CONECTIONS” one may have, if hashem doesnt want her there, SHE WONT GO THERE! this doesnt make you a “good” or “bad” girl, it means that hashem created the world, it’s HIS, he owns and rules it, and HE and only HE will decide these things, the same way HE decides everything else that happens in ones life!

  • overdue

    this article is a little immature- but yet OVERDUE!!

    this nonsense has been going on for at least the past 10 years or more!!

    immature silly comments….. only a computer can remember such info- sorry- but that is not the case. If i recall correctly, it was not so hard- yedious klalios.

    yes there are nonsensical questions on the application (you grandmother’s maiden name??????- come one) when one gives someone else 15 thousand dollars- who should interview who??

  • Yehuda

    The last line says it all. About seminaries & shiduchim.
    It’s time for parents to smarten up

  • Sechel Hayashar

    I think the whole seminary thing is a waste of money.
    However:
    1) When someone applies to an institution, they should be aware how many slot are available.
    2) It is perfectly legitimate for an institution to charge for an application, after all it does take time and energy to interview the applicant, and review the application etc. That is essentially why you are charged an application fee.

    Bottom line, get over it and stop complaining!

  • READ

    This is all loshon hara!! I went through this exact same process and this is all straight out LIES and exaggeration. The test is NOT all in hebrew and while there are some tough questions most of it is basic knowledge, there is one simple section in hebrew just to see your command of the language. Mrs Chitrik was very down to business but she is kind and no one left crying or shaking.

    Why are you only attacking Beis chana what about Yerushalyim??? and others too! its the same situation with them! im sorry you were rejected but its not right to blow things out of proportion like this!
    Hatzlacha for next year.

  • being rejected was the best thing in lif

    …i was one of those “good” girls – aidel etc- good grades- rejected for no reason. at the time i was in aveilus- but it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

    It gave me a drive and an impetus many times to do something major to prove to those pple that felt i was not qualified to attend their holy institution (that is what they told my mother)
    to show them- look who you rejected!

    some seminarys are money well spent- some are seriously a waste

  • Accepted by Tzfas and Rejected it!

    I know of a girl who recently applied to Tzfas, was accepted there, and then decided not to go, and is going to Beis Rivkah Seminary in Crown Heights.

    Saved her parents a fortune of which the value might be questionable!

  • Anonymous

    Please:

    1) This is a moisad that is run by someone who had every opportunity to go into his family’s successful and legitimate business, and I mean very successful and very legitimate business, and instead he devotes his life to chinuch. He has a parallel program for Israeli girls that probably costs him money every month, and he barely covers it with the US girls’ payments.

    2) $80 is bubkes nowadays and barely covers costs of dealing with all of those exams. I don’t know how many people fly in to deal with the admissions procedures but that alone costs plenty of money.

    3) I know for a fact that many girls with no yichus and no money get in every year.

    4) Part of the problem is that some girls who have no chance of getting in somehow decide to apply anyway. I saw the same thing in my earlier life with college applications – kids in my HS class applied to colleges they had no hope of getting into, just in case there would be some mistake and they’d get in. The one guy I knew who did get into a college he wasn’t suited for dropped out after one year.

    Bottom line. R’ Yossi Chitrik is not doing this for his bottom line or for his health. He is a shaliach of the Rebbe who continues to educate generations of shluchos, teachers and activists. Don’t waste your time applying and/or don’t let your daughter waste her time applying unless:

    1) There is a chance you/she can get in.

    2) It is the right place for you/her

    Now, that’s called common sense. Some of those applications are the equivalent of buying a dress 6 sizes too small in the hope someone who is not dieting loses 70 pounds before the dress goes out of style. At the end of the day, a salesperson at a store can tell you that it will never fit, but if you give her cash or a valid card, she’ll have to give you the dress. Same here. If you pay the $80 knowing that nothing will come of it, you’re the fool for paying. Beis Chana still must charge.

  • #44

    50 girls from br applied and abpout 15 got in, what kinda 50-50 chnace is that?
    and id know that one seminary had close to 300 applicants when they only accept btn 55-60

  • yeshivos are better

    they refund the application fee when a bochur is rejected

  • Facts.

    1.I was interviewed. During the interview Mrs Chitrik asked me if I had any questions….so I interviewed her….it was actually fun…
    2.the forms asking for parents education was an Isralie government form. The school is a government school.
    3.the entrance exam had 2 parts. One all in English..general knowledge in yahdus and chasidis and the other part in Hebrew to test basic Hebrew knowledge…..
    4.my parents are Balie Teshuva.
    5.I was accepted.

  • Shviger

    One daughter in law didn’t go to seminary, she went on Shlichus instead. She is warm, smart, funny, hard working, talented and it didn’t bother us one tiny bit that she wasn’t a graduate of seminary. What matters is her exemplary midos that she learned in the home! We are so thankful she married our son!

    My other daughter in law did go to Seminary and she is just as wonderful & a fantastic wife & mother and has just as fine midos. I adore them both. So it really doesn’t matter in the end, it’s just the “done thing.” Maybe it’s time to change the “done thing” and change our attitude. These seminaries don’t deserve these wonderful girls.

  • Beis Chana Graduate

    My family are bts.,not connected and certainly not rich.

    It certainly wasn’t with shidduch considerations in mind that I applied.
    The learning and whole seminary experience continue to hold tremendous value for me several years down the line. Yes it is a lot of money,sadly not everyone gets a place but for the fortunate ones who get accepted to the seminary of their choice its well worth it.Whilst the author has made some very valid points about the application process and the price,the comments regarding the experience being worthwhile are unfounded.

  • seething parent

    everyone is barking up the wrong tree! its all our fault. the teachers [what chutzpah]of bais rivkah r the ones egging on the kids and ENCOURAGING them to go to all these stupid sems. they should b fired!!where is laima???where is bengy??? what is wrong if they have here a solid sem here? and go to israel as part of the trips? it would cost us 1/4 the price!shame on the faculty .i’m holding back of mentioning their names!

  • father of tzfas alumni

    it’s simple markets at work.
    the supply is limited. when parents will wake up and realize that seminary is not “u gotta go to tzfas for shidduchim” and “the wrong seminary & your daughter is going otd” the system will change. when parents who are struggling (me included) think they have to spend 25k to go to tzfas, don’t blame the school. it’s our fault, we created this monster called seminary. there’s not enough “rich” parents won’t keep the meshugas going. it’s the 99% who think they have to do it who are floating the system.
    blaming the school is like blaming Nike for ghetto kids getting killed for $150 sneakers.
    B”H more and more people

  • ch

    finally some one is speaking up .whoever owns the seminary is stealing our money and especially with interviews this whole crazy system must top now!mrs chitrik stop stealing our money

  • Ivy League interviews

    When you pay Columbia an $80 interview fee it’s for a four year program.

    Also, to the mother who had a teacher speak bad about her daughter, know that this teacher makes a habit of it.

  • bais rivka student

    whoever is rejected good for u you could start and move on with your life. and not let these money hungry principles get a hold of you

  • brhs

    maybe all the twelfth grade teachers and principles should help us get through this crazy thing.instead of encouraging this crazy seminary thing prove all of them wrong.

  • dont compare to college

    when choosing to attend a college- you are going to a prestigious college- ivy league- because it is more of a guarantee to get you a better job.

    and u r applying to college to get a college degree which will hopefully -eventually, pay off itself

    sorry to burst everyone’s bubble- especially innocent naive parents, coughing up money they can’t afford.
    90 PERCENT OF GIRLS THAT HAD A GREAT YEAR IN SEMINARY- THEY LOVED THE SOCIAL ASPECT OF IT AND THE TOURING OF ISRAEL. ASK ANY SEM GRADUATE (not any that are fresh out of sem cuz they are still under the spell of seminary- but a year after sem- ask them – what did seminary do for you) A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE (TINY IN FACT) ARE AFFECTED LIFELONG FROM SEMINARY.

    SO yes they are charging the money cuz pple are paying it- naively thinking that it is an investment

  • Once a Bochur

    Once their was a Bochur who agreed to go out with girl when he heard this-that she refused to put her parents through the Gihenum of Israel seminary costs, and she went to BR seminary in CH and worked half day in a local moised. a decade later she is still very careful not to overburden her husband with anything that he cannot afford to do.

  • Admin of Seminar

    Attention everyone!

    As a Seminary administrator in Eretz Yisroel I wish to explain to you why we charge these fees and why our tuition fees seem high:

    Americans have more money than most Anash in Eretz Yisroel, so when you pay your tuition you are actually doing a mitzvah and paying for the tuition of a less fortunate Anash in Eretz Yisroel.

    Additionally there are very few good paying jobs in Eretz Yisroel for Anash, so when you now pay your tuition you are supporting the families that work in the seminary.

    You are performing such a big Mitzvah!!

    Do you really care about $80? ($80 is 4 pies of pizza or 1 tank of gas on an SUV, its petty cash for Americans). Your $80 is now being spent on 15 pies of pizza for your Anash in Eretz Yisroel!

    And for those who claim that we accept according to “pretkziah” let me clarify: we need to keep the seminary to a certain standard, so when we have people that we personally know (like a family memmber or supporter) vouch and recommend a girl, we will take her because we know she is good, but if someone has good marks and we have never heard of her family because she is from a Bal Tshuva home or is not from a known family, we have no way of veryfiyng if the girl is a true good girl. Many girls cheat on tests, and the schools all say that every girl is a top girl…

    I hope that explains it all, if you have any questions please comment and I will respond when I find the time for you.

  • #66

    No ones stealing money.You gave it to them!!that’s not stealing.
    If you dont want don’t give it.

  • BEEN THERE

    $80.00 is not so bad. I just paid $300.00 to one yeshiva for the registration fee and $200.00 for another. Nobody was flying anywhere to interview anyone…this was all done ONLINE!!!

  • Nobody

    You pay the fee to college whether you have one year left to graduate (if you are a transfer) or five.

  • Bochur in the System

    to girls and their parents: 90% of bochurim would never reject a shidduch based on where the girl went to seminary. Let the bochurim who think you need to have gone on shlichus to YG for a shidduch marry the girls who think the same about Chitrik–whether they were actually accepted or not is immaterial

  • #57

    25 out of 50 applicants is 50-50.
    115 out of 200 is more then 50 50 chance.

  • serel maness

    there are thank g-d other seminaries all over the world,plus we have thank g-d bais rivkah seminary right here

  • To #72. Admin of Seminar

    Wow, you had me going for second there – glad I caught myself before punching the screen!

  • Fed up

    Finally…this issue is being exposed. I am the mother of a wonderful girl who was rejected from chitrick. My daughter was devastated, and the pressure is intense!!!! I wish that all parents would band together and boycott these seminaries. All it is is. A year of touring in the holy land. And for those that compare it to college entrance fees…well at least in college u get a solid degree that could earn u a Parnassah. Seminary degree is garbage!! Enuf said!!!

  • Bashert

    One mother of a 25 year old girl told me, that her daughter did all the right things, she excelled in school, went to chitrick and still has yet to get good boys to date!!! So go figure

  • 100/200

    200 girls applied and 100 girls were accepted. That means each girl has a 50% chance of getting in, not 30%.

  • Stay in CH Sem is here is great

    Dear Girls

    dont spend your parents money
    do sem in Kan Tzivoh hashem es Habrocho
    Its great here you can travel with your husband and kids later to visit EY

  • completely biased

    This article contains an extremely biased opinion of a girl who, from the sounds of it, was rejected herself or is the mother of one of the rejected applicants. If one is to write an article about a specific topic, it’s important to be speak the truth. In addition, the heading seems to imply that the article is about the general idea of application fees. However, the article was purely about Beis Chana, Tzfat. The author must take into account a few factors. A) the application fee is put in place to pay for the cost of doing the interviews and to separate the serious applicants from those who are applying as back up. B) There were 200 applicants and 100 were accepted – 50%, which is a larger percentage than other seminaries like Yerushalayim who had the same number of applicants and only accepted 50. C) the seminary tests your Hebrew skills for your own good. Most of the classes are taught in Hebrew and the students need to be able to follow along.

  • 12 grade

    Number 1- Rosenfeld charged 200 not 500 for those applying in Nisan.. don’t exagerate…
    Number 2- There is a very nice seminary here for anyone that wants to stay here

  • UCH!!!

    TO #72

    YOU ARE SO PREJIDOUS! YOU are exactly saying that only girls from “good families” get in because you know them. That’s so unfair because there are some wonderful bal teshuva girls who deserve a chance. Maybe you need to do a better investigation and not give up on them because you don’t know the family.

    Honestly you make me want to PUKE!!!!

  • Sam

    If the Boucher knows a thing a two about the seminary’s hes probably been talking to girls, and not his sister!

  • I miss OC

    If only every seminary was like Ohel Chana in Melbourne, Australia. Unlike Israel seminaries, the girls are treated so well.

  • when will BR NY stop spoon-feeding?!

    would be great if BR seminary of NY would up their education- and specifically the way the teachers teach! do any of their teachers go to yearly conferences to learn new methods of teaching??! Get the SPOON out of the teachers hands- no infants in the classroom to feed as far i remember… unless this changes i cant imagine having my daughter go to BR sem!

  • MOSHE GELTFRESSER

    GIRLS IF YOU DON’T HAVE MONEY, WE STILL LOVE YOU.YOU ARE PRECIOUS NESHAMOS, DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE GUY WITH THE BIG BEARD.HASHEM KNOWS WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART, YOUR BEAUTIFUL. HAPPINESS WILL COME LATER IN LIFE, NO MATTER WHICH SEMINARY YOU GO TO. WHO YOU MARRY IS MOST IMPORTANT NOT WHICH SCHOOL YOU GO TO, THIS IS ALL BRAINS WASH NONSENSE SO SOME GUY WHO LOVES MONEY AND POWER CAN CHARGE YOUR PARENTS AN ARM AND A LEG. STOP BEING FOOLED BY ALL THE SHYSTERS. DO THE RIGHT THING BE HAPPY AND DON’T BUY INTO THE TREND.

  • To 88

    I also thought the writer was serious. Now I see he/she isn’t.

    I think.

  • loygjk

    VERY SIMPLE SOLUTION!
    MSY has the same level of learning and u get a bonus:much more trips! the whole sem is like one family!
    its a much better solution

    every one calm down the sems know wat they r doing!
    stop judging!

  • es3122

    can they consider it a donation and take it off maaser ? thats not the entire issue, but……

  • Incredulous

    After paying the application fee, the expense of sending the application package to Israel and then getting my daughter to CH
    from out of town for the interview, a different seminary in Israel did not even have the courtesy of sending my daughter a rejection letter!! We heard nothing from the seminary!! THIS was more hurtful to my daughter than the fact that she had not been accepted. Did this happen to other girls???

  • I was rejected and I am so HAPPY!

    I was rejected from Chitrik and it was the best thing that ever happened. To all of you who were not accepted, know that Hashem knows what’s best for you. Good Luck

  • Ferris Wheel

    This too shall pass. There’s already a strong undercurrent of stable, educated girls who realize this track of “seminary” is unnecessary. each year will have less girls applying. Eventually they will go to real colleges. too bad so many girls had their esteem lowered, but it can be viewed as a lesson for life…

  • get real

    i could puke too. last names get accepted automatically into Yerushalayim too. But truth prevails – many of them still waiting for shidduchim even 10 years later!

    However back to the issue dont have so many kids if you cant afford them. Stop expecting others to carry you and your bills and tuition fees. Sem administrators need your $80 to pay for counselling after you and your friends call, email and abuse them!!

    Don’t like them? Start your own sem. you sound like you know how it should all run so perfectly so do it yourself. we will all apply for our daughters, it will be free and you can have fun sorting through hundreds and hundreds of applications. but watch out if my daughters doesnt get accepted. i will give you a taste of your own medicine i promise!

  • Shaoshanat fan

    I spent loads of money that I don’t have easily to send my daughter to yerushalaimand it was worth every single owed penny. The stuckup attitude that chitrik has passes on to the girls and the gullible mothers who need their daughter to have that on her resume. Personally it makes me sick to think that the mothers are buying into the propaganda. The girls are holed up in tsfas where they starve and freeze and are brainwashed to think they are g-ds gift to humanity. Enough is enough it is nauseating!!!!!

  • Yossi

    Fact:

    No bochur gives a hoot about where a girl went to seminary.

    My wife went to OC, I had no idea it existed until I met her.

  • 72

    Anash have no money? Go to the freakin army, get a job instead of getting drunk on kvutza, and it’s a win-win for everybody.

  • One of the chaya mushkas

    #48 got it right! I’m also a 12th grader, not from ch and yes i applied to chitrik and bh got in.

    Everyone has their own perspectives on this issue but i’d just like to add my $0.02:

    – I really feel for all the girls who got rejected from sems, it’s a huge problem that there are way more many chabad girls than chabad sems and an especial dearth of good sems. I realize a lot of my luck in getting accepted is because there weren’t a lot of applicants where i’m from, BUT i’ve worked really hard on myself to become a person chitrik would even consider
    – my family is DEFINITELY not connected and we have next to no money – i’ve essentially supported myself throughout highschool by babysitting (go write another op-ed about that!) and i don’t feel bad for going to sem, finance-wise. I am saving up now to help pay for my tuition, which means living simpler than i am used to which is seriously saying something. My parents and i don’t really know where the money will come from but i believe that since i’m trying to spend a year immersed in kedusha, hashem will help.
    – Everyone talks about how much money the sems are putting in their pockets from us, highway robbery etc – go open a sem yourself, you’ll see it’s not that easy, that’s why so many in e”y open and close so quickly!!
    – Social aspect all there is to sem? It all depends on the girl. You can come out of tel aviv having learnt more than a chitrik girl who parties.
    -Yes, i feel seminary is important for chassidishkeit. High school is so much about doing all the social stuff and real life is, well, busy! When are we supposed to intensely learn and farbreng?

    CHinfo, you could have done a better job with this article. Researching facts and providing both sides of the story a plus.

  • part of the hanhola in CH

    Please, the girl or her mother who wrote the article is obviously jealous of someone who was accepted and she was not. Hey, that’s life. Yes, they want to know who your parents are so they have an idea who they are accepting.Family background as a rule is important. There are always exceptions to the rule.
    Grow up and accept who you are.

  • Me

    Omg!!!!!! Who ever wrote it, I LOVE YOU!!!!! It’s so true!!!!! U took the words out of my mouth!!!!! LOVE YOUU!!!!

  • Get out of crown heights

    Although it is important to get out of your home for a year for most girls there’s no need for sem u can go to a good shliach

  • Brhs

    Kkk…. They only take girls, actually a few girls that are great and do not have family connection to show everyone that not only ichus it’s the thing!!

  • idea

    Application fee isn’t terrible. What the seminaries should do is have that money go towards the tuition if the girl is accepted. If she’s not accepted they should return a percentage of it.

  • bochur in ch

    parents i’m telling you bochurim dont care where the girl went to sem. they care if the girl is pretty and her pappas bank account is also pretty. i promise you give bochrim so much credit that they care where or even if your daughter went to sem.

  • There is life without seminary in israel

    BRAVO BRAVO to #48 the 12th grader!!!!!!!!!

    THAT”S the right attitude!!!!!!

    The aibershter is taking each girl,each person, where they have to go-not getting accepted hurts but it neither makes you greater if you are accepted nor less of a wonderful girl if you are NOT accepted.Tis is bashert and is dressed in teva to look as if you are not accepted.
    Your attitued to what comes your way and understanding that it is NOT rabbi chitrik but THE AIBERSHTER who decides where you will iyh
    be the next year.

    may your parents have a lot of nachas from you and the Aibershter should give you a hatzlochodike year.

    Who are you? you sound like a real mentch of a girl and I have a wonderful son

  • to#72

    Obnoxious comment at the end comcerning proteksia. Someone should reevaluate
    your credentials as an administrato.r. Your self-proclaimed policies STINK!

  • #72

    Cute comeback,
    Just came back from a visit to Israel and no one is getting 15 pies of pizza for $80!!

  • Seminary is a Waste of Time and Money

    ..but that’s only the beginning of it. Then you have to pray to Hashem that your daughter comes back healthy and not corrupted by having ever third shabbos unsupervised.

    THis is a scam of the highest ordeer – and parents who keep sending their daughters to these out -of town seminaries are responsible for their own misfortune.

    Its all a scam – but everyone is afraid to do anything about it. Be the nachshon ben Aminodov and stop complaining.

    BOYCOTT ALL OUT OF TOWN SEMS!!

  • b h didnt have to deal with rejection

    LOVE THIS ARTICLE ITS SO TRUE!! Details a bit exaggerated and biased but otherwise i totally understand these girls who are upse a lot of my friends called me up crying…and also, not everyone needs seminary- its def overrated , just stay in ch!!save money!!

  • Oh please

    It’s a standard and necessary process. If you can’t afford it, don’t go for it.

    I couldn’t afford it, didn’t believe in the name thing, and wallah – I got married before all my friends who went, to a bochur they couldn’t even dream of finding.

    Quit complaining about nothing.

  • you can-t compare

    Seminary IS NOT an IVY LEAGUE college.
    you do not get the same education or qualifications at the end.

  • A Shliach

    Seminary BS
    if you want to learn you dont have to go to tzfat this is the biggest BS

    My wife didn’t go to seminary and she still got married !!! And we are now on shlichus and very successful and my wife give sometime more classes than me
    It doesnt matter for ahiduchim

    If the boy Its a boy that lean 15-20 hour a day yeah his gonna like a girl who learned
    But tzfat it’s only good for 5% of the girls Its a scandal they accepte more just to make more money

    If you want to have fun in israel go
    For 2 months full time vacation
    And do something with your life

  • Accepted

    As a girl who got accepted to seminary, I understand that I have to pay the fee. However, I strongly feel that the girl’s who got rejected should have at least been refunded to lessen the hurt

  • agree with 117

    and also….tzfat….do u wanna come out like a bochur? a lot of girls def come back even frumer…guys need girls with their feet on the ground and their head on straight and not in the clouds

  • New Sem opening

    i am just letting everyone know that a new seminary is opening in Israel. Applications open Chanukah. Application fee is $75.
    By Rosh chodesh Nissan everyone will get rejection letters.
    Great income

  • Wake uo and smell the roses!

    any of these comments that are ‘defending’ the whole system, can ony be coming from “one of the family if the heads of the Sem”! Because no one in their right mind can fail to see just how rotten the whole Chitrick system is! the girls who are accepted there walk around with an ego as big as the world, the ‘Holier than thou’ ego! “We are better than all of you!”and dont , anyone, try and tell me that its not true, it is too! and has been seen and witnessed time and time again! and nothing is further from the truth!
    As mentioned before many ‘Chitrick graduates’ have waited or are still waiting to get married. . .Mothers, don’t make the terrible mistake of thinking that you must get your girls into Chitrick, because its good for their resumes! it has nothing to do with Shidduchim at all! Infact i have a brother who has 3 chassidishe boys, not one of them married a ‘Chitrick girl” and let me tell you they married wonderful girls, with middos and sterling characters; and that scenario is playing itself out countless times!Wake up and smell the roses! Its not all it appears to be, as has been proven by the outcry all the way through the comments on this website!!

  • Shlucha

    As an Israeli Shlucha and mother of a madricha in an Israeli sem I must say that the free Shabbos part is dreadful. We used to get calls from sooooo many girls trying to place themselves.It isn’t a once a year experience- rather every three weeks. Many girls have no relatives here, anyone think of that and make sure that the girls are spared this shnorr call?

    For all that money, at least take care of the girls and see that they have all needs attended to. Including all Shabbosim. The fee is unbelievably high for no reason, it should be a translation of the Israeli fee. Parents are already paying fares, and most of the girls fly home for Pesach! That should also stop, and sems shoul;d include Pesach in the program.

    Yes girls, stay home, and study there.My American d.in.l.didn’t learn in Tzfas. I don’t recall where she did, but that certainly wasn’t on my mind. Midos, Chassidishkeit, tznius- that’s what builds a Chassudushe shtub and Beis Chabad. Think about it, and spare your parents!
    And a note to those that say: if you want fun, go to Israel for 2 months. Eretz Yisroel is a heilige land, not an amusement park. A friend of mine was told by The Rebbe that it is not a place to tour stam.

    And it is a great place to get into trouble cholilo.
    Moshaich NOW!!!

  • A Shlucha

    Perhaps it is a worth while idea for an enquiry to be made into all of the Chabad Seminaries, to see what each one is offering, what their goals are, and if they are being fair and honest to the clientele. A independant body of senior mechanchim who have impartiality and can advise each parent/ girl which seminary would suit them best…a tailor-made service.

    If you as a parent of ex-Sem student liked your seminary, then pass this on to your friends.

    Personally , as a parent of many girls and some one involved in Chinuch, I think that OC and Merkos Women are two of the nicest, friendliest, cleanest and most efficiently-run Chabad seminaries in the world. They truly care about each individual and employ excellent teachers.

    Also, I have heard very good reports about BMC and Rabbi Dahan’s seminary, both in Canada.I have spoken to many girls who went to these two sems in Canada,( which by the way are expensive than the sems in other places) , and have heard wonderful reports. The pastoral care that the girls recveive is of utmost importance.

    If you really want to see Eretz Yisroel there will iyH be plenty of opportunities later.

  • Time is money

    Reviewing applications is time consuming, and believe it or not, time is money. If an $80 app fee seems too high for you, then don’t apply to seminary and instead apply for a job!

  • cudos.

    to #56.

    let me set something straight – goodness of heart is sort of laughable.
    cheifer in kfar chabad pays for the isreali program of tzfdas which is a college and runs as one (no pay no stay – i know, i went there.)

    oh and just to put something into perspective – a little calculation I made during my year of seminary

    110 girls x $15,000 = $1.65 million dollars. – US.
    They feed the girls isreali food on isreali plates by isreali cooks etc.
    so times that by 3
    – 4.95 million shekel!

    Tell me – did you daughter get almost $5 million shekel worth of treatment at Chitrik’s Beis Chana.
    The idea of this being lshaim shomayim is laughable – no its a money making business – from ppl who are not paying other bills (possibly school fees) to send their children to this institution

    Stop feeding myths about shidduchim/learning etc and start teaching them to identify quality and value for money.

    (oh and ive been to the dorms and those stories you hear about bed bugs (true) matresses on cans (true i saw it), old washing machines that kill your clothes (true – dont tell me israel ruins clothes – my sem washing machine did NOT!), almost no external activities and trips (definately true). Was that experience worth $1.65 milion US. you do your math…
    (Beis Rivka/OT/any other school your child is in – would love an extra cheque so they can pay their teachers)

  • yerushalmit

    welcome to the israeli charadi mentality of lack of respect for others. the school atmosphere here is somewhat like a court. meaning you are guilty until proven innocent. i would recommend seminar chaya mushka run by harav naftali rut. he is a real person that creates the right kind of chasshidish atmosphere. when my son was in cheder in yerushalim he encouraged him greatly. he is an educater for alot more time than most. in addition he is respctful of even the smallest child. do your daughters a favor and and give them something they will take with them for life.stop thinking about prestigious seminaries.

  • 770

    HOW ALL THIS IS TRUE!!!! A GIRL I KNOW WAS THERE THIS YEAR AND SHE IS VERY FAR AWAY FROM DRESSING TZNIUS ,WITHOUT ANY CHASSIDUS LEARNING. SHE PAID 18000 DOLLARS AND THIS IS WHY SHE IS THERE, NO OTHER REASON!!!!!

  • yerushalmit

    american seminary girls are paying alot.i am paying 300.00 shekels a month for my daughters seminary

  • Don-t worry

    Evrey bubble eventually busts. Bais Chana Tzfas has NO base on what the Rebbe would like to see in a Chabad seminary.
    From tuition fees, registration process and the program it self, it is all an act arrogance. We have seen similar Mosdos which acted as such eventually suffered thier well deserved downfall.
    It shall come speedily in our days for this one as well.
    To end in a positive note, May HASHEM BLESS ALL MOSDOS THAT CONDUCT THEMSELVES ACCORDING TO THE REBBES WISHES AND GUIDANCE TO FLOURISH IN BOTH, BEGASHMIUS AND BERUCHNIYUS

  • ben rav

    now after seminary after a year off shliches the girl has to go to college turo and then who nose to what other college because they help t pay tuition for seminary and if the girl cant find a shiduch as soon as possible she is pus-ht in to go to secular college etc.this is the reality for meany girls

  • THE BOTTOM LINE

    At least the seminary takes girls. I know a bochur who got rejected from there.

  • Rivka

    We are people that would not write public comments if speaking directly would have helped.
    We are Israeli families that are struggling terribly with the same unfortunate attitude displayed by the Hanhala in Tzfas.
    The Israeli govt. covers each Israeli student’s tuition, yet Rabbi Chitrick charges an enormous fee for each Israeli student in spite of that.
    (Other seminaries that are not subsidized by the govt. as he is, but were in previous years originally more sensitive in their fees, now took his example – so it has become “everyone charges that” etc.)

    For the record – the Rebbe wanted every single girl to go to Seminary.
    (I am hoping that any girl who asks “Why SEMINARY?” or says – “I don’t plan to teach etc. etc.” will try to think about her special privilege and the real reason all this hurts so much.)
    This was not about a college degree or a high paying future career.
    This was not even about the girl deciding that she definitely will be a teacher.
    And the Rebbe never, ever would have allowed a girl being denied bec. of money.
    The Rebbe trusted that a Chossid who was given the precious Zchus to be the Menahel of such a moisad, would understand that every girl is a future “Eim B’Yisroel” and for that she must be given every encouragement and opportunity to succeed.
    Her role as mother would mean that she would need all the preparation to be a teacher and a mechaneches to her future sons and daughters Bezras Hashem.
    How else can her child be told “Al Titosh TORAS IMECHO”?
    So when a person in Chinuch and a Menahel of the REBBE’S institution no less, rejects students or sets an example of disrespect to parents and their true concerns for Chinuch, it is the greatest blow and shock to us all.
    My daughters were excellent students who applied, were accepted to Tzfas and studied there.
    But when we witnessed what was clearly a frightening lack of honesty, integrity, and such a blatant disregard of the basic Midot Tovot, let alone ideals that one believed would be transmitted in these daled amot it was impossible to absorb.
    Please realize that the devoted teachers in this Moisad are hurt by this as well.
    Rabbi Chitrick, yes, as someone commented – you could have gone into business and enjoyed the life that would afford.
    But even there you would be asked “V’nososa V’nosata B’emunah?
    How much more disturbing when you took the ”Avodat Kodesh“ and Rebbe’s Shlichus and turned that into something that unfortunately was described by one parent – ”a backyard business“.
    Everyone knows that you need money to run a Moisad – but to run a Moisad for money? To the extent of blackmail, manipulation, and gezel?
    And on top of that humiliation and ”shfichus damim“ to cover the obvious crime?
    With a final threat that the trusting parent cannot tell anyone what transpired?!?
    This all when every effort was respectfully and confidentially made ”Lifnim meshuras hadin” to give you the opportunity to rectify the matter?!
    I hope you realize that even if that sounds too harsh an analysis, it is you yourself who has given that message to the families, parents, and saddest of all to the young girls involved.
    If your approach and message is thus and to the point of rejection is it a wonder then, that a girl herself rejects the REBBE’S guidelines for her future and bracha in life??
    How can you play with this and take such an Achrayus?
    The MOISDOS are called The Rebbe’s Moisdos –
    Shouldn’t we do what he fought for, all his life – for the benefit of his children?
    Do we not have to ask what the Rebbe wanted here?

    May Hashem help us see the real beauty, true concern, mesiras nefesh, and chinuch provided by the wonderful teachers that are working so hard to give our children clarity to see what is good and right.
    And whether you have been lucky to be a student of Bais Chana in Yerushlayim or Bais Rivka in Crown Heights remember what your dedicated teachers have taught, don’t throw away the treasure, and count your blessings ALWAYS!

  • Bochur

    I’m a bochur and I agree with the bottom part we only care abt middios etc… Seminary doesn’t mean a thing

  • Its your life - Go live it!

    I sent my daughter thrue the system, she got rejected and went to Bais Rivah , that was a wasted year and it hasn’t made a difference in anyway. Should have sent her college immediately.
    The class system in any group is what it is.
    The only way to beat it is to get a good education and make something of yourself, then your kids will be able to pay their tution and become the donaters that the same institutions wouldn’t accept to begin with.
    about the questions that are asked on the seminary applications :
    It’s morally not right to decide BEFORE HAND that all those whose parents don’t have semicha or went to college won’t get in etc. WITHOUT INFORMING THE APPLICANTS BEFORE. It should be made public knowledge that is a requirement if thats what it is.
    Knowing that someone is like that to begin with and making them come for a meeting when you have no intention of letting them in because of something that they have no control over is like stealing a persons time.
    The intimidation tactics and regulations that exist are there so that they can make themselves into a select important group and those who don’t make it well, you’re out .
    Those who don’t “make it” need to get a life and do something intelligent and creative with it, the seminaries are nothing much but a show, a badge and if you want to be chassidishe and learn go ahead- You don’t need them for that! Don’t let them hold you back .
    Have respect for yourself and make something of your life, don’t let others decide what and who is important –
    ITS YOUR LIFE!

  • teacher

    I don’t know why people are saying such things about seminaries. I just took a look at the list of girls accepted. 95% of this girls are top girls. Sems seem to be doing a fine job looking into girls who are not just great academically but also tzniusdik, mature and oresponsible. Still, a lot of good girls weren’t accepted and it is the parents job to help them understand that it is all bashert and it doesn’t mean they are not worthy. There simple isn’t enough room for everyone. Stop pumping them with talks against the schools. Sem was the best experience of my life as a girl and I hope the eibeshter helps me and when the time comes ill be able to send my daughters.
    And one last thing. Parents: know your daughter! Don’t let her apply to a school she will probably not be accepted to. Help her choose the right place for her. Would you encourage her to apply to Harvard? You know she’ll be rejected. Do the same here.
    And Sems. Answer this girls little faster. The anxiety kills them.

  • Shocked and disgusted

    How dare you all write lash on hare against seminaries!

    It’s the seminaries that are keeping chabad girls frum

  • Student o bais Chana 5772

    I have no patienc to read all These comments but I want to say that I am in seminary bais Chana right now and I know it’s hurtful to be rejected but everything this girl has said is not true. This seminary accepts different girls from different backgrounds and that is one of the thing that makes seminary so beautiful! They really look after you and really look into their group really hard! This year is not a year of ‘fun’ it’s a year of growing and learning in many areas. Thank you bai Chana for the best year of my life!! I will never forget all the amazing teachers and all the new friends I have made!

  • hope it all works out for you

    1stly this whole article is major exaggeration. besides for that i do feel for u and remember going thru the whole stress fo whre you are going to be accepted and if you will etc. having said that bh beis chana is a wonderful seminary doing an amazing job. that is not to say that it is the perfect place or best place for everyone. being the best seminary is relative to the individula and just because somebody was accepeted there does not make them a better girl then someone who was not. i feel like the main issue is not the seminary itself but peoples attitude towards it. there is no reason for it to have such a monopoly on the whole lubavitch nor should someone feel at all bad that they were not accepted and instead are hopefully going to the sem of their choice. also beis chana is accepting as many students as they possibly can and actually wish that it was possible to accept more.

  • Nobody

    People who’s attitude is “didn’t get into the Seminary I wanted, go strait to college” shouldn’t ask any questions about why they are rejected. Col Habah Letameh, Poschin Lo.

    Everything the Rebbe said about college applies to girls as well.

  • a curret beis chana student

    every penny is mamesh worth it!! the hanahalah is AMAZING and really cares for each and every individual girl. just because every semiary has its limited space for girls, does give yuo a valid reason to let out your anger, and pain on people who work so hard. thank you chitriks for all the hard work you do!

  • STUDENT 5772

    this ARTICLE is a big busha WE HAVE THE MOST AMAZING SEMINARY STAFF IN THE WORLD KOL HAKAVOD TO THE CHITRIKS!!! I UNDERSTAND THAT ITS A HIGH DEMAND BUT THE BEST ALWAYS GET IN!!! ITS LIFE DONT BLAME THE SEMINARY MRS CHITRIK TOOK AS MANY GIRLS AS SHE POSSIBLY COULD!!!! MAYBE YOU SHOULD THINK OF OPENING UP A NEW SEMINARY WHERE INTERVIEWS ARE FREE AND SEMINARY IS HALF THE PRICE. POSTING ARTICLES LIKE THIS DOESNT SOLVE THE PROBLEMS JUST CAUSES PEOPL TO SAY LASHON HARAH AND SINAS CHINOM!!!!! IF UR REALLY CHASSIDISHE DAVEN THAT MOSHIACH COMES QUICK!!!! AND PLEASE DONT EVER BLAME OUR HANHALAH A VERY HAPPY STUDENT WHO IS THERE!!!!!

  • A HAPPY STUDENT

    I LOVE MY SEMINARY I LOVE MRS CHITRIK
    I LOVE TZFAT I LOVE MY CHEDER OCHEL!!!!!
    PLEASE DONT TALK LIKE THIS THANK U

  • ALUMNI

    HASHEM RUNS THE WORLD NOT THE CHITRIKS IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM AND UR DAUGHTER DIDNT GET IN IT MUST BE HASHGACHA PROTIS
    DAVEN HARDER

  • BAIS CHANA STUDENT OG TH

    ITS REALLY NOT RIGHT TO BLAME SOMETHING THATS IN HASHEMS HANDS ANYWAYS, ON PEOPLE WHO WORK DAYS AND NIGHT TO MAKE THE NEXT YEAR OF SEMINARY THE BEST EXPERIENCE FOR THE GIRLS WHO ARE COMING, BIGASHMIUS AND BIRUCHNIUS. THEY WISHED THEY COULD TAKE MOST OF THE GIRLS THAT APPLIED BECUASE THERE REALLY WERE ALOT OF AMAZING GIRLS. UNFORTUNATELY IT WOULD BE A CONDUCICVE PLACE TO GAIN AND LEARN WITH SO MANY GIRLS! IF YOU THINK THERE IS NOT ENOUGH GOOD SEMINARIES TO MATCH UP TO BEIS CHANA TZFAS, OPEN ONE UP AND GET READY FOR COMPETITION!!!! THIS YEAR IS TRULY THE BEST YEAR OF MY LIFE AND I AM INDEBTED TO BEIS CHANA FOR THIS AMAZING YEAR!!

  • Justice

    THIS ARTICLE IS BS. Who ever wrote this up should be ashamed of themselves. This article is written like secular media, exadurating and slandering to get attention and to bash moisdos of te rebbe! The math has already been done that one who applied thi year to bais Chana tzfas has over a 70% chance of being accepted so let’s begin with that. Second of all applying to ANY educational insitution will be “intimidating” and the sobs and shaking is Garbage!!! I went through the system and there is a reason bais Chana is so sought after- and the secret is IT IS THE BEST POSSIBLE PLACE for a Lubavitch girl to be in after high school! It is entirely dedicated to teaching and giving over the horaos of the rebbe, and I am in shock that any Lubavitch person can bash seminary and ESPECIALLY bais Chana tzfas! Grow up and face it- life doesn’t hand you everything on a silver platter, things can be difficult and STOP blaming your misfortunes on a moisod of the rebbe- and cut the garbage before you make statements such as these to the public. You can be sued for slander. Mashiach now!

  • BAIS CHANA TSFAS

    Which redicilous person wrote such stupidity? These words are but lies and foolishness. There is NO question where my father got smicha- or even IF he got smicha. BAIS CHANA TZFAS IS An incredible moisod of the rebbe, run by the most sencire hanhala, and if you didn’t get in take the opportunity to look at yourself and ask- WHY? A very wise lady once said- a person with inner wealth doesn’t seek to blame others. But pleas don’t spew garbage about incredible people because of your obscurity. May we be zoche to Mashiach now, through AHAVAS YISROEL.

  • The real culprit

    It should be noted that Rabbi and Mrs. Chitrik are EMPLOYEES of Bais Chana and have absolutely nothing to do with the school’s finances.

    Rabbi Shlomo Raskin is the Menahel Gashmi, and it is he who determines who pays and how much. He also runs a high school for Israeli girls who pay next to nothing, but the costs are entirely covered by the American girls’ tuition.

    All complaints should be addressed to Rabbi Raskin, not the Chitriks.

  • Fact check

    To #149: The Israeli government pays for the high school the same way it pays for very other school that is part of the Misrad Hachinuch.

  • PARENT WRITES

    Is it not a sin for a menahel to be mezalzel and bash a parent?
    Is it okay to hurt someone who is truly concerned and asks nicely to right a wrong?
    Is it an exaggeration when a parent or student actually experienced this on their own skin?
    I realize that being part of a system means that those that think they stand to get something out of it, will try to deny or fight those that have been truly compromised – and I am not talking about a girl not being accepted due to valid reasons, or even that whole argument of the criteria for acceptance to sem.
    We are talking honestly about the most degrading, dishonest, and offensive behaviour!
    AND no parent or student should ever become complacent or desensitized to that.
    Please – a little shame and respect for what is really being expressed.
    As well don’t threaten to sue bec. so many have suffered silently for years when they could have taken the matter to court!

  • A very happy parent

    For the record my husb and I are college educated-no smicha at all and no name at all.My daughter in Yerushalayim said this has been the best year of her life because academically and spiritually she is getting so much.She loves her teachers,the incredible learning and so I’m not sure what is meant by a “fun”year.She spends most of her time doing what she loves-“learning”!!Yes,I believe the money is well spent and I don’t even think in terms of a “shidduch” because that’s not in our agenda.I was particularly annoyed by the notion of the person who wrote/answered that because someone doesn’t have a family name, she cannot discern if they are “good” girls.Now that is rather repulsive becaue it connotes so much bias against the rest of us who you turn away for that????Incredible!That’s the reason my daughter was afraid to apply because she felt she would be judged not on her own merit and achievement.I am so thrilled with MSY and yes a sem has to charge.You expect teachers to work for nothing?And if my money helps them do that then I am very proud to help with that.I’d rather pay for a sem and teachers then vacations(which I did not take)and exp clothes etc.Yes,I understand not everyone can afford sems.So don’t call them cheats and thieves!!!Just don’t go!!!This was an awful article.I don’t know about Chitrik. But it was a privilege and honor for us to have our daughter in Israel.Stop the ugliness.Of course I feel bad about “rejection”.WE ALL EXPERIENCE IT IN LIFE.Deal with it and move on.Don’t pour venom on others though!

  • Awful

    AND BY THE WAY YOU ARE MAKING OR BASICALLY IMPLYING THAT THOSE OF US WHO SENT OUR CHILD TO ISRAEL ARE stupid and foolish and just threw are money away and the girls are snot noses who were accepted because of a name-hey, we have no name and chanad standing at all. My daughter is just a lover of chassidic teachings and that’s why she went.Not to chitrik.She didnt go to party.But basically the comments make us feel like we did something akin to nonsense etc.The negativity is astounding.Almost sounds like bitter sour grapes and IF YOUR CHILD WAS ACCEPTED, I hughly doubt you’d be making these disgusting putdowns esp against schools!!Wow! Go sit for awhile and think about what you wrote!Poor girls who did get accepted- now they think well it’s just my name- I’ll be unmarried because my education means little-my parents wasted their money-!!!NICE JOB WRITERS

  • anonymous

    I didnt go to seminary.
    I didn’t go because I went to a wonderful high school that taught me a lot
    I know that the bochur that is going to marry me is not going to see be by my cover but rather on what is portrayed through my actions and personality.
    Seminary is not completely necessary, some girls go bc they dont feel ready for marriage and they want to be in a safe environment others go because of pressure from parents, staff and friends… thats what everyones stressing their daughters, sisters, classmates with…seminary used to be an option but not anymore, its used as a “curse” “If you dont go you wont get a good guy”

    Whatever is important you’ll either learn in a shuir or kallah class.

    STOP THE PRESSURE

  • #72

    GUYS # 72 IS OBVIOUSLY NOT THE ADMINISTRATION1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    ARE U GGUYS STUPID??
    SOMEONE RANDOM WROTE IT! THE SEMINARY WOULD NEVER WRITE THAT! PLUS ITS NOT TRUE ALLOT OF FAMILIES THAT ARE BT ARE ACCEPTED!!

  • The prize-????Really?

    To 154 etc- Did it ever occur to you that not everyone lives and breathes for a “shidduch”?There are women who actually want to make a difference in the world-whether it’s in teaching or research or finding innovative ways to help others. They don’t live their lives“for a man”or just “marriage”but take learning very seriously and take what they learn to make it applicable in their own progress and those of others.Women of today also want to make a kiddush Hashem and be recognized for their accomplishments and achievements.It seems like “the man” is the end prize and this is so sad. How about being the best person you can be and the best learner and the best chassidishe girl just for its own sake and not the “trophy”?I give ambitious women a lot of credit.They can do it all and they do!Kol Hakavod to them.

  • 155

    #155 I hope you are right- because I was appalled by what this person wrote. My daughter;s class consists of outstanding incredibly gifted girls who either come from BT families or are not even affiliated as Chabad- but the girls are incredible in every way possible.i once heard someone tell me“well if there are two equal girls they probably would take the one with the name because they know they are good”.I was so irritated and upset. Something is so wrong here- if I’m gonna pick my battles,this is the area I’d pick.

  • Seminary

    Firstly I have been down that parsha seminary is overated. Bais Chana is known to have horrible food and are not treated so nicely.If you complain the administration tells you we neve asked you to come here so who can you complain to but yourselves. Secondly, most of these girls do not pay BH for Pell and Tap so they pay about 3 grand if that. You get what you pay for. Stay home work and save up and go to Isreal with a few friends and save the money and your child will not be verbally abused by others.

  • from 56.

    126, if you calculate as well as you write and spell, I can only imagine how accurate your figures are. You have obviously never run a business or a moisad.

    Beis Chana is not a business. It, like all sems, is at best a break-even or barely profitable service to students.

    No one is forcing you or your daughter to go there. With Chabad the size that it is now, there are many other options, and no one expects it to be on every “shidduch resume.”

    One option is to help a shaliach or work part-time while taking online courses to learn how to write properly. That will be of value when you are married and have a family to help support.

  • ITS UR OWN CHOICE

    SERIOSULY!?!?! if u dont want to pay the fee, dont apply to seminary, or chitrick!

  • To #142 until #147 plus #155

    You obviously are the same person, you write in the same manner and you wrote it all in CAPS , you are probably rabbi chitrik’s kid or something. But anyway, I was in bees Chana tzfas, and it is a true waste of money….and like someone said..it will probably take u 1/2 years to realize because you were in such a bubble !! It is so much money for nothing really. At least Yerushalaim,rosenfeld give you nice beds and food……when I think of sem I think of horrible rooms and appartments and discusting food…and people who reLly could not care about you…all the teachers have been teaching there for decades…they try to speak in Hebrew but fail after girls beg them to tak in English ! So yeah I dint let any of my sisters go there, they all went to Yerushalaim and looooved it, and one sister actuLly dint even wanna go to sem, she went to college and is the only one that has a normal good paying job today!!! Yes the chitrik’s were send by the rebbe to tzfas, but some times you loose the Bracha of the Rebbe when you do the wrong thing for the wrong reasons…so in my opinion ( I was there, I saw thing they did that the Rebbe would never approve ) there Bracha is gone, and this seminary does not have the Rebbes brachos anymore…..

  • Go-ds right hand man

    It ain’t enough for a Mercedes so a lesson
    Not much is free
    Love is cheap , happiness ain’t !

  • Go-ds right hand man

    Plenty of people learn from the news and etc.
    Thank you for the news stories !

  • THEY DON-T MAKE $14k

    They don’t make $14,000.

    Fist:

    They have to employ someone to go through every application and research every girl which is extremely time consuming. It probably takes AT LEAST an hour per application due to calls and research.

    If it takes one hour per application, there are 200 applications, and you’re paying someone 15 – 20 and hour, that costs $4,000.

    Second:

    200 x 80 = 16,000.
    30 x 80 = 2,400.

    16,000 – 2,400 = 13,600.

    Third:

    It costs money to let every girl know that she has either been accepted or not accepted. If they let them know by mail, this costs a ton in postage. For example, sending postage from America, let alone Israel would cost $100. It probably costs over $1,000 from Israel.

    Let’s do the math:

    $13,600 – $4,000 (hourly rate) = $9,600

    $9,600 – $100 / $1,000 (postage)

    $9,500 / $8,500 – $1,000 (time spent sending out rejection letters) = about $7,500.

    Bottom line is, they probably make a bit over 7,000 in application fees. If you don’t like that….DON’T APPLY!!!

  • use it for scholarship !

    I have an idea: use that money to fund a scholarship for one girl!!

  • Genug shoyn

    When the “Israeli government” “pays” for anything, except their workers in the Former Soviet Union (who range from teachers from Anash to “shluchim” who often are charged with brainwashing kids from Chabad schools into “Israeli” secularism), they pay a day late and a dollar short. Think of it as Medicaid and Medicare paying your doctor $5 when he charges $30 to Oxford or BC/BS and $60 to fee for service patients.

    No semi-private school in EY can get along on the pittance they get from the Misrad haChinuch. You either turn to fraud LA which unfortunately the Reshet did at one time, or you look for other ways to make up the shortfall.

    Beis Chana’s way of making up the shortfall is ehrlich. A few disgruntled former students exist at any institution, but they are nowhere near the majority of all of the “Chitrik girls” over the years.

    (I could and probably should write a book about how the US educational system, from pre 1a to college, de-educated me and how it took me years to get over the way that system stifled my creativity, but for others it works just fine.)

  • Shlucha

    Why are we so hung up about the $14,000 for one year in seminary. Yeshivas charge that price per year for at least 4 years!! yes its astronomical but at least its only for one year.

    I went to Chitrik sem and I can say that I married the person that I did, and am on Shlichus today because of my year in Chitrik sem. Not because my mother in law cared what sem I went to but because it made me the person that I am. It infused within me chasidishe values, and stronger connections.

    There are many issues that one can find, the price is huge, the dorms are freezing, the trips arent great, there isnt really anyone in the Hunhala that REALLY cares about you, but the group is great, the atmosphere is incredible, the classes are excellent and it really helps shape the person you become. There definitly are issues but I would forsure want my daughters to go to sem, and not miss out on the growth that one grows and the chasidus that one learns.

  • not a chitrik fan

    Yes, while your in chitrik u might think its the best sem an d you grew so much in it, but i personally know tons of girls that were in chitrik, got ‘chitched out’ (midcalf skirts, davening maariv etc) and now 2 years later the bubble poped, their back to wearing tight skirts that maybe cover their knees standing, and laugh at what a nerd they were then. Yes, their are some girls that are still very chassidish but thats probably because they were like that before.
    Also a lot of girls in my class think that now that Mrs. Chitrik accepted them they are perfect. If someone makes a criticizes they brush it off and say pffff im going to chitrik. I must not have anything wrong with me. I thank Hashem that i didnt fall in the chitrik trap.

  • just my humble idea

    sorry but you are all crazy talking about something you dont know!!!
    personally i went to two seminaries and the truth is that chitrik was better than the other one in some ways!!!!
    dont talk and if you are smart chitrik didnt reply because they are beYound your stupidity!!!
    and by the way!!!! chitrik sem is in charge and taking care of shabbes aryeh leib!!!!! so stop talking about them

  • Mises.org

    THATS CAPITALISM, if enough people have a problem with the way things are and modify their habits the educational system will as well,

    I personally am a big fan of HOME SCHOOLING, but i digres,

    the real issue is thanks to this article the schools next year may experience a decreased application pool and in response they may increase or decrease their application fees depending on the the result they are looking for.

  • CHACHAMIM HIZHARU Shema mitocham......!!

    I cried for too long as a parent who did not understand the terribly evasive, exploitive, abusive, and abrupt response on behalf of Rabbi Chitrick and as well of a woman in his office staff to a legitimate concern and matter of dinei momonos and dinei nefoshos!

    What a tragic denial of true facts, when people write this off as a students immaturity or jealousy or a mathematical miscalculation of fees!

    My daughters also studied there and we never ever uttered a complaint about the terrible food or the neglect in the dormitories or the fact that strange tactics were used in different situations.

    If anything – my daughters knew that THEY should contribute to the seminary as much as possible and I was told by teachers and Rabbi Chitrick himself that they were excellent students.

    Sometimes when you are in the midst of a certain situation, you do not realize how bad it is until later or I might say not strong enough to speak up, and perhaps that is exactly what Rabbi Chitrick intends in his manner.

    I shudder and cannot describe the implied threat in the words he and his official staff member (a mother as well!) used to ensure that no one would dare report the matter!

    I wanted my daughters to see the best example and truest character traits so it was not spoken of or publicized.
    It was not (as some would unbelievably say) a sport of putting someone down or making up stories to release venom!

    The comments that people make to shrug off an untold painful experience might explain why we have the corruption to begin with and an acceleration of this in our own institutions.

    At the end Rabbi Chitrick knows the din V’cheshbon and he remembers well who he has taken from and by the Ribono Shel Olom everything is clearly recorded.

    How does one go through Sefiras Haomer and Matan Torah?
    Or should I ask -What does a person think every Yom Kippur following one such episode?

  • To 161

    You must have came for the totally wrong reasons. You probably just went for the name or cuz your friends went or for fun- who knows! People like you of course will think it’s a waste of money. And you can saythat about any seminary! There’s always girls that won’t like seminary- wherever you go!

  • disapointed

    The Rebbe and his wife both went to universities and so have many other respected lubabvitchers.
    It’s not the education, its the person and their upbringing that makes them religious.
    Your teachers and educators can talk from today until tommorrow about what the Rebbe said, do they really live that way as an example for others/
    The hatred and disrespect,the running after money , the politics and etc. is at an all time high.
    Sorry but its becoming harder and harder to find someone to look up to and respect anymore.
    I’m sorry but if your advocating only sem and you think that it makes a person a moral and ethical and religious person , you’re delutional and you aren’t being truthful.
    From the prime examples in many of the communities and the garbage that goes on, please don’t lecture to anyone about how holy it makes a person. Too many hypocrites around saying one thing and living another way.

  • what went on?

    #172
    why aren’t you honest and tell people what exactly they did or did not do???If you are going to scare us, at least tell us why.
    Why did more than one daughter go there if you had a bad experience-
    Be open and honest without hints-
    Please help others!

  • 172-You-re doing what you accuse others

    #172, I’m sorry, but it is not right to accuse and imply things of wonderful people who work night and day to provide an incredible chinuch and experience for our daughters. Forgive me, but you sound unhinged and unclear and writing things that dance around a topic, and truthfully say nothing in the end, is unproductive.

    Please do not take out your personal issues on others or make vague accusations. This is very unfair and does not ring true!

    My daughters attended Chitrik and had a wonderful year with true role models.

  • keep hiding

    #178
    Isn’t that the usual cliche’ everyone comes up with? Loshon Horo.If you don’t want to hear anything and believe nothing should be brought to the surface- keep using the cop out of “L.H.” Hear no evil, see no evil- STAY IN THE SAND AND DON’T come out.

  • Agreed with # 12

    Well guess what – We boycotted the whole corrupt and unfair scene

  • someone

    To 72

    There are not only peolpe of USA, there are also people of another countries (South America)with excellent girls and where one dollar is a lot of money and Seminaries like MSY (Yerushalaim) take the fee from the inscription and they don´t like South American girls. Take note that this year no girls from south America got accepted, but their money was good.

  • Genug Shoyn

    Even assuming that 172, who indeed sounds unhinged, is right – no one is perfect and there is always someone who will have a bad experience with a good product or service.

    Dell’s customer service hotline could not give me simple info when I was looking to buy their equipment, so I won’t touch a Dell. My friend bought a Dell laptop, and they provided him with excellent service when his computer broke down in a remote third world location that he had to visit for business. And you know what – I still won’t touch a Dell based on his experience – what they provided for him doesn’t mean much to me.

    No shaliach is infallible, and neither is any moisad. Chabad has many shluchim and many alternatives – find what you want and let others find what they want.

    Only the true bad apples need to be named and shamed. Believe me, I know those bad apples. The Chitriks are not among them by any means.

    Assuming 172 is not the number of doses of Geodon the poster has missed, that looks like a case of someone driving Rabbi Chitrik so crazy that he, like just about anyone under that situation, gave her a quick and abrupt answer just to get rid of her.

  • to 181

    yes i actually know someone from brazil was accepyed! so false statement!!!

  • to #183

    To 183

    Stupidddd!!! 1 of 55 girls in Yerushalayim.. ITS A JOKE!!!
    this girl shd have a very very heavy lastname and not sechel umodois!
    YERUSHALAYIM ONLY ACCEPTS LASTNAMES AND MONEY!
    plz 4 ur sake shtp…. kol hamoisif goreah

  • 182 - TRY AGAIN

    HEY – GENUG SHOYN ON 182 – First thanks for clearing any doubt about what is worrying everyone BUT there is a way to do things – YOU REALLY MAKE RABBI CHITRICK look bad – it is a chillul hashem – he should fire you if you work for him – it sounds like you do but this time you really messed up bad on the job,(as far as chitrick and the sem is concerned), confirming and demonstrating to everyone online what attitude people are so upset about – so is that really the kind of strategies used in that school?
    Also thanks for bringing our attention to #172 – that comment might just be telling us (what you yourself kindly confirmed) that something is NOT right – Whats wrong with that? it is intelligent, and dignified. Unlike your comment it also sounds like it comes from someone true and concerned and still so tolerant, so controlled .
    DOES THE TRUTH MAKE YOU MAD? You give yourself away – foaming at the mouth like that.
    You are probably feeling bad about yourself and need to rely on some cheap shots while you should be going out to get some counselling and a regular job.

    If you know that chitrick does things to get rid of people – GENUG SHOYN! – stop your schoolyard bullying- stop advertising it and shaming the seminary and chabad and instead speak nice and tell him to change ’cause it doesn’t look good and it’s bad publicity – obviously you know him well and are close enough to him so who knows – he might reconsider some day. –

    My question to 172 would be that they sound really valid and the issue sounds so legit – so don’t just write a comment that may not accomplish what is in your best interests – maybe call chitrick again but then again MR.Genug Shoyn obviously knows and he says that chitrick gets rid of people when he has to be answerable.
    DON’T BE AFRAID 172 – TAKE this up with a relevant authority – you have been too nice, too trusting, – but no one has the right to threaten you! Is that why all this is in the streets? oh my dear G-D this has really become a fright …..
    By the way Mr. genug shoyn – do you really mix up the Rebbe’s Tora institutions and our childrens sacred chinuch to dell computer shopping and service?
    What kind of apple are you?

  • boo

    why is this article only bashing chitrik? yerushaliam for example had way more applicant. atleast 300. girls apply there that want to go there (it an amazing sem). then theres the girls that want to get accepted to chitrik so they apply to yeru as 2nd choice. then theres the girls that want to go to rosenfeld, and if they apply to yeru it will seem like they are more chassidish so why not. and in general a lot of girls apply to yeru because its an amazing sem in all aspects (ruchius and gashmius). and they only accept 60 girls while chitrik accepts 120!

  • Just another girls experience...

    I can only share my story with bais chana tzfas.
    I went off the detech in my teenage years. Bh I found my way back but I didn’t dream any seminary would accept me. I had my interview with mrs Chitrik, and she was so kind and unjudgementenal towards me, although I’m sure she knew my case. I got accepted and had a wonderful year of growth. I truly felt that rabbi and mrs cared for me personally. If I wouldn’t show up they would send a madricha to check up on me and tried to do everything possible to enhance my experience and keep me safe. They have a dedicated team of staff and teachers that are truly a dugma chaya for me. Mrs Chitrik saw the potential in me and believed in my inner powers. I will forever be grateful to her.
    I cannot believe the comments people write about rabbi Chitrik. He is truly a real chossid who misses his Rebbe wholeheartedly. Just sit by at one of his farbrengens and see the tears he sheds about his sincere connection with the rebbe. It is as honest and sincere as a chossid can get, instead of being by his rebbe on chasidishe yomim tovim he sits with a group of girls inspiring them and shedding some light in this world full of darkness.

    Thank you Bais Chana Tzfas for showing me what I should always strive for, and when darkness prevails I will replay those farbrengens in my mind and once again be inspired.

    (btw my parents had no money and are both sfardik Baali teshuva…enough said.)

  • get ur facts straight nation

    just btw…most seminarys in israel charge 20,000 dollars for the year!!!
    and Rabbi Raskin is the one in charge of the money-he gets the checks. Rabbi and mrs chitrik get payed a salary as menahlim of the seminary.
    Besides trust me, Rabbi Chitrik doesnt need the money, his family have already got plenty of money. He does it lshem shamayim!
    and yes they do accept the top notch girls, its the cream de la cream.
    dont go bark up the wrong trees ;)

  • MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR

    i had an interview with both chitrik and yerushalayim.
    the one i had with yeru was so uncomfortable, 2 women sitting staring at you as if your a criminal across the table, writing down every word you say “anything you say may and will be used against u” they asked me strange questions like “what do you try to aviod on your spare time” what do you want me to tell you my sins? haha and “what is a gray area in halacha” well again that is very dependent on where you come from.
    on the other hand my interview with chitrik was so nice and chill just talking about life. the difference was very clear to me!

  • chitrik alumni

    bais chana tzfas…the place with the most kedusha from all the sems out there will also have the most hatered against it. ze leomat ze!

  • to #184 from 183

    First of all-you are the reason why mashiach is not here! How can you talk so disrespectful to someone, it doesnt matter what they say, you don’t say shutup! Why make such a big deal over something so small. I made a mistake, it was last year they accepted someone from brazil.Even so, Yerushalayim doesnt only care about money and yichus! Of course, they care if you’re a good student!!!! I know someone who has no connections, had good grades and got in! SO please rethink what you wrote!

  • STOP

    #184 !!!! what is wrong with you???
    sorry there are many last names that are nameless- i.e. have no yichus whatsoever at yerush. Are you the expert? Are you a “sour grapes”type? They come with recommendations from those who see leaders and future role models etc-
    so what the heck are you talking about?They would take many more but you cannot create beds if there is no room!
    Stop the stupidity and bashing already when you know zero!

  • HOPING FOR A BETTER OUTCOME

    Dear Crown Heights Info.

    After reading some of the comments that came in response to the students article, it is apparent that there are some disturbing things that have been experienced.

    I say that your reviewer should pick a serious comment or two and post them in an article as a final word on the subject for the sake of resolving real problems that occurred.

    I would even venture to suggest sending those directly to RABBI CHITRICK and then he can do something tangible to get back to the people, deal with the issues and restore the trust.

    RABBI CHITRICK would know and recall to whom he may have done any wrong, or who in his staff did not act accordingly.

    Otherwise all this information(some of which seems extremely upsetting for those who went through it) is without “tachlis” and that doesn’t lead to any resolution.

    Hoping and trusting there will be some real good achieved with your help.

    B’zchus Rabi Shimon Bar Yochai and your efforts may all this end in the best way and may we all merit the true redemption NOW!.

    B’HATZLACHA and SINCERE THANKS

  • When Chutzpa rears it-s ugly head!

    I agree with #191 on the terrible chutzpa in #184 and it is shocking that these are adults talking as the shameless in #182 and #177!
    IS IT POSSIBLE THAT SOME OF THESE COMMENTS COME FROM THE SEMINARY ADMINISTRATION THEMSELVES?
    HOW LOW CAN SOMEONE FALL?
    MOCKERY and DERISION in response to TEARS SHED.
    In regards to a topic of grave concern.
    SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!
    These 3 examples of the brazen chutzpa are all in response to obviously honest attempts to express the saddest facts.

    DOR YATOM! CHUTZPA YASGEH – and not only by youngsters!
    WE NEED THE LIGHT AND GUIDANCE OF MELECH HAMOSHIACH RIGHT NOW!

  • Options?

    We didn’t mind paying app fees for seminaries, maybe because we are BTs and are used to it from college. And ~$14,000 is acceptable if it includes room and board and a quality program. I don’t begrudge seminaries that money. I do wonder what we, as a community can do though (if we even are a community any more). I am at the point of almost having to tell my daughter who go in to the sem of her choice that she cannot go because of $$. I can barely pay my rent and all the yeshivas need their money now too. It isn’t even about a shidduch-it’s about a young girl going out and having a transformative experience in an atmosphere of chassidus. It’s what I want for her, I don’t care which sem it is. I’ve thought what if everyone gave $100-200 a year to their shul to fund the girls from there? But then, there are people in every shul struggling with life-limiting illness and other much more serious problems. I wish my wonderful child would just want to work for shluchim for a year, but oh well. I guess all of us in this situation failed to plan correctly for the last 17 years or so…

  • Dormitory or the Rebbe-s community?

    The Beis Chana seminary in Sfas provides an amazing chassidesh education and experience to those who were accepted and somehow managed to pay the astronomical tuition.
    If anyone is still following this thread I would like to use this opportunity to bring to the awareness of those parents who live on the other side of the world a different issue. The Lubavitch community in Sfas was established by shluchim sent by the Rebbe. Kiryat Chabad is an apartment building complex that was received by the government and B“H filled up with Chabad families etc. The rest in history, Our ”home“ has been taken over and turned into a DORMITORY for the seminary. How would you like to be the neighbors of 18 year olds away from home ? Girls will be girls, and ek”h they are wonderful chassidesh girls who enjoy wonderful chassidesh things like frabrangens in the middle of the night, singing Shabbos day, birthdays…etc. I still shake every time a girl gets good news from home or if someone becomes a kalleh etc from the shrieks, and shouting that sound more like a response to a crime scene. When our sons, bocharim come home from yeshiva they cannot leave their home to walk to shul without literally bumping into a groups of girls in the hallways. The seminary has taken over a nice percentage of apartments here outbidding families who wanted them. This is not a petty issue ..it is a daily challenge that families must deal with. Young mothers trying to put their children to sleep, or whose children or themselves are either kept up or woken up. We were told it’s not the seminary’s problem..we should try to deal with our “neighbors’ or rather educate them ourselves!!
    This has obviously led to negative and even hostile feelings. Of course girls should be allowed to enjoy dormitory life etc but I can only ask that the community outside of Israel might be able to accomplish what the community here has failed to do and that is to help the hanhala of the Seminary realize that this situation should not go on, should never have started in the first place. that they should take the money they earn from tuitions and the money that was used to buy up apartments in the Kiryah etc to build a dormitory and to restore normalacy here. Can it really be part of chassidesh chinuch to encourage total disregard for others by example.
    How would you feel if your home and backyard was turned into a business enterprise and because of legal loopholes there is nothing one can do about it. All the above is an understatement as to what goes on.

  • notice

    that the lucky accepted girls can talk only in favor of rabbi chitriks seminary, and yet those depressed, humiliated, rejected girls (like me) write about the other side.
    just btw for everyones knowledge, i can tell you all where all the 20k of hard working parents go: towards the chitrik familys newest idea: their 10000000 dollar palace that they built smack in middle of tzfas poverty neighborhood.
    yes. all the money to their fat pockets, the ikker that they should have good lives, while us rejecteds weep over the horrible feeling of rejection and the void of not knowing what were doing next year

  • hashgachah pratis

    everythings hashgachah pratis!!
    stop dwelling on whats not meant to be, hashem didnt want this for you an where you go afterwards is what hashem wanted for you