The other day a woman called my office to tell me that she had a problem with registering her children in Yeshiva. The administration was pressuring her for more tuition and she simply couldn’t afford it. Her husband learned in Kollel full time and she was working and had a limited income and she couldn’t afford the astronomical tuition for her sons.

She told me that as she continued talking to the administrator, who was only pushing her because he desperately needed the money, she was hit by inspiration.

She then told the Menahel, “I went through your Bais Yaakov system. I am a product of the Chinuch that you are selling. I was taught that the most important thing is to support a husband learning Torah. Therefore I got a profession and I am the breadwinner and homemaker and my husband is sitting and learning. Now you are denying my children entrance into your Yeshiva because I can’t afford the tuition? I epitomize what you are teaching, yet you are not letting my children into your Yeshivah.”

The Rebbe’s Children: Does Anyone Care?

The other day a woman called my office to tell me that she had a problem with registering her children in Yeshiva. The administration was pressuring her for more tuition and she simply couldn’t afford it. Her husband learned in Kollel full time and she was working and had a limited income and she couldn’t afford the astronomical tuition for her sons.

She told me that as she continued talking to the administrator, who was only pushing her because he desperately needed the money, she was hit by inspiration.

She then told the Menahel, “I went through your Bais Yaakov system. I am a product of the Chinuch that you are selling. I was taught that the most important thing is to support a husband learning Torah. Therefore I got a profession and I am the breadwinner and homemaker and my husband is sitting and learning. Now you are denying my children entrance into your Yeshiva because I can’t afford the tuition? I epitomize what you are teaching, yet you are not letting my children into your Yeshivah.”

When I finished my conversation and hung up the phone thinking about her pain and how I could help I realized I have heard this problem before and it seems the problem is growing and affecting more and more families with each school year.

We are educating our young men and women that the highest calling for someone in Chabad is Shlichus. When committing themselves to a life of Shlichus a couple is dedicating themselves to a life of being Mekarev Jews and committing themselves to work for less money commensurate with private businesses. Those in Chinuch – particularly in Shlichus – usually get paid on a lower scale than the average workers. Coupled to this a Shliach’s spouse is expected to help along within the Shlichus without any extra pay which also prevents the Shluchah from taking another paying job. True, there are some Chabad Houses that do better but they are all within the income range of lower-middle class and are never in the position to spend tens of thousands of dollars on tuition.

When these Shluchim need to send their children out of town to Yeshiva or to seminary, they can’t afford it. And those running the seminaries and Yeshivos have no problem closing their door on these children – the children of Shluchim – in effect our Rebbe’s children.

Shluchim have every right to the same complaint as the woman who called me. They can easily say, “I am a product of your system. You taught me and you are teaching my child that to be a Shliach of the Rebbe is the greatest goal one can achieve. Yet now that I have dedicated my family to those ideals, I can’t afford a proper Chinuch as befits a child of Chabad.”

I recently wrote an article about the burden of tuition on many families within our community, including families that are not Shluchim. I suggested that schools have to develop a better fundraising apparatus for more and greater scholarships.

That’s would be one solution.

What is the average parent supposed to do until we see some change? What should he do to get his children into the school that’s best suited for their needs if he can’t afford it?

This is a difficult question, but it must be answered.

The other day I was standing outside shul with a few young people in the community mulling over this very issue. The question we went away with was that it’s true that Yeshivas do need money and Melamdim do need a decent salary, but these are the Rebbe’s children, why doesn’t anybody care?

Sincerely,
Rabbi Shea Hecht

This Op-Ed reflects the views of its author, it does not necessarily reflect the views of CrownHeights.info nor of its Editors.

A reader that wishes to make his or her voice heard on any topic of their desire is welcome to submit his or her Op-Ed to News@CrownHeights.info.

143 Comments

  • Mottel

    Well said. About time somebody mentioned this. I just had my third boy ka“h, I work in a shul as a rov and as a shaliach, I get a ‘decent’ salary but there is no way I could afford tuition for even one child, let alone 3. I worry about i even now. And as R’ Shea says, when you turn around and say ‘well I didn’t go to college and get a degree and get a 6-figure salary because I went on shluchus, didn’t learn english, etc.’ or ‘I am a BT and I left college to go to yeshiva and I now work stacking shelves in Kingston Bargain Center’ nobody really cares…

    It is a very real concern and one which affects families, one which has led to a lot of ‘family planning’ amongst ana”sh and one which cannot be ignored.

    As more and more people go on shlichsu / come through th esystem without a profession etc. this problem will get worse

  • One thought...

    It doesn’t solve the problem completely, but it would probably help to follow the lead of Lubavitch Mesivta of Chicago: THEY PAY THEIR TEACHERS FIRST. That’s right, before the phone bill and the mortgage. It ensures that fundraising is a priority, because to fundraise for teacher’s salaries is more taboo/less important for some reason than fundraising for a mortgage payment.

  • mendel

    like kehos does but each family of shluchim(permenent) should get a 40% off(if thats too much make a 30% or 20%) not only in seforim but in everything like in yeshivas, tutoring, and even more in sterlings, nosh-world, hats ect.(i don’t know all the store’s in CH)

  • Home grown and concerned.

    This is of course an international problem. Parents with many children also have the financial difficulty of paying for all their children’s education. It then extends to the time when they have to marry these childen off.
    I have heard the answer given that the Rebbe has assured those who go on shlichus and or do the Rebbe’s inyonim, that G-d Almighty will look after them and their families.
    Ironically, this problem, never the less exists, and one cannot deny the fact that it does.
    If anyone can come up with a better fund raising apparatus, as has been suggested, then it should be made available to all institutions throughtout the world.

  • ashirah

    but what do we do? teachers need to be paid, shluchim need to go on shlichus…
    who’s going to pay for everything?

  • BT Mommy

    I certainly appreciate everything Rabbi Hecht had to say and agree with him whole-heartedly. But what about the other parents who have a hard time paying their children’s tuition? Parents who became baal teshuva? Or people who have converted or even ffb’s who work like dogs to pay for tuition and weddings and bar mitzvahs and mortgages and school uniforms? A Jewish education should not be denied ANY Jewish child.

  • Yankel

    Once upon a time, mosdos and their menahalim raised funds. Today they raise the tuition.

  • menahel

    Thnk you rabbi shea

    but one very important point is missing from this article and that is.

    all the mosdos and yeshivoth in crown heights are THE REBBE’S and all belong to lubavitch and if there is a menahel or “vaad” etc. who feel that thy cant raise funds to run the school . the door is open (you know montifiore is full of people that had no replacement)

    go and find yourself a diffrent job this is not YOUR moised. you cant finance the yashivah thats ok . go home and you will be replaced.

    this are the rebbe’s properties and not yours .

  • in agreement

    I have worked in chabad day schools in the past this also a problem there have have seen not frum families sending the children to a chabad school then something happens ( a lose of job, a 2nd child needs to be in school etc.) and they cant afford the tution
    i have seen first hand children being turned away and jewish neshamos going to public schools
    isnt the point of chabad days schools to make sure this does not happen

  • Board on Empire

    I cannot speak for all the mosdos, but I must praise those few who have set up open boards where community members have gotten involved and know all whats doing in all apsects of the schools including the financial aspect.

    But My question is why is it that so many people have cell phones, (yes they ad up to 150, if not 200 a month, lease cars instead of buying a used car, have vacation mansions, not bungalows and yet when it comes to tuition thay don’t have or they do not pay full. Why is it that so much tzedokah monies go out of Crown Heights, yet when it comes to thier children’s school they say we pay tuition, thats enough.
    You say the Rebbe’s CHildren, and that is correct, but first they are our children, and we are obligated to pay for thier education, no one else.
    Yes I do know many families simply do not have, and they should get as much of a break as they can, but so many families spend on other luxeries, whan it comes to yeshivas they do not have? what are the schools supposed to do.You say fundraise? have u tried to raise funds for a yeshiva? Freindship schools, CHabad houses, Food for poor families, thats what’s in and easeir to raise, yeshivas? are the hardest to raise money for, just ask anybody who doeas it.

  • Lets Do Something

    Instead of the usual complaints why don t we all do something about this. I suggest we start a fund and everyone who has any complaints about the system can donate $10. This money will go directly to helping pay for tuition for families who need it. We can set up a website, maybe one of the local buisnesses can do it, and everyone can contribute.

  • depressed and scared

    What’s really sad is that even someone like Rabbi Hecht goes away with no answers. But may I respectively suggest that we ALL work together, including the VERY, VERY rich and struggling families, to alieviate this burden.

    I am considered to be in the middle…nice, not lavish, home, decent car, no country home, the occasional vacation. We have 2 incomes, inc. a high salary in the city. Yet we struggle every day. We don’t drink, smoke, eat steak…our debts just from paying high tuition are in the $100,000 area. As well as paying top tuition for all our kids, we’ve married off a few, support our shluchim children, and now, as we approach retirement, have nothing in reserve.

    And we still have 3 kids in the system, so every day is stressful. What if they won’t get in to the school of their choice? what if they don’t get a report card & every other kid knows why. What about the humiliating phone calls, the confrontations on Kingston?

    We don’t have any answers either. But if people like Shea Hecht don’t have any, it’s no wonder we’re seeing young people dropping dead, our kids roaming the streets and total misery in the neighborhood.

    I have lots of invitations to simchas, B“H. I CAN’T AFFORD THE GIFTS, SO WE”RE NOT GOING!!! Is that normal??? We can’t share in our friends’ simchas because we have over committed ourselves to tuition…with no choice.

    If this is rambling, I apologize. But the tuition issue extends to every part of our lives. Unless you are one of the glowingly wealthy, everything catches up with you one day. Usully when you’re too old & too vulnerable to stop the train.

  • Catch 22

    The question is a good one, but consider that if the Yeshiva can’t pay the Melamdim then they will have to shut down. Some smaller out of town Yeshivos cannot afford a full time fundraiser, and thus depend on tuition to survive. It’s a catch 22.

  • lizman

    to rabbi shea hecht

    first thanks for bringing up the issue. and i think that you messed up the issue.
    this is an issue not just for “shluchim” it is an issue for all lubavitchers. those out on shlichus and those living in crown heights in chigao in los angeles in montreal anywhere we that we have anash living. they are all the rebbes children. by diffrenciating between those of shluchims children and others you do a great disservice to the issue. and start by catgorizing people “shluchim” “not shluchim” the hepach of achdus.

    we are all chasidim and all want to send our children to get a lubavitcher education in the best schools.

    the issues here are far greater then can be posted in response on a web page. but i will try to bring up some points.

    the cost of education is high all over. the schools say they cannot fundraise so much anymore it is hard for them. there are few yungerleit that want to be meshulachim today like the good old days of rabbis weinberg and others. bh we all have big families as per the rebbes instructions.

    so even a “proffesional” if he bh has 6 kids to send to school and 3 of those out of town he needs $60,000.00 to pay full tuition and the schools tell him oh you are a lawyer a cpa or therapist (some of the proffesonals) now do you realize what he makes ? what can he afford?

    i overheard the following conversation between an administrator of a school and a shliach. the administrator was asking the shliach about his new building the shliach was saying bh (boasting) that he is putting up a 25,000 square foot new chabad house for 3 million dollars.. the administrator asks the shliach well so i see you a pretty good fundraiser . the shliach say bh with the the rebbes koichois we were succesful. so the administrator asks so maybe you can fundraise to help pay for tuition for your children so that we the school dont have to fundraise for you. as it is very hard now for us in the fundraising department we have many other shluchim and mechanchim that we need to give the scholarships to. the shliach then says i really cant i am on shlichus i get paid very little we need the “shluchim discount”

    yes there are those shluchim that need the help those melamdim that teach our children whether they are here in crown height teaching the future shluchim or those in other cities teaching our children they get a measly salary for the great work they do they need the help. but sorry to say some shluchim dont neeed it yet they demand it. as a right.

    and we have here in crown height R“L many poor families do we tell them they cannot get an education ?

    but then some people that pay full tuition complain and say i am paying $7,000.00 for my childs education and i am getting a $2,000.00 education because the school does not have money to pay for the teachers and we lose some very good ones to other schools and i dont get what i pay for. he says i am forced to subsidize other at the expense of my childs education.

    the out of town yeshivois seminaries say ”we owe you nothing“ you want to send your child here pay we dont have to fundraise for you. we only have a responsibilty to the people of ”our“ community.

    and the damage this whole issue does to our children is the worst. how many kids have we lost because the parents could not afford to send them out of town. how many kids have we lost because they heard their parent cry at night saying oiy we dont have money to pay for yeshiva or camp. how many kids have we lost because they saw what their parents went through and they said ”never again“ we will not do this. we will go and have less kids and

    so in recap we have community schools that have no money because they have to serve the community. we have out of town schools that tell everyone we owe you nothing.

    and in the end we have a generation of children that ”hate“ the system and we lose them.

    solutions are hard.

    1) of course is those that can pay should wheteher you work or are on shlichus.

    2)schools need to run a tighter ship but not at the expense of our teachers they need a raise

    3)teachers in crown height should be classified ”by the powers that be“ as shluchim, why is a teacher that teaches in cheder menachem in los angeles teaching lubavitcher kids a ”shliach” and a teacher in crown heights not?

    4)more yungerleit should be offered a job as a fundraiser for the schools (as a shlichus position) then we willbe able to help our fundraisng effort for the schools

    i addressed only the financial points and not the educational points that is a whole differnt subject. and that needs its own web page

  • Isaac B.

    It not that nobody cares. We all care. It is us you are talking about. We have the high tuitions, high rents, high bills, many children to clothe and feed. It’s just that nobody has taken the up the call for this project. Most of Chabad’s energy is focused on the outside, Baruch Hashem; because that is saving lives. We just need a little focus from the Crown Heights business community on also helping the people that are here.

  • C H res

    when you say shlichas that does not mean they all don’t have money a lot of them are B“H doing very well a lot better off then people who live in C”H or else where. my complaint is not for the shluchim its for all who cant pay the full price for school. its come to a point where the yeshivas are not interested in fundraising like they use to. theirs a lot of money B“H in out own comunity that can suport the yeshivas but thay dont feel a need to. WHY is that? this is our kids your kids will be 1 day marrying the other kids don’t you care for you family down the read do you know the pain a parent has to bear and cant give the happy face to a child while he is growing up? its hay you deal with it its not my problem so we are comming like yung isreal not ”CHASIDIM ZEINEN AIN MISHPOCHE” thats forgoten

  • Concerned

    Take this valid point one step further. What about the chinuch our children get constantly about going on shlichus, doing mivtzoim etc and yet when the shlichus opportunity is not available, shluchim become territorial and claim only they can do mivtzoim. We are sending the children mixed messages and look on the streets at the results.

  • A Shliach

    Dear friends,

    We all know that B“H the Rohr Family donates million of their own money to Chabad. May Hashem bless them bgu”r.

    Have they been approached to help set up a fund to pay the tuition for children of shluchim? Maybe even a general scholarship fund open to all families?

    Yes, it is important to open and build new Chabad centers. But the same shluchim that are being helped to start off their shlichus or build a building are choking with tuition bills.

    There has been lots of talk about tuition help for shluchim, etc. But unfortunately no tachlis.

    My kids never went to over night camp (yet) because its just to expencive. (some of my kids are teenagers).

    Rabbi Hecht, everyone cares. I believe its a lack of coordination and simply no one is getting it together.

    Put together a group of 10 shluchim and get MK on board and it’ll proberly work with the Rohrs.

    Moshiach NOW!

  • ayl

    yep the system is shooting itself in the foot.

    when i first got married and thought though how much money a person needs to support a family> i came to the conslusion that if a) you dont come from a rich family that can give you a job in the family business
    b) you can”t go on shlichus (which is the only thing bochurim are qualified for)
    c) you do not have a prefession ie college deree

    then you are quallified for a job that pays $10 an hour, which after time will lead to a self distructing marrige and family.
    Having explained this to one of the rebonim he said I (a married man after smicha) can go to Turo college.
    yes parnasa is in G-d’s hands
    the point is we need to make vocational schools in CH using the schools computer rooms in the evening when they are not being used to teach profesional courses.
    Programming, day trading, accounting, anying and everything.

    otherwise look where its heading.
    just to pay your way it costs over $100K a year (tuition mortgage food etc)
    I for one would be happy to teach my profession to all who need.

    yes we need to help those in need of a jewish education in a dignified way

  • me

    its not only shluchim children its the regular families living in crown heights too.

  • their mommy

    I am encountering this problem for the first time. Not only do we have an exact budget, peppered with occasional ‘extras’ like buying a sefer or having a pizza, but I am already working full-time as well as being a loving wife, and mother to my precious children. It is time to send my first one to school and I have encountered something that makes the blood drain from my face and my heart pound. I know all the promises that Hashem and the Rebbe have made and I’m holding tight to my faith. We make too much for any government programs but not enough to afford tuition. And before you ask, no we don’t blow it other things. I haven’t been ‘on vacation’ for 10 years, and our clothing is not expensive. How are we supposed to make it? The school is giving us a break, but even the break is too much for our budget. And G-d forbid that my heilige children should not have a Torah education! Where do I turn? What do I do? Rebbis and Morahs must be paid as well. I stand behind that firmly. But it should be known, that I cry almost daily and daven for Hashem’s help. School starts in the fall…

  • More Questions For You

    Why doesn’t anyone care about our melamdim?
    Why is it that the people with means in this community would rather donate their money to “more exciting ventures” outside this community?
    The Yeshivas in our community do have fundraisers, but the wealthy people here refuse to look at them.

  • very true

    I am in this same position, and i feel for her a lot.

    I just have a question about this OP-ED

    How old is this ladies child that her husband is still in Kollel?
    Shluchim?

  • Sympathizer

    Rabbi Hecht has only touched on one point.

    People have gone out to shlichus when the top shaliach had no one.

    They worked hard listening to the Rebbe. This also included having a large family.

    Now the main shalaich is stuck with a middleaged shaliach who has a large family and maybe not the same energy as a younger shaliach.

    The younger shaliach will of course take less salary as his expenses are less.

    Compound this with a younger shaliach who is the son/son-in-law of the main shaliach.

    The result is quite {unfortunatly} obvious.

    The middle aged shaliach was moser nefesh and is now in the middle of his life with no place to go.

    Would appreciate comments on this also.

  • realist

    Dear Rabbi Hecht.
    On this very website the source of the problem has already been discussed at length. Many schools are not lacking money. They are lacking straight managers. Corruption is the name of the game. Just do a little search and you will see what people say (and know!) about the financial depts. of our mosdos that keep asking for more money.

  • Ex Tomim

    Typical.
    If only they cared more about how Tomchei Temimim was set up and less about things like money and what your political affiliation was more children would still be in yeshiva.

    I doubt in Russia our grandparents has such issues.

  • Fundraise Like Crazy

    I agree that Yeshivos need to come up with a better system for fundraising. I DO NOT agree that teachers should suffer, because it is not right to them and our children. But we are the product of the same system what more can be expected?

  • Because we DO care...............

    You spoke, but unfortunately you did not say enough.

    If the cliché holds any grain of truth, “Where there is a will there is a way,” it would reverberate through the entire school financial system and demand a solution.

    One must conclude, that what is lacking aside from adequate finances is the “WILL” to right this dilemma.

    Let me ask you; who could put a price on the value of education for a child? $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 – it is all relative. Any parent in the world will tell you they would pay infinite $$$ to educate their children in the ways of the Torah and Chassidus.

    However, between infinity and reality there is a frail system that seeks to demoralize and humiliate the ones who cannot afford to do more.

    Therefore, until a fix is in place (if ever) for the bottom dollar, how about a more sensitive approach when dealing with parents who themselves are struggling to cope.

    Oh, and to the local Crown Heights organization that treats the parents as public enemy #1: you are making a grave mistake with that kind of attitude. You are creating a barrier that has no place in a community that needs ever so desperately to work together.

    I’ll sign off with another famed cliché:

    Let us all think well, so all should be well!!!!!!!!

  • crown heghtser

    i fully agree
    the note at the bottom is showing what? that crownheights.info and its editors dont care about the Rebbe’s children????
    thank you rabbi hecht for writing this article – i hope it will serve as an eye opener for our community

  • dismayed parent and tuition payer

    I was recently shocked and dismayed to see a tax return from one of our local yeshivos on a blog that reported that the two top administrators are receiving salaries of $122,000 and 126,00. Or should I say, that that is what is “reported,” not including other benefits such as parsonage, cleaning ladies, workers, free tuition, free health insurance, unreported income, and income under other names of that institution!!!!!!! My husband and I both work and our combined incomes do not equal their’s. And we pay tuition, real estate tax, etc., etc., etc. And they keep raising our tuition. Believe me, I support chinuch, but I feel like I have really been a fool all these years, thinking that the adminstration was dedicated to their instition. There also needs to be a system of checks and balances on those who demand our tuition and use it for their own personal advantage.
    When I see this, I really wonder if they see their institution as their own personal piggy bank or a mosad of the Rebbe. If they don’t, then what are they doing there: poisoning the mosad, the people who work there, and our children r”l?

  • BOCHUR WANTS TO GO TO YESHIVA-NO $$$$$

    I am so happy that this letter was posted on CH.info. My brother wants to go to yeshiva next year and my parents dont have the money to pay for it…the yeshiva barely gives us a break and now he cant go to yeshiva next year. He will prob. fry out in the en because he has no where to go…All those pple trying to micarev others and now our own families are being destroyed and our kids are hanging out in CH on the streets. Someone needs to take care of this so that our frum kids dont end up going to public schools due to the lack of funds and because pple dont want to fundraise!

  • about all shluchim kids

    the rebbe WILL help them, do the people of CH want to get a part in the zechus or the money is more important?

  • i work for a yeshiva

    “tuition” is the name for the obligation from the parent to the school.

    the cost of what it takes to have a student educated is entirly differant.

    every yeshiva must do fundraising in order to survive

    did anyone ever take into perspective the amount of staff per student in there kids school
    did anyone ever wonder what rent/morgage and utilities cost per year
    did anyone ever think about all yearllty incresses in salary that are a must for all schools to keep thier staff
    did anyone thing of renovation or program costs that follow year to year
    these things mentioned here are a small part of a huge budget

    and guess what doyou think that a school who spends alot is doing it for any other reason besides for your kids to educate them properly to give them all that is needed when it comes to education

    dont tell me there is yeshivas out there who do that bc those ones who do dont servive they last only a few years (IF) then close dowm

    ????????????????????????????

    i think every parent that realy is upset about the tuition price of there school should ask for the budget and see what is really going on

    BUT BEWARE

    dont be surprized if the yeshiva then asked you for full cost

    and you know what else what persentage of you people out there give REAL personal financial records. bc of you unhonest people not willing to pay what you COULD offord the honest people who can not aford suffer

  • anonymous

    there are some schools that deduct money from tuitions= the ppl. whose tuition is deducted is the rich ppl. that have influence and connections but the ppl. who are not so well off are stuck w/ paying the full price. they will also take advantage of single women who dont really have connections. its desgusting!

  • bahchur from o. t. 73--------75

    shea you said right !!!!! i have spent all my $$$$$$ 4 my kids lemud hatorah
    i once asked RABBI Heller if he can help ..he said “ what can i do its a
    tercha de`tezboorah ”we just have to pray that the kids learn well , and G-d will help us , good luck to all next year is my last big nut to crack..HASHEM will help .. yeci HAMELEC !

  • we all need help

    why are you all focusing on crown heights or shluchim. what about those of us who don’t live in crown heights and aren’t on shlichus. we don’t get any discounts bec. our husbands are out in the business world, it doesn’t matter that we can barely put food on the table. my childrens school this year doesn’t even want to accept the registration form without a check for next year. and what about camps. we have to send our kids away bec. there’s nothing for them to do here but consider the cost of camps and plane tickets. and that’s just for one month of camp bec. two months is out of the question when it comes to money.

  • chaim

    the worst part is parents struggle for years to pay the tuition and the a lot of kids do nothing in school and by the time they are 15 they do not even want to listen to there parents anymore,

  • The Hobo Whisperer

    It’s all a matter of faith in HaShem. No matter what the circumstances are, it’s your faith that makes the difference.

    Do you know why certain shluchim are more successful than others? It’s because of the right circumstances. It’s because of two things:

    * Faith in HaShem
    * A no-limit, prosperous mentality

    …and the same goes for each and every one of us. If you know you’re doing what HaShem wants and what the Rebbe said, then you should also know that you will be provided for…both b’gashmius and b’ruchnious.

    You make the keli for your own brachos in this world. Don’t be drawn into the false mentality that HaShem will let it sit empty.

    Here’s hopin’ Moshiach comes soon (at least before my student loans are due).

  • fund has to be set up

    a fund has to be set up have you seen the price of tuition that is charged in the chasideshe velt satmar belz etc…
    they hardly charge
    another thing is that yeshivas make the parents sign that 5% of their will go towards Jewish Education (Scholarships)

  • My humble opinion

    a humble opinion
    a very important topic that must be dealt with. Maybe if we deal with it on a communal level, we could find some solutions. For example, if Lechaim’s were just drinks and sponge cake around a dining room table, and the average two or three grand would go to the schools we would have probably have atleast ten grand a week! Multiply that by fifty two! Even weddings can be downsized to help. We have to start caring for each other, have the right priorities, and be willing to go the extra mile for what is right instead of what is popular

  • mottel again

    i am not sure it is so easy for shluchim to fundraise in their communities for thie kids tuition. people paying 3million for a building are doing it to build up the mosad, they may not see the other as so important…

    also plenty of shluchim – especially ‘second shluchim’ are not in this position, they are on fixed salalries, do not necessarily have access to the baalei batim, have high costs of running a household and get very frustrated when everyone just assumes because a few shluchim seem to do well financially that everyone does…

  • yonasan cohen

    one answer is to sort out the issue of secular/college education once and for all, find a kosher, chassidishe way for our children to get a ‘proper’ secular education so they CAN go into the professions and the city if they don’t become klei kodesh, rather than taking low-paid blue collar jobs or having to start their own business which can be very risky and very stressful. Whatever the rebbe said about college, what about a frum option like touro? Why is it not chassidish to e ncourag eour children to have decent parnassa to support their families?

  • ayl

    the answer is….

    scott trade :)

    anyway I dont think 126K is being over paid for the head of a yeshiva.
    however, to a certain extent it is the parents duty to be the fund raiser,
    right?
    doesn’t help to go round kevetching in front of the kids, i think it is a good idea for the parents to fund raise.

    am i right?
    i am sure the rebbe stated an opinion anyone have any stories of the rebbe about this?
    please post.

  • Yoske

    Weighing the cost of schar limud versus my income, it is more worthwhile for me to quit work and start homeschooling my kids. (Noch their middos might improve).

  • Get our money back!

    It cost the state approximately $19,000 per year to put a child through public school. This is how much you are saving the state by not putting your child into the public school system. The lionshare of these outrageous property taxes we pay goes into the public school system.

    So, in essence when we pay property taxes, we are paying the state a tuition towards public schools that we don’t even use. It is time that we all went to Albany and demanded the tax credits that we are entitled to. If we are saving them 19,000 per year per child, then asking for a property tax rebate should not be out of the question. They are stealing from our pockets! This would go a long way towards relieving our tuition burden. Lets make Spitzer live up to his promises.

  • grown up on slichus

    i feel that this problem is one that chabad schools brought upon themselves, and very fortunately can get rid of. every year hundreds of non – shluchim families come begging for tuition breaks at all lubavitch schools, many of these families who only cant afford tuition after a 3rd family trip that year to florida!!!!!!!! instead of giving these more or less capable families tuition breaks, these breaks should be reserved strictly for shluchims kids. THIS IS OUR PRIORITY IN LUBAVITCH – lets treat is a such

  • BT

    im a BT teen and finally convinced my parents to let me go out of town to yeshiva, but with boarding and travel and tuition there’s no way they can afford it and theyre not willing to make sacrifices or cut down on other things because they don’t even want me there in the first place..what am I supposed to do??!

  • administration to blame

    To ‘menahel’ and others,
    If as you claim that the moisdos are the Rebbe’s, then all the moisdos should be transparent with their finances since we all belong to the Rebbe.
    2) ‘A captain goes down with the ship’, In this case those in the administration should only get paid once their employees (i.e. the teachers) are paid. Maybe when they cannot pay their own bills they will fundraise with more earnest. Especially since they claim they are doing the Rebbe’s inyan, how about some mesiras nefesh for the Rebbe’s inyan.

  • Golus

    Its a painful golus- there are no answers, its the way it has been for our parents, and will be the same for us.
    There are Jews out there that have two kids a dog and call themselves happy, that is not our roll in life…. with the help of the Aibishter we struggle through life bez’h marry of our kids have ainiklach and watch the same thread for our children, meanwhile… staying connected by, learning chassidus, helping each other, and hoping moshiach will come once and for all.
    We can yente all we like nothing is going to change….
    Lechaim!

  • Struggling parent

    By the way, I believe this applies, not only to parents who send their children out of town or who are shluchim. What about those of us who have multiple tuitions, both parents work and are struggling just to put food on the table? This happens all over the world, not just in NY.

    As for fundraising, I think the fundraisers should start putting some of the money they raise into the school rather than into their own pockets. V’hameivin yavin…

  • sick and tired

    what about the rich peaople in ch that are building highways in israel and shoping complexes in ny and making million dollar weddings. they live right next to us but dont care for us.you know who u are and u should be ashamed of yourselves, the rebbe gave you brochos for succes the least you can do is give a little back to those that need.

  • SCHOOL VOUCHERS

    Its amazing to see everyone posting their problems. YET NO ONE HAS A REAL SOLUTION.

    May I suggest SCHOOL VOUCHERS. This is the ONLY solution which would work when complimented by contributions from Jewish philanthropists.

    We Jews have tremendous power in New York City. Its time for all the jewish communities combined to rally for school vouchers for our private schools. The public school budget in NYC is $11,000 per child. A goy could have 20 children and have them all get free education in public school. Its time for Jewish private schools to get similar funding.

    Obviously the Public school system has powerful lobbying groups to oppose school vouchers.

    Even the Jewish Anti-defamation League has allocated millions of dollars to prevents school vouchers for private schools.

    And then you have Lev Leviev who has opened a school in Queens. There are 500 kids in the school which is financed 100% by Leviev to take Kids out of public schools and give them a Jewish education.

  • problems in shcool

    There is a major problem with these schools. Tuition is extremly expensive and instead of the teachers getting paid first the “deans” of the shcools take the $ for themselves and buy homes, buy their children homes, gorgeous clothes, purses etc.. maybe they should think about putting food on someone elses table before they so selfishly buy themselves all the luxuries!!! It’s corrupt, disgusting and the Rebbe is not proud of that!!!!!!!!!

  • David

    Setting up school tuition committees is a wonderful idea. BUT the problem is so many people are “off the books”, their W2 (which for honest people actually shows what they earn) are not correct.

    So we never know who can really afford and who cannot. MANY of those who cry poor are richer than most of us who earn an honest living!

  • lizman

    yes the “rich” people in crown height. and all others. we love to support others it is in our blood. we go out to the world to be mekarev yidden while at home (in crown height in los angeles in miami in all places that anash live) they let our kids burn and go off the derech. is it better to put tefilin on a jew in thailand then on one in your own back yard. how many or anash children today dont put on tefilin
    i think we have no right to give a dollar to a person comming to your door collecting for a moisad out of crown heights when you did not pay your full share of tuition. we have no right to support any outside of your neighborhood venture chabad house if you did not pay your full share of tuition. if you have extra money and the school gave you a discount then pay the school extra.

    if we had a strong education sysytem we would have less kids off the derech

    just think every year bh how many yungerleit go out on shlichus.and most of them fundraise the seed money from crown heights. money that could have gone to our own schools. we need to stop this mentality and focus on building our OWM SCHOOLS FIRST.

  • Happy proud parent

    To “dismayed parent and tuition payer”: not only do the administrators in that school get these 122k & 126k salaries but one of them is also a nice landowner in CH and elsewhere but he pays teachers in the school just about 20k a year and that comes 5-6 months late. So don’t give me the line that teachers have to get paid! THE TEACHERS DON’T GET PAID, THE ADMINISTRATION DOES.

    I know of a teacher in that school who was owed salary for 5 months and once got a check which was current, the next day the office came back asking her to return the check and they apologized by saying that she got this check by mistake since only administration was supposed to get checks not teachers.

    I make 60k a year and my wife works in that school where she gets 20k a year and they deduct 13k for health insurance and the tuition fees in that school alone after all discounts is 19k and in other schools it’s another 40k. I never went to the country and I don’t lease any cars and I made a bar mitzvah and I am marrying a daughter IY“H. could anyone explain to me how do you do this? The ADMINISTRATORS are not interested and then they tell the whole world that I owe thousands of dollars in tuition.

    This is the school system that taught me not to pursue a financial career and to have a large family KA”H and to rely on Hashem that he will provide. So I ask the ADMINTRATION didn’t Hashem pay you my tuition bill?

    Will anyone be happier if C”V the father collapses and a collection is made for the orphaned family?

    I heard that the Rebbe should have told one of the fundraisers for one of our yeshivas that he must raise a lot of money so the parents should be able to afford the tuition for the large families that the Rebbe is instructing us to have.

    The Rashag or Reb Michoel Teitlebaum never refused a child an education because of lack of tuition. Because this is where Lubavitch is different to all other schools. It seems that since Gimmel Tammuz things have changed.

    Birth control Lubavitch style: TUITION!

    I thank Hashem for all his blessings so far and for the most beautiful children that he blessed me with. I can’t thank Him enough for all the Nachas and I won’t give up anyone of my many children for nothing. But the next generation is seeing things a little differently.

    May Hashem help us all. And I’m sure that he will. But a little coordination and Ahavas Yisroel will make it easier even for Hashem. Maybe that’s what He’s waiting for.

  • SCHOOL VOUCHERS?

    Fundraising is NOT going to help. No Modern Orthodox, Reform or Conservative Jew will donate money to our system. They will not contribute to a school which does not teach english studies.

    Oholei Torah has no chance of getting support from any philanthropists beyond the Chassidishe sector.

    School vouchers will not help Oholei Torah in this either for the same reason.

  • pay as you eat

    To “SCHOOL VOUCHERS”:

    First of all the public school pays over $13000 per child.

    Secondly, last year some forces in CH (specifically a young Menahel who collects tuition and could no longer bear the pain of the parents) wanted to do something major by organizing the community to force the city to pay for school by having the community overrun the public school system by registering 3000 frum children at once in the local public schools. This would force the city to be happy to get rid of us for $5000 (by paying for many expenses which are legal, like secular teachers or building expenses) instead of having to pay $13000 and setting up a kosher kitchen and bringing in Yiddish speaking teachers and having to build new schools because they simply have no space where to house the students (like they are doing for the Arabs L’havdil and for Satmar in Monroe and for some schools in 5 towns).

    The powers to be (Menahalei Mosdos and Rabbonim) torpedoed this idea and had it dead on arrival. Dov Hikind was ready to help and this could have been the beginning of a major breakthrough. But like Rabbi Shea says: Who cares?

    You can contact some of the Menahalim (I will not identify them) and you can get this confirmed.

  • Sick of being a schnorrer

    I for one have come up with a solution! Next year most of my kids are staying home. They will have bochur to learn with them a few hours a day. If we lived in a more “ white” neighborhood, I might even consider sending them to public school. I am sick of living like this. After tuition there is no money for anything else. We make Shabbos with the gracious help of CSSVY. The kids walk around in clothes that are too small and broken shoes. My husband is on medicine for high blood pressure. We both work like dogs. My 18 year old left yeshiva because it hurt him to see us struggling so hard to pay the $12,000 a year tuition.I tell all my kids that I want them to learn a profession so that they won’t have to live the way we live now. And they themselves have told me that they are not having more than 4 kids.( there goes my dream of 100 grandchildren :-)) So, my solution? No School or public school!

  • Reply to Yonasan Cohen

    I was just at a mother/daughter Bais Rivka function for 12th graders and the agenda was to explain how college in any shape or form is not recommended as per the Rebbe’s directives, as well as working in the secular world… They explained how the Rebbe explained to Lauder that Touro (with non coed education) provides an opening to things that aren’t good. They explained how what the Rebbe said then about college is still very relevant.
    They questioned whether the additional monies earned by the one with the degree (even in Bais Rivka head start) is worth the risk, and how money should not rule our lives – after all in Russia they lost their jobs every week because they didn’t work on Shabbos and they survived…
    So, is college really the solution? I used to think so, but now I have very mixed feelings.

  • TO SCHOOL VOUCHERS

    “And then you have Lev Leviev who has opened a school in Queens. There are 500 kids in the school which is financed 100% by Leviev to take Kids out of public schools and give them a Jewish education.”

    WHERE?? I’LL SEND MY KIDS THERE!

  • son of a shliach

    a while ago my father owed a lot of mortgage money but that the first thing he took care of was paying the teachers cause if you dont pay them they just wont show up and then the mortgage doesnt really matter
    and we live in a community where the police fine us every day
    and you what? we r still expanding, slowly but where moving along and in 5 years of having aschool, not one kid who left went to public school

  • Will?

    “another thing is that yeshivas make the parents sign that 5% of their will go towards Jewish Education (Scholarships)”

    WILL?? Who has money for a will?? We’ll be lucky if we die just plain penniless instead of peniless and in huge debt.

  • LEVIEV SCHOOL

    Sorry, Lev Leviev is paying for 800 Kids in his school. Its the first JEWISH public school in New York State.

    They only accept Jewish kids from public school. So send your kids to public school for 6 months and then send them to Leviev’s Queens Gymnasia.

    Check the schools website:
    http://www.queensgymnasia.org/

  • A concerned member of the community

    Maybe college would not be imperative if at the very least children would be given an extensive education in secular studies in high school? Maybe vocational studies in high school? This way you would have graduating students who would be marketable for a decent paying job.

    Give a man a fish and he has a meal for a day. Teach a man to fish and he is set for life.

    Many comments speak of where the money will come from, but if one were to at the very least create a basis of capability and marketability to be able to land a more than $10+ an hour job, we would have more people who could afford tuition and an education that is providing for future “fisherman”.

    The Talmud says somthing to the effect (and I am quoting from memory so please excuse any error) that only 1 in 1,000 students would become a Rav. Why are we churning out Rabbis/shluchim by the dozen?! These people are being handicapped by the lack of education.

    If I’m not mistaken, the Talmud also says that one of the things along with swimming, that a father/parent is obligated to his child is to teach him a trade. In today’s world that means educating the child so he has the capacity to independently provide for him/herself.

  • RE: BOARD ON EMPIRE

    Cell Phones, leased cars, bungalows, houses, they all cost money. Even a lot of money. Toilet paper, plates, toys, and dental floss also cost money. A bit less money perhaps, but still money.

    How do you distinguish between necessity and luxury? Which scale performs this task? I have seen machines that can take pictures through human flesh, but never encountered a single machine that can take a picture and determine how a human being spends their money.

    It is all opinion. Speculation. Sure there are those that will take advantage of the scholarships awarded to students on the basis of need. But, in the process of eradicating those guilty, the Yeshivas do trample, and trample, and trample, on those who are sincere and in true need.

    “It is our children and we are obligated to pay tuition!” Is that a Chidush? It is repeated repetitively in some schools tuition letters as if it were a Chidush?

    Last I checked, the Torah obligated the parents to pay for the education of their children. What is the Chidush?

    I think the motto has been introduced solely to pin the financial burdens and shortfalls squarely of the shoulders of the parents. It is a motto that creates division rather than unification. It pits school against parent, teacher against parent.

    While you speculate on the luxuries of the parents, I will lend my imagination to speculation as well.

    I speculate that ever since the beginning of time parents struggled to pay for the education of their children. I have to speculate that in the olden days, without the affluence we know today, financial hardships and tuition expenses had to have been far more difficult, probably beyond the scope of our comprehension.

    I speculate though, that the division, the Machlokos, the distrust, the bad feelings, the resentment, the disgust, and despair that sweeps our emotions today, has never been felt, like it does today, throughout the entire Jewish history.

    No one wants to be called a liar. No one wants to be called a robber. Somehow that is the message the school sends when a parent pleads for a scholarship.

    (Do you have a cell phone? Yes! Well you can afford full tuition. Robber!!!)

    Is it any wonder that the respect and admiration that was once felt for the school system has been replaced with other not so nice feelings.

    Then, when money is distributed outside the community to the places that earn admiration and respect, that is a sin.

    I believe schools should lead by example. I am willing to wager, that the ones that do, do not have the financial difficulties to the extent the schools that cause the great divide amongst us, have.

    Peace and Blessings!

    PS How do you define open boards? Is it open to all parents that want to contribute their time and advice, or open to members who will push the Yeshiva agenda?

  • Joe Can

    A SOLUTION…OR NOT!!!
    Perhaps if we begin to give our children a real education, and a chance at a career paying job (seeing that there just is no longer place for everyone to be a Mohel, Shochet, teacher, or even a Shliach etc..) then at least the next generation will have a chance to pay those huge tuition bills, the same way most of our working parents got to do for us…when it wasn’t so taboo to get a real job…
    From a Lubavitcher teaching at a non Chabad paying school, were parents have collage educated paying jobs, oh and they pay on time…

  • GOOD PLAN

    I DONT HAVE “THE” ANSWERE

    HOWEVER, WE CAN FIND A GOOD SOLUTION.

    LETS ATART BY SAYING THAT THE PEOPLE

    CURRENTLEY RUNNING OUR MOISDOS HAVE

    RUINED THEIRE ABILITY TO FUNDRAISE IN

    THE COMMUNITY BY HURTING PARENTS

    WITH TUITION PAYMENT IN THE PAST.
    NOW THE OLDER GENERATION SOME WHO

    HAVE MONEY WILL NOT GIVE THEM ANY.

    AND THE OTHER PROBLEM IS THAT NO ONE

    IS REALY ASKING FOR MONEY? MAYBE IF

    SOME FUNRAISERS WILL ASK THERE WILL BE

    MORE MONEY.

    WITH THIS SAID I THINK THERE IS A GOOD

    SOLUTION LETS ELECT A VAAD OF PARENTS

    AND BUY THE ADUCATION ON THE WHOLSALE

    PRICE. THE NAGOTIATION SHOULD BE ON A

    MORE RELIABLE LEVER OF PARENTS AND RESIDENTS

    OF CROWN HEIGHTS . THE VAAD WILL COLECT

    DONATION AND THE TUITION.

    NOW THE VAAD WILL HELP THE “OWNERS” OF

    THE MOSDOS BUT WILL GET THE SERVICE.

    THE MOISAD SHOULD NOT HAVE TO KNOW HOW MUCH
    A CHILD PAY AND EVERY CHILD IS CROWN HIGHTS WILL

    BE ACCEPTED IN SCHOOL AND GET THE SAME SERVICE

    I WILL BE HAPPY TO GIVE TO SUCH A VAAD MONTHLY

    DONATIONS AND GET SOME FROM BUSINESS WORLD.

    I AM SURE MORE AND MORE PARENTS WILL HELP.

    THIS WAY THE MOISAD WILL BE OBLIGATED TO RUN

    THE PROPER WAY AND THE SALARIES THAT GO TO SOME

    “FUNDRAISERS” WILL BE SAVED .

    PLUS THE VAAD CAN HIRE MORE FUNDRAISERS RIGHT

    OUT OF COLEL.

  • Boruch ben Tzvi HaKohaine Hoffinger

    B“H
    B”H
    A timely article.
    Yes, we live in a country where they promise you “One nation, under G-d, with liberty and justice for SOME.”
    Why should we have to pay for grade school religious education? Because of the, so-called, ‘separation’ clause? It’s all a big LIE. Probably much of this lie is foisted on us by Jews in power; misguided or stupid and cruel.
    Who in his/her right mind would believe that any of the ‘minority’ religions would take over the government and suppress and persecute others? The Protestants are the vast majority of the religious. Scared, don’t fund them; unfair to fund others and not the Protestants? This shows how selfish and egotistical this society is.
    If the Protestants had any heart they would agree to government funding of minority religions, at least help all the others so they aren’t turned into poor slaves. They can’t live the ‘American Dream.’ At least there would be some morals in education.
    Since the minority religions have to pay so much for grade school they can’t save money for higher education.
    It’s brutal and cruel.

  • To Happy Proud Parent...

    What you’re trying to say is that you’d have 59k more in hand (per year) if you homeschooled…

  • concernd

    I am a Shliach, a tuition payer, and i run a mosad which collects tuition,

    Paying tuition

    We are sending away our children for 12 years we never fought a price, we always said i rather “men zol shlogen der mosad far nemen a sach schar limud vi men zol mir shlogen far tzolen vainig”,
    ( i rather the school get punished for taking more tuition then i should get punished for paying little )and i even had my chidren in those mosdos that have the if you do not pay this amount find another place attitude
    collecting Tuition

    Collecting and charging we give very generous scholarships we raise locally 60% of the budget some we give full scholarships and they send in amounts as little as $18 that gives us so much courage to continue, and we take them again and again, on the other hand there are parents who just take advantage we had one parent who agreed to pay $10.000 in tuition, and because of a bookeeing error on our side we did not collect anything, this past erev yom kippur they sent us in $180

    Its a 2 way street Parents have to pay and they have to do it willingly. and yeshivos have to give scholarships,
    and those mosdos that refuse to give scholarships should not be part of our system there teachers should not be shluchim, and their should be a world wide standard i.e 30% to 40% for local and shluchim and out of towner’s get the same break, the excuse that scholerships are for local kids but not for out of towner’s that is a policy that should automatically lock that mosad out of shlichus, even if it is run by shluchim, because we live in the same town and the name of that town is chasidim ein Mishpacah

  • jw

    People are upset for one main reason

    You do everything right, you go thrugh the system, no english, chasidsher bochur etc,, get married nice girl etc have lareg family etc.. go thru the sytem all kosher veysher and then what
    poooof – your stuck how much money can you make anyways if you go theru the system and then they demand every penny.
    Something has to give…

  • To Reply to Yonasan Cohen

    To Reply to Yonasan Cohen:

    Why don’t you recommend to Beis Rivka that instead of focusing on the negatives of not going to college they should focus on the positives and offer solutions to their 12th graders on how they will be able to offerd tution when they will IMY”H send their many kids to moisdes run al taharas hakodesh?

    I find it ironic that this function was sponsered by BR. BR was pricesly the moised that heated this question up a notch after the stunt they pulled last year. Many people were complaining about how they treat tution vs. Bnos Menachem. There is plenty of loshon harah about people runing BR that was touched on earlier in this thread that I won’t go into…..

  • Shmulik

    Rabbi Hecht,

    Respectfully, I have to point out thay you missed the flip side.

    A shliach walks in your office and says, “I did what you asked of me. I opened a school to do the Rebbe’s shlichus and busted my chops to raise money that the moisad stay open. Now you proposed that I slash tuition, I followed your advice, and now the bank repossessed my school. Now I’m left with no school, and without a job. What would be your response to that shliach?

    I appreciate your concern for shluchim and anash though. Your concerns are very legitimate. I’m not mtrying to mock you.

  • GG

    Your concern is very positive, but you fall off the deep end with your solution. What do you propose? It’s the shluchim operating these schools fault?! They are already in financial trouble and they already don’t sleep many hours. Do you propose that they work 24/7, get ill, have their marriage fall apart etc.

    Look how materialistic Lubavitch became! They can’t drive a new Toyota Carolla? It must be a Lexus?! No wonder why the school’s are not getting sufficient donations. Lubavitchers with means are too modest in their help of mosdos, forcing the mosdos to be modest on their tuition cuts for the low income families. “dort is bagruben der hunt”.

    God bless all who live modestly, but give tzedokah like a drunken sailor. It shouldn’t be the other way around.

  • B.R.S.

    Open the books !!!
    That will give people confidence to give $$$ to the mosdos.

  • suffering

    it is a little comforting to see how many people are suffering, I thought I was alone, I don’t know the solution, I for one am going to try getting a degree in something, I’m not sure how it will go it is a bit late in my life, I have to agree I think it will have to come down to starting to go to Touro or something earlier on life

  • Toronto has it right

    Toronto has it right.
    They have a spread sheet program designed by accountants. The way it works is that the school enters your income amount & the spread sheet shows the amount that is reasonable that you can spend on tuition for all your kids in total. So if it shows you can spend $4,000 for tuition a year. If you have 1 child they want $4,000. If you have 10 kids they still only want a total of the same $4,000 for all 10 kids. Speak to people from toronto they love it. EVERY ONE FEELS THEY ARE BEING TREATED FAIRLY….. NOT JUST THE PEOPLE WITH BIG MOUTHS OR CONNECTIONS… BTW the schools love it too.

  • FUND RAISE

    WHY DONT MOSDOS FUNDRAISE AND FIND GEVIRIM OUT OF THE COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT THEM.
    JUST LIKE CHABAD HOUSES DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ITS EASIER TO MAKE THE PARENTS DO IT!!!

  • ad mosai

    I had a similar problem while applying to Morristown… I understand that they would have to put a lot of money for me, but I would really like to know how many people can really afford $15,300 US a year?
    I have also heard stories of people who have made the decision not to go to Yeshiva due to agressive administration (Not even out of a lack of money).
    Ad Mosai?

  • People should only be offering solutions

    Some of the below points may be rehashing but I am still going to give it a shot.

    Regarding your conversation with the woman:

    The Rebbe did not hold of years on end of kolel learning for the average person. There are other groups within the frum world that do believe in this and they have their own self destructive problems that they face. The Rebbe however did strongly believe that Lubavitch should be producing Rabonim, paskonim, chavrei botei didnim, and for lack of a better word – “gedolim”. We have failed the Rebbe miserably in this respect. Where are our institutions that are fulfilling this need? Those, Yechidi Segula (2%, 10% of the population? ) that are capable of this should be paid a stipend where they can live comfortably (mean NY city salary or something like that).

    Addressing this problem in terms of Shluchim/baalei baatim/in towners/out of towners is counterproductive and helps build a caste system that we already see permeating within Lubavitch. Within the vast amounts of the Rebbe’s torah that is there to help guide our lives I would approximate that the Rebbe addresses Shluchim/Rabiam/Baalei Batim to the same degree. Further, I would approximate that the Rebbe addresses Shlichus work/ Limud Torah/ Kium Mitzvos/ Chinuch/ parnasoh to the same degree. We have come to view the work of Shluchim in a higher regard because it is politically correct. It is much easier to be impressed with the shliach that builds the $5m+ building than the baal haboes that has added an hour to his kovei itim schedule. One can argue that an hour of kovie itim is an actual mitzvah while building a structure is just that (albeit, one would hope that building a larger structure will one day lead to more people daavining, putting on teffilin, more kids learning etc. hecsher mitzvah…..) Reducing Lubavitch to an outreach organization is seriously curtailing the Rebbe’s vision.

  • continued.

    Now onto your point of financial burden: On average do you think that shluchim have less of their material needs being met than the average CH baali haboes? I think not. Do you know of any individuals that have failed in the business world to later go onto shlichus? I know many. My point is not to Ch’V to bash shluchim – I think the world of them – but to highlight that this is not a problem that is exclusively shluchim related. When tution nears 10k per a child there is no way to expect that from a parent unless they have only one child or are extremely wealthy. College degrees and special interests discounts will not cut it. Our problem is that the Moisdes that are there to serve the community are failing in this respect. Here is an attempt at some solutions:

    • Vouchers – The entire orthodox world is pushing for this and it is not Lubavitch alone that can win this battle. Besides, with our moisdes track record the tuitions increase will be highly correlated to the voucher amounts received and will not alleviate the burden on the parents.
    • Better financial management – this is a good start but probably will not solve the problem. I heard of one of our mosdos that was able to slash $1m off their budget. Is this a big accomplishment?! What about the last 10 years where they squandered $10m in unnecessary expenses? Having administrators with expertise in financial management is definitely a plus.
    • Financial impropriety – Yes, it does happen. Until we have an “open book” system where financial reporting to the public is mandatory we will continue to have this problem. We are too entrenched in our Russian world mentality to see this go way. V’hamavin Yavin (this is not only the administrators fault).
    • Fundraising

    In the old days the Rashag was never looked down upon for fundraising for TLL. Over the years respect for a fundraiser has diminished. Why is the individual who “shnors” for our own mosdos looked down upon and the individual that “shnors” for his own chabad house lauded? I have never heard a mother boasting that their kid is a fundraiser for TTL. Plenty of mothers kvell my kid is the shliach in XYZ. Those that complain that a fundraiser is not entitled to more than $X are part of the problem. It does not help that a moised tried backpedaling on their agreement with a certain individual when he ran into a multi million dollar will. They should have held him up as role model for all future fundraisers and incentivise them that they have the potential to make it big financially if they stay the course. The day when our local fundraisers a) command respect b) feel the worthiness of their career path and c) are compensated accordingly, is the day that this problem is alleviated.

    To those that say it cannot be done, I concede that we no longer are in the days that one find one wealthy Safra somewhere in Latin America and your problems are solved but there are plenty of wealthy individuals worldwide that give to worthy causes. As for shluchim shouldering some of the burden while they build their multi million dollar chabad houses, it is true that it may be easier to fundraise for a new building but the shliach has tremendous influence on the givings of a gvir whether he advises the gvir to give towards a building, Israeli bonds or to Oholei Torah.

    Thanks for letting me vent.

  • chaya

    the craziest is how it can practically ruin a family. i have heard my mother crying at night because she doesn’t have enough money. and than time comes when everyone grows up and you have to pay for the weddings. now the children themselves have to decide how they want to raise their kids. these are the options:
    1) shlichus-which theres not too many options anymore
    2) proffesion-which than your family gets a bad name (in my opinion is total loshan harah…everything the Rebbe was against)
    3) teach in a school and barely get paid

    so this explains why so many young people look at the system as a bad thing. why should we want to be part of it? personally i know their is so much beauty to it and im so proud to be lubavitch. but what about most of my friends (teenagers) who think very negetively towards it.

    the bottom line is that we are losing so many kids to this in front of our eyes! it really bothers me…

  • everyoneisachossid

    I agree with all those that say it is a similar hardship with most working people and it is not exclusively a problem facing shluchim and the “Rebbe’s children” as Rabbi Shea said. On the contrary everyone who is a chassid is the Rebbe’s child and everyones children need to be addressed.

    A noval approach which I haven’t seen or heard yet is this. Vouchers, but not the government ones that many people have mentioned. That is ok but besides those vouchers there are other vouchers that can be implemented immediately . That is donation vouchers. When a gvir gives $10,000.00 to a yeshiva he should demand and get a tuition voucher. This voucher should be put in trust in the hands of people or rabbonim who are not tainted with personal prreferences and shoichad of any kind. Then the vouchers should be handed out to the needy families in accordance to the decisions made by the administrators of the fund. The mosdois cannot be trusted with holding these vouchers. and they should not chas vshalom be given to people of connections . and there shouldn’t be preference given to shluchim or people on a job . everyone needs this assistance. and it would be a shame if such a system were to be highjacked by shluchim because they have the political clout. although I am B”H a shaliach I still maintain all should be equal in this regard.

  • Hanholo member

    1)I work in a Lubavitche Yeshiva and we never declined a bochur because of his inability to pay.
    2)Yeshivos in Israel are significantly cheaper, and usually better then American Yeshivos.
    3)The shluchim office should really set up a system that would help the shluchim pay for tuition.The same way they manage to set up other programs they should be able to do something like this to help create the shluchim of the next generation.
    For example some shluchim should be able to get some of their big gevirim to pay towards this fund that would pay the Yeshiva half the tuition and the shluchim themselves would pay a quarter and the rest should be discounted, and this should cost a few million a year ,well with so many chabad houses being build worth 3 ,5 or ten million i think this should be possible.
    4) non lubavitchers dont give money to our yeshivos, and lubavitchers only give to shluchim.
    5)

  • THE REAL PROBLEM

    EVERYONE IS BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE. The one aspect of middle class americans which sink their boat is HOUSING. HOUSING. YOUR MORGATGE. Because banks are allowed to give thirty plus year loans, it creates an artificial market price on properties, (buy allowing people to spend beyond their means) which is why everyone’s paying 750,00+ on houses which in reality cost less than 175,00 to build. Anyone who has spent even the least time reflecting the housing market will realize where the working mans real enemy lies.

    The ironic thing is that people are ingrained with the notion that it is a problem which they have no control over and can’t do anything about, which is why they go hunting after different fees and expenses which they complain are overly exorbitant (tuition, insurance). Although there is definitely some element (and more) of truth in said allegations, the irony is people go attacking costs which are more or less justified, while taking for granted the one which screws and squeezes them NEEDLESSLY every day of their lives.

    IF WE WISH TO ENSURE THAT YOUNG KOLLEL YUNGERLEIT DO NOT GO THROUGH THE SAME HELL THAT WE DID, WE NEED DEDICATED INDIVIDUALS TO BUILD CO-OPS TO CREATE AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING MARKET. NOT “15% DEVELOPER EQUITY CO-OPS” BUT HONEST TO GOODNESS NON-PROFIT HOUSING PROJECTS BUILT BUY PEOPLE WHO ARE COMMITED TO PUTTING IN THE EFFORT BECAUSE THEY CARE. THAT IS WHAT CROWN HEIGHTS LACKS. EVEN ONE, JUST ONE, COMMUNTIY ASKAN WITH A LEVEL HEAD WHO ACTUALLY CARES. ONE WHICH WILL PASS UP THE CHANCE TO TURN A PROFIT IN ORDER TO HELP A WHOLE YOUNGER GENERATION. THAT IS WHAT THE REBBE WANTED FROM OUR COMMUNITY COUNCIL, BUT THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE WHERE PEOPLE SHOULD BE POINTING FINGERS. THE FOCUS SHOULD BE GETTING IT DONE ONCE AND FOR ALL, AFTER WHICH WE CAN LEAN BACK, POP OPEN A BEER, AND CURSE OUT THE LACK OF VISION OUR COMMUNITY COUNCIL POSSESSES.

  • CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    im a student and im not on shlichus .my parents make to much to be on public .. welfare..(wtvr its called) but way tittle to afford anything … i dont really understand all that but anyways . i’m hardly able to get new clothing .. can never go out with my friends… cant make them birthday parties or by them presents … i always have to lie to everyone about going places cuz we cant afford anything … im constantly seeing unpaid bills … listening to my parents who are stressed out cuz they dont know how their-going to going to put food on the table…. i got braces but was never able to get them off because my parents couldn’t afford to pay the bill … and on top of all the stress and embarrassment i go through everyday every year without fail i need to go through embarrassment when the new year starts . starting from when i was really younger i got sent home from school the first few days and obviously everyone knows y … when i got older no report cards no diplomas …. a note inside the envelope instead saying pay up.. every year instead of exciting starting a new year i look at it with dread not because i hate school but im afraid of getting embarrassed and hurt again.
    and then a chutzpah i hear that the very people that are tearing my family apart because of tuition — are living very comfortably and the teachers some how are not getting paid well if no ones getting payed and the school do get money donated .. where does all the money go? i wonder ? somehow all the administrators happen to live very nicely with 2 houses , bungalows for all their children…CORRUPTION or what?
    and then they wonder why more people wont give money … no one want s to give money went they know its not reaching its cause
    im plain sick of all this .. sick of the embarrassment sick of being known as the schnorrer sick of the headaches i get every-time i think of this .. i cant take it anymore ..
    u know i always thought i wanted to have a big family but at the rate im going now im not so sure if ill be able to afford it… and i dont know how much longer im going to be able to handle all this..
    OHH AND THEN ONTOP OF ALL THIS THE COMMUNITY WONDERS WHY EVERYONES GOING OFFF THE DERECH — HMM I WONDER?? U EVER THOUGHT THAT TUITION WAS INVOLVED WELL I TELL U FROM SOMEONE THATS GOIN THROUGH THE SITUATION –TUITION HAS A LOT TO DO WITH IT KIDS HARBER A GRUDGE AGAINST A SKWL THAT PUBLICLY EMBARRASSED THEM AN D THEYRE FAMILY… THEY LOOK AT THE SECULAR WORLD WHO DOESNT HAVE THE BIG FAMILY DOESNT HAVE THE JEWISH EDUCATION AND THERE4 DOESNT HAVE TO PAY THE TUITION….
    TO ALL THE FINANCIAL PEOPLE IN THE SKWLS I HOPE U REALIZE HOW MANY JEWISH SOULS WERE LOST BECAUSE OF U AND WHAT RESPONSIBILITY U CARRY ON UR SHOULDERS .

  • A TEACHER

    maybe lubavitsh H.Q. (R’ MOSHE KOTLARSKY) should get
    a ROER fund TO PAY OFF ALL SCHOOLS DEBITS. NOT ONLY IN C.H. BUT ALL ELEMENTRY SCHOOLS ALL MESIVTES AND ZAL.
    FOR ONCE OUR CHILDERN THE NEXT generation WILL GROW UP LIKE THE REBBE WANTS.

  • needs help

    toronto has it right wrote:

    good idea. I live in Los Angeles, and B.C.M. did something very similar last year. I filled out all the forms and did everything right and paid to send away the forms and have it processed independently of the school. It came back that according to my income i shouldn’t have to pay anything (i’m not bragging). Unfortunately I can barely put food on the table and my husband and I both work. I understand that the schools don’t have to take my kids for free, but they totally disregarded the report that they received regarding my financial situation and gave me a very hard time. In fact I was told “you can’t pay, send your kids somewhere else”. It was only the day before school started that we came to some kind of agreement. But trust me they took the kishkes out of me knowing I don’t have money. We don’t own a house, we don’t lease cars, we don’t go on vacations. my kids are considered the poor kids in their classes bec. they don’t have cell phones and ipods and digital cameras etc. But still we were harassed. I dread to think of what will happen for the coming year, of having to go through the whole agmus nefesh again.

  • PLEASE CALL TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE...

    In a very timely moment, I just received this email today. This is how we can make a difference. PLEASE CALL!
    YESHIVA TUITION BREAK – PLEASE ACT NOW
    One sixty second phone call to this toll-free number could save our community millions of dollars: (800) 319 – 3403.

    With just two weeks left in the Legislative session in Albany, now is the time to act to help families who are struggling to pay yeshiva tuition. Assemblyman Vito Lopez & Senator Marty Golden have introduced legislation that would allow middle-class parents to deduct the cost of private school tuition from their state taxes and poor families would receive an actual tax credit. This could save average families in our community thousands of dollars each year.

    But we must ACT NOW. The legislative session in Albany ends June 21st

    Please call Governor Spitzer’s office today at (800) 319 – 3403.

    If you speak with a live operator, please tell them:
    “I’m calling to ask the Governor to support the Lopez-Golden Tuition Tax Deduction Bill.”

    If you reach a voice mailbox, DO NOT HANG UP. Each message is logged and counts!

    After the tone, leave the same message along with your zip code:
    “I am calling to ask the Governor to support the Lopez-Golden Tuition Tax Deduction Bill. My zip code is XXXXX.”

    Governor Spitzer has the ability to get this done. But he must hear from you and everyone you know.

    It’s a simple call (800) 319- 3403.

    Every single call made to the Governor is logged and will make a difference!

  • A Kolel Yungerman

    I am still in Kolel and I know it might not be fair for me to express my opinion when so many people are having a hard time.
    But where is the Emunah? Where is the Bitachon?
    Do you think it was ever easy in Galus?
    Do you want pleasure (money)? Or do you want happiness (Nachas from your kids with trust in Hashem)?
    Did we so easily forget what is REALLY important?
    Of course it’s not easy but to give up the truth for money isn’t going to work.
    Do you want to try it and then regret it?
    Want your kids to feel the pain of an empty life?
    We are Yidden and we are Chassidim and we should look like it!
    That doesn’t mean the situation is unacceptable and has to be dealt with.
    But no lack of Emunah and Bitachon are the solution.

  • To a concerned member of the community

    Right on! We tell our bochurim shlichus is everything, GED and secular studies are TREIF and when they don’t get one of the limited shlichus positions available and have no secular schooling or training, they have no means of supporting their families. Learning a parnasa, having a means to support ones family should come before marriage. No??

  • toronto

    I live in Toronto, and have no idea what you are talking about. The boys Cheder/Yeshiva rips your kishkes out with tuition. Nasty is the only word to describe it. I don’t have personal experience with the girls school so I won’t comment about that.

    The frum non-Lubavitch Toronto schools are actually a pleasure to deal with when it comes to tuition. Maybe that is what everyone is referring to.

    I get so sick of Shluchim complaining – around here they all own plenty of real estate (personally owned – not institutions), do very well, the teachers don’t even have to pay tuition – yet shluchim automatically get camp discounts etc… They make more money than I do!!

    The issue is across the board and has nothing to do with shluchim/non-shluchim.

  • To a kolel yungerman

    When you have your family and the bills are there, lets see if your singing the same tune!! We all said the same thing…….the Emunah is there, but so is reality!!

  • suffering

    to kollel yungerman you are still newly wed wait a couple of years & see what Parnossa problems do to a marriage, we must start making a Kli bederech hateva not just relying on nissim, emunah & bitachon are fine, but we have to start making a kli, it must become more acceptable in Lubavitch to get a degree in something, it’s poshut suicide beyodayim not too, maamid atzmoi bemokoim sakana is ossur, make a poll about the effect of all this on Sholom Bayis

  • elchonon

    Hi,

    I read through most of the replies, and I feel your pain as a child of a family of 10 and know how hard it is to pay tuition.

    I have a solution, while its not a instant thumb snapping answer, it will provide the basis of the solution.

    In this case we will take our cue from the goyim…

    We first and foremost need to start a education foundation, if and as voiced here that the school’s are corupt and cannot be counted. In that case it will be a indapendant board.

    Bill gates, warren buffet, sam walton and others have spent / pledged billions of dollars for the public eucation.. we can do the same if we have a outlet.

    I want to note here that the rebbe and he quoted the rabbeim would give money at the bris towards the child’s yeshiva tuition.

    We can learn from lakewood yeshiva on how they finance the yeshiva, they have a fund which money is donated to, the base capitol is not used but rather the interest…

    Furthermore, as can be seen by thousands upon thouisands of posters about how to start putting away money for a child as a kid to pay their college..

    If newlyweds would start paying small amounts for the first 7 years… the returns would be amazing.

    Yes the mosdos need a overhaul, they need to be run by a board, they need to implament more cost saving mesures.

    If walgreens can sell colored paper shoes for he fight against diabities.. we can sell tuition shoes.

    Airline flights, the first class pay for the couach to fly.. please make first class (rich) pay extra..

  • Yehuda

    i see newlyweds ordering out every night, going to the finest stores, driving the nicest cars… maybe you should save your money and you can invest the savings and pay for schar limud.

  • Former OT-nik

    i think the time has come for lubavitchers to seek higher education and higher paying jobs, join corporate america, it was too hard for me to pay the bills – i studied every night for a few years and now i am bh doing fine…

  • mendy

    I don’t think anyone will get this comment but here it is:
    When I grow up, I will not go out on shlichus. I will not start a business.

    I will RAISE MONEY FOR YESHIVOS. Yeshivos cannot turn anyone down due to lack of funds. Every Jewish child deserves a Jewish education. Someone has to make it happen. I am starting in 2-3.
    You are welcome to join me.

  • shliach1

    I see many comments about how shluchim are doing well etc. – :Yes many after 30 yrs we will have some sort of financial stability (hopefully sooner) Alot of the new young shluchum that have to pay tuition don’t wear to find the money. We look like we live a good life – let me tell you its the good life of the credit card. Lots of us are in debt – it takes quite a number yrs. till you build up a strong group of bb – Yes we may have nice housee/chabad house – but its less money than paying 2000 a month in rent

  • Alter Kotzker

    100 comments and the phrase “birth control” only appears once!
    Will this post be “approved”?

  • HUMOR ME!

    This is AMERICA ..Let’s outsource. So a few Mealmdim will be out of a job..But think of the benefits. If Dell could get me to learn how to use this computer then that guy from India might get my son to learn.. So his accent will be off.If we can get that ban off Internet than we could have virtual Yeshiva. Our kids don’t even get physical education but without tuition cost we can invest in Nitendo Wii and our kids can play a whole game of baseball without one fight..IMAGINE..Ohh dear my BMW is double parked and my son is calling from his cell to mine,I must make my mortgage payment on my summer home,and I’m late for my manicure appointment .I would love to continue writing but I really am soo busy I must go.BTW this is the 100th comment..If you have time to read it then you have time to get yourself a better job!!!

  • Still paying tuition after 25 years

    Our school system humiliates. Not because that’s the goal (although the tuition commttees often act like it is) but because THIS IS THE WAY IT’S SET UP!!

    So here are my suggestions.

    1. NO LONG TERM KOLLEL. GET A JOB, BE A RESPONSIBLE PARENT>

    2. CUT BACK…it can’t be done??? Oh yes, it can, I’m doing it. We invested in a financial program with on-line & phone support, and my wife & I expect a total reduction of our debt (totalling inc. mortgages etc. close to $900,000) WITHIN 5 YEARS!!! And no, we don’t eat macaroni every night.

    3. Come clean to the Yeshivos. If you own a second home in the country, be prepared for justifiable fallout. Consider selling it. The taxes alone would cover some tuition.

    4. Where possible, get a second job. My wife & I both did that at different times to pay tuition.

    5. The Yeshivos need to practice what they preach. They should pay their teachers FROM TUITION; like they want regular tuition, they should pay them regularly. Then they should FUNDRAISE for improvements to buildings, new facilities & equipment. And the Head Honchos should live modestly.

    6. Why do only the wealthy have to be on tuition committees? Who appointed them King of all they survey? Why not have a balance, including those who struggle. That way there can be less humiliation for the guy on the wrong side of the desk.

    7. There are trillions of $$ out there, & some capable people who can raise them. Hire them to bring in $$$.

    And finally…stop humiliating the children. It’s not their fault that Tatty’s unemployed, or dysfunctional, or that Mommy had a breakdown or is busy taking care of Bubby. They need their schools to be advocates for them, safe places, & to show unconditional support & love. My wife says that’s the job of a teacher. She’s a good one!!

  • Jackie

    There are plenty of government jobs for which one can apply that do not require a college education. These jobs pay decently and provide health benefits, lots of paid leave and a pension. Anyone who is interested can go to the appropriate websites to see the jobs available.

    My husband and i both work. My husband is a professoinal who leaves the house before 7:30 and never comes home before 9:00. He gets home 10 minutes before shabbos. we don’t struggle as much as some of the other writers here, but the only time my children see my husband is shabbos and Sunday. And when the kids are older and go to school on Sunday it will be only shabbos. And guess what – he is exhausted on shabbos. I often wonder why there are so many men around CH during bsiness hours.

  • David

    To: “THE REAL PROBLEM” – It’s nothing to do with the housing market. And if you get out of your bubble, we’re not ONLY talking about CH. People all over are having the same issues. It is down to one thing. Education, education, education. And NO I’m not ONLY talking about higher education, but general education in other areas. Education in financial planning. And most importantly, education on what life is all about and why it’s not all about fancy cars, $4000 wigs, diamonds etc.

    I am not surprised no one has commented on the W2 issue I mentioned above. You all know what I’m speaking about. On that note, I think EVERYONE should read todays Hayom Yom. I believe the “cheating others” quoted below also refers to keeping to the laws of the land.

    “G-d will bless you in whatever you do.” Man needs but to make a receptacle for his livelihood and to endeavor with all his power that the receptacle be pure of any impurity or dross of cheating others and the like. This means that whatever he does conforms to Torah laws. Thus he becomes a “vessel” worthy of G-d’s blessing, in two ways: His livelihood will be ample and his earnings will be directed to desirable ends.”

  • Been there too

    I commend Rabbi Hecht for bringing up a subject that is obviously emotional yet severely important.

    It is cathartic to know that others are experiencing similiar situations when it comes to school tuition and equally important to read some people’s solutions to this problem such as advocating for school vouchers.

    It is also clear that we are now suffering the long-term repercussions of educating the girls but not giving the boys skills to earn an income that could support a family and especially a large family. We too, suffer with this every single day. My husband only attended Chabad schools, was not a high achiever so was sent to a variety of different schools each accepting him as a student who will not act out but not encouraging him to succeed either. At 18, he accepted a (lower paying) job so that he could enter the working world. To this day, (three children later) he lacks the confidence to pursue higher education, has a deep fear of failure – even a fear of success and is severely bitter about his Chabad education. Having attended a day school and pursued higher education, I do feel that a Chabad chinuch is critical as long as it educates a child completely ie; math skills, reading, writing, spelling!!, science, geography. (With some creativity, these secular subjects can be taught from a frum perspective) and hopefully, our sons will actually have the skills to support a family. Not only does my husband feels that his chabad schooling not get him anywhere but it affects his self esteem on a daily basis, it affects our own struggles with the astronomical cost of tuition, and of course a marraige as well.

  • lizman

    and i love this quote from shturem.net
    Rabbi Hefer started the interview with his first stages in education. “When I started out in education and encountered certain problems I asked the Rebbe when can I throw out a girl from the seminary because of educational problems? The Rebbe looked at me and said: ‘I won’t answer you this question directly, I just want to you to look upon each girl as a daughter of Sarah, Rivkah, Rochel and Leah until Moshiach comes, this is one golden chain. If you feel you have the strength to break this chain….

    ”The Rebbe’s concentration on each minute detail was amazing. To him every Jew was equal. Each Jewish boy or Jewish girl was considered as gold in the Rebbe’s eyes, sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or daughters of Sarah, Rivkah, Racehl and Leah.

    “Once on a different occasion the Rebbe said that the majority rules and if I see that the majority could be harmed by favoring the individual then I should act in accordance with what is good for the majority not the individual.”

    IF ONLY THEY WOULD LISTEN TO THE REBBE TODAY IF ONLY

  • Mrs. L

    I am pained deeply. Let me try and shed light to this terrible situation. 1). If people can work toward tuition at school, then we barter our talents without going over budget.
    Foe example, if you are a talented artist, becomes an art teacher. Are you a Musician- a music teacher –teaching classes or playing at school functions- namely fundraising ones? (I am referring to women or men assuming the possibility for a Sunday)? If you are computer literate, secretarial skills, create spreadsheets, trouble shooting, bookkeeping are in demand in the office…. lunchroom, library, recess duty etc.? In all honesty, any electrical, plumbing, painting, landscape upkeep…do you have any idea how much money you can reduce? Now, the school needs to meet half way to help solve the childcare aspect. Maybe a network can be created where childcare services are provided at school and supervised by families who ‘put in their hours.’ Even fundraising…book fares, bake sales… the point is if the yeshiva can exist by lowering some costs, then it can give more discounts.
    If the school educates our children, we can give of ourselves respectably. By the way, even parochial school demand most of the above regardless of full tuition costs.
    We can work hand in hand. Create a’ giving back’ attitude.

    In ending I am a product of a young woman from out of town whose family was turned away from a CHABAD SCHOOL DUE TO LACK OF FUNDS. By some miracle, although as the youngest, all my siblings went to P. School, I had a 2nd chance and am a frum, solid woman living in the community. WE ARE ALL FRUM!!!!!!

  • A degree holders opinion

    To all those that are advocating hihger education here are two points to contemplate.

    I hold a degree and have a corporate job that pays above average (yes I do pay full tuition and have yet to ask for a discount BH). I strongly advocate higher education but it is very problematic with the Rebbe’s views. The Rebbe speaks very strongly against going to college, and has even harsher words to those that decide to go to a YU or Touro type college because it is a “yiddishe institution”. The only way you can reconcile this with our Rebbe’s directives is if you want to take the position that an undergrad degree carries the same value as what a highschool diploma did 50 years ago and therefore “nishtaneh itim” (IOW 50 years ago a highschool diploma practically guarenteed you a decent paying job and today only an undergrad degree or higher will do that).

    From a practical matter a college degree does not solve this problem. A normal paying job requiring an undergrad degree can maybe help you put 1 or 2 kids through our school systems. how can a job that pays $60-120k a year be enough to pay $50k for five kids?? Remember the lucky one that is making 120K is only walking out with $70-80k after taxes which leaves him $20-30k to spend on any other need his five children have after tuition is paid. Does that make sense? higher education is only one part of the solution.

  • Aaron Huber

    Since vouchers will never happen, as they violate the establishment clause of the 1st ammendment, charter schools are looking more and more appealing.

    In Hallandale Beach, FL (Just north of Miami) the Ben-Gamla Charter School will be opening its doors next school year. It will have a dual curriculum in Hebrew and English, and teach 2 hours of Jewish History and Culture as electives each day. It is chartered by the state of Florida and parents will pay ZERO tuition. While this school is more targeted at expat Israeli’s and is modeled after and Israeli public school, I think a modified version of it could work for frum kids. Since the public school day is shorter anyway this leaves time for kids to study an hour or two with a melamed in small groups that could be set up at people’s homes.

    The truth is, I don’t have a problem with the curriculum of public schools, but I do have a problem sending my kids to a school where half the kids don’t speak english, and the other half dress like rappers from MTV. This is a way to keep Jewish kids together in school and to aleviate the burden of tution in a way that satisfies many parties.

    See this news article from the Florida Jewish News for more info:

    June 13, 2007 10:50am

  • Avrohom

    ALL of the answers mentioned have a place. EVERYONE of us should see to it to help where we can. What the reader might feel when reading this “slew” of these comments is sfeikos in Emunah, which surely was not the intent of the comments. Rather than repeat all of the good eitzos, just a comment that not everyone of us is intended for Shlichus, umi ani umah ani to say… The bottom line is some of us can help with a bigger donation, and others will need a bigger scholarship. We are all working towards the same goal, and we ALL need to HELP each other in accomplishing all that is necessary to bring the Geula Shleima right now! To sum up: GIVE GENEROUSLY (each at there own level) & FUNDRAISE BEHATZLACHA RABBAH if this is your shichus, EMUNAH & BITACHON!!!!

  • fed up

    To kolle l yungermna- grow p! you are naive! ai used to be a believer but now I am just plain disillusioned. I live eon th esam block as one of th ebig school administrators and beleive me – the money keeps flowing while we struggl eto pay tuition even though we both work full time! It is about time our kids got a real secular education so we can stop this epidemic!!Kah our community is now too large for everyone to go on shlichus. Also , please look around and see how people have stopped having so many kids! why do you think that is?

  • Millinoaire

    There are tens and tens of Anash living here in Crown Heights that BH have made a very good living.

    Not every problem in Lubavitch needs to be taken to the Rohr’ family.

    Many of our own millionaire Anash need to start giving money to our own Mosdos.

    There are many silent millionaires in our community, I am sure that if they are approached they will respond.

  • This is practical !!!

    This is practical !!!
    With just two weeks left in the Legislative session in Albany, now is the time to act to help families who are struggling to pay yeshiva tuition. Assemblyman Vito Lopez & Senator Marty Golden have introduced legislation that would allow middle-class parents to deduct the cost of private school tuition from their state taxes and poor families would receive an actual tax credit. This could save average families in our community thousands of dollars each year.

    But we must ACT NOW. The legislative session in Albany ends June 21st.

    Please call Governor Spitzers office today at 800-513-1556.

    If you speak with a live operator, please tell them: I am calling to ask the Governor to support the Lopez-Golden Tuition Tax Deduction Bill.

    If you reach a voice mailbox, DO NOT HANG UP! Each message is logged and counts!

    After the tone, leave the same message along with your zip code: I am calling to ask the Governor to support the Lopez-Golden Tuition Tax Deduction Bill. My zip code is XXXXX.

    Governor Spitzer has the ability to get this done. But he must hear from you and everyone you know.

    It’s a simple call 800-513-1556.

    Every single call made to the Governor is logged and will make a difference!!!

  • Anonymous

    Hayom Yom
    Wednesday, Sivan 27

    “G-d will bless you in whatever you do. ”Man needs but to make a receptacle for his livelihood and to endeavor with all his power that the receptacle be pure of any impurity or dross of cheating others and the like. This means that whatever he does conforms to Torah laws. Thus he becomes a “vessel” worthy of G-d’s blessing, in two ways: His livelihood will be ample and his earnings will be directed to desirable ends.

    [Everybody must do the best that they can do, the schools (Yeshivas) Must do there part (help as much as possible and not turn away anybody) and we (the parents) must do our best to give as much as we could…

    This hasn’t been said so I will say it here, about all those that complain about summer camps (that it’s to expensive), may I dare to suggest that maybe the schools (and Yeshivas) extend throw out the summer (or at least half), We are paying for those mouth anyways). [Or] The best thing that can be done (and this is what a lot of the Jewish Frum world does) is instead of closing down a school for almost 3 months the school just moves up state (camp grounds) with the same kids, same teachers etc… What does it mean that school/Yeshiva closes for almost 3 months with Bocherim rooming the street (or other part of the world) because there parents can not pay for them to go to a normal camp?]

  • OY SE-TUT VEY

    As someone who was a teacher for many years in Crown hieghts i must say a few points.
    1. Our mosdos at leaset ohelei torah don’t run a proper budget and are not fiscaly responsiable.
    I now run a chabad house the budget is around 145k i have funded it before the year began, if ohelei torah which has a budget almost 10 times the size of mine hire 10 fund raisers the problem would be solved.
    It is the adminstratives own problem that they don’t create incentives for people to work as fundraisers.
    Such as going out there to the kolel and asking yungerliet to work for them.
    2.13,000 to pay per a child even once is way to much with a family larger then 3 kids.
    doesn’t matter what you do.

    I THINK THE SOLUTION TO THIS TREAMNDON PROBLEM IS THE FOLLOWING.
    BESIDES THAT WE SHOULD GET VOUCHERS.
    1.SCHOOLS HAVE TO HAVE A OPEN BOOK IN REGARD TO FINACES.
    2.THE SCHOOLS SHOULD HAVE A BOARD OF PARENTS RUNNING IT NOT THE LAYMEN ETC.

    AS REGARDING TO THE QUALITY OF CHINUCH ONE CAN TELL FROM MY SPELLING MISTAKES HOW WELL THEY TAOUGHT ME.

  • A very thankfull and apreciative parent

    It really depends what Yeshiva i know Oholei Torah is very strict about tuition but for example London i sent my son and told them straight out that i cant pay full fees , and they were very understanding and we worked something out.And my son had avery good year there.He wasn’t treated any worse because he paid less .

  • lizman

    to webbie

    please keep this post on top maybe people whave some more ideas?

  • shlucha

    Even if the boys’ schools can’t get vouchers because they don’t teach secular studies, at least the girls schools will get them. That will cut most people’s school bills in half. The only people complaing will be those with only boys!

    The lubavitch girls school in London recently got state aid. It doesn’t cover Kodesh studies but it’s something.

  • Rabbi B.

    What is sad is that the outrageous cost of tuition is causing families to do what the Rebbe didn’t want, i.e. family planning. As a Rov outside of Crown heights, I get calls from couples asking for a heter. The number one reason is “I can’t afford to pay for kids, how can I have more”. This is sad, yet true. The ‘tuition problem’ affects many couples, not just shluchim.

  • Let Torah be our guide

    Three points:
    1. No one ever gets poorer from having more kids, I know very small families that are struggeling tremendously and larger ones that are comfortable. It’s not the kids, even though it looks that way. Hashem always sends down the parnossa for each child born. A relative of mine used to say, I had the same financial difficulties with one child as I do with nine.
    It’s not the kids that make you poor. There are other issues that have to be dealt with.

    2. Obviously, those families who sincerely need help should get help, but those that are spending good money on other unneccessary things should realize how serious it is to be less then truthful and take from a school.

    3. I’m sure that anyone contemplating going to college will certainly speak to a mashpia who is well versed in the Rebbe’s opinion on college.

    Hopefully, many good solutions will come up for this general problem!
    Good Luck!
    .

  • Jacob Eherenkrants

    I have been reading this issue about Crown Heights. I live and work in Manhattan, G-D has given me extra and I try to support Yeshiva’s even though they aren’t in my area. I have given to Beth Rivkah, Oholei Torah, Bnos Menachem, all the Rabbi’s are great friends of mine. One question begs to ask, where are the wealthy people in the community? Hershel Chitrik, Shalom Drizin, Samuel Popack, Shaya Boymelgreen, Shlomo Drimmer, David Krinsky, even David Fischer and I am sure there are plenty more. Between all these characters I am sure they can get the deficit of the Yeshiva’s taken care of, why is it the problem of everyone else outside your neighborhood, You mention George Rohr a great friend of mine and great friend of Chabad and he is to be applauded for his work with the emmiseries of the Rebbe OBM. Why should it be anyone out Crown Heights ‘s issue, you have plenty of wealthy people in your community this should be their problem, in the real world it is called social responsibility. I name these people after some reserch and their names should be published they should bear some of the guilt.. This would never happen in any other comunitty anywhere in the world. Least of all the communitty where the Rebbbe OBM chose to live he would be sad.

  • Jacob Eherenkrants wrote:

    “Between all these characters I am sure they can get the deficit of the Yeshiva’s taken care of,”

    Let’s assume they decide to help the yeshivas and the deficit is taken care of… Will the yeshivas then lower the tuition and ease the burden of the poor parents? I doubt it. What we need is people who will give money to pay the actual tuition that is owed. Let’s say a nice rich family wants to help… What they can do is ask the hanhola who needs help the most. When they are given a list of those families they can then “ pay down” the tuition debt of those particular students. Let someone raise just for parents and another person raise money that goes straight to the yeshiva.

  • zev

    As a teacher, a son of a shliach and a member of a family of Shluchim, I have this question: Who says our number one priority should be Shlichus? Since when has Chinuch become just “another expense” while hafatzah is the number one priority? If Chinuch is not working well, and in our circles it is not, then young men should stop looking for glitz and start working for yeshivos. that is what the Rebbe wants from us now! I mean teachers, administrators, fundraisers, and janitors. Everything. As a Yid, Chinuch should be the first and last thing we worry about. Just like the teachers should be payed before the utilities so should parents pay chinuch before utilities. People must stop making shlichus the number 1 destination for thier tzedakah. The Pushkahs in the house should be going to Chinuch. Our Chinuch Mosidos need help. they should not have to make fancy fundraisers (although its not a bad idea). Every last penny should go toward it. we must devote all our strength and finances to Chinuch Habonim vehabonos!

  • Concerned parent

    After reading all the posts, I wanted to add my opinion.I feel very strongly that there is a definite correlation between the exorbitant tuition and the level of ignorance (in torah and in secular).I’m turning 40 and my parents generation, (obviously not those from Russia) are very learned in the talmud etc. AND in math etc.The fact is their parents did not pay tuition or paid a very modest sum.The administration actually raised the funds.

  • Concerned parent

    Continuation; my point is that, as the schools continue to raise tuition, this has the exact reverse affect. Instead of raising a generation of “Bnei Torah” we are raising a generation of children whom after seeing the pain and anguish their parents went through (or are going through) decided -as is very evident-it is too much of a burden for the parents,and they want no part of it. Either they will go to work or college (as Bohurim)

  • IS

    These people are not “characters”. They are successful businessmen who do plenty for local and worldwide institutions. All have children and grandchildren on shlichus who benefit from their direct support. In fact at least three of these pillars of our community are “past retirement age” (ad chaim nitzchiim),but they continue to be involved both with the businesses that they built up from nothing and with the local and worldwide Chabad community.

    Either the schools are just overburdened with tuition reduction cases or there is mismanagement, but to publicly shame these individuals, who carry plenty of the burden of the community institutions as it is, is beyond unfair.

  • J. Eherenkrantz

    To IS. Read what I wrote. Social responsibility obvoiusly is alien to you. Charity begins at home have you heard that? Pillars are what you reffer to: Hold up a community? Your communitty is falling apart. so what kind of pillars are we talking about, obviously not very good ones. Go local before you go worldwide it makes more sense. Exactly my point they are blessed business people they should get more involved like everywhere else. If you need an example look EVERYWhere else.

  • Achdus supporter

    the one good thing from all these posts is that WE ALL AGREE there is a problem. Achdus at last:)

    Now some genius needs to come up with a practical solution where we families & the schools benefit & no one person/institution is left in debt.

    And our kids will reap the rewards & obviously, our communities.

    Can someone please tell me why it’s so hard to find a workable solution? I know, I don’t have it, but I’m not a Gvir or a genius.

    Webby, PLEASE keep this post “on the front page.” It’s too important to drop.

    Thanks!

  • He is right

    There is at leat one person on that list who is worth MUC more than Rohr. He can fund the deficits of all rown heghts chinuch sdois, with what he akesin a month. Yet he is given th kovd of a gvir a baal tzedaka for giving, a few times a year som hats and jackets.

  • Anonymous

    I agree.
    It is easy to blame “the rich people” for all the budgetary problems, but there are several reasons that I know of why at least one of those (SBD) shouldn’t be included.
    a) He has been one of the primary supporters of BR and OT for many years, including buying the land that BR is on now.
    b) he has helped, and continues to help hundreds, if not thousands of people yearly with tuitions, mortgages, weddings, business loans, etc.
    Just ask all the Chasanim for starters.
    c) Rebbe Mechabed Ashirim – if the schools want the support from these individuals, they will have to court them as they do to a “fremde gvir.”
    When a certain Menahel was asked recently why SBD wasn’t honored appropriately at the BR dinner – he answered that he is a Meshugene.
    That is definitely not the way to inspire the neighborhood’s wealthiest man to give.
    There is also the matter of accountability.
    There is a lack of trust of Mosdos that are run like private fiefdoms.
    Forensic accounting is needed to clarify what the real income and expenses are and what every kid really pays in tuition.
    There are hundreds of “friends and family” in the Mosdos that just pay a fraction of the required tuition and there are tens of unneeded “jobs” that went to this one and that one.
    It would also be helpful to evaluate the needed jobs and what their salaries and perks should really be.
    And yes, they should fundraise.
    OT makes an effort but BR doesn’t even try.
    They don’t collect a pushka, make a phone call – nada, zilch, nothing.
    For every $100,000 you raise – 200 kids can get a $500 dollar break.
    Just a thought..

  • To Jacob Eherenkrants

    Jacob,

    First of all, I commend you for supporting the various institutions that you mention. I commend you doubly for continuing to give while you harbor the sentiment that this is truly a community problem and not the problem of some business man living and working in Manahatten.

    With that said, I think it must be noted that a good part of “our” deficit is coming from educating the children of Shluchim that are not living in “our” neighborhood at a discounted price. A shliach/friend of mine that does not particualarly like certain aspects of Crown Heights once said to me that the problem with CH is that it suffers from brain drain. The best and most talanted go off to some far flung corner of the world while the “less talanted” remain in CH. I am not going to debate the merits of that argument but the point that I am trying to make is that when it comes to supporting chabad institutions it is a one way street. While I don’t believe that a majority of the shlichus worlds budgets are covered by people from CH (or other Chabad big communties such as Toronto, Pitsburg, Chicago, etc.) there is only a cash *out*flow coming from Crown Heights. You do not see any significant funding (with the exception of discounted tution) coming from outside of the commmunity.

    I am right on board with you about the importance of social responsibility but you cannot ignore this unique problem that faces CH and other larger Lubavitch communities. Until you see a tzedakah giving -“trade” balance all CH Tzedokoh outflows will exasberate the already exisiting problem of schools covering their costs which is found across the orthdox world.

    As far as your top ten list of CH givers and why they do not participate more, I don’t know the extent of their giving but following the concept of dan l’kaf zchus I would imagine that they are fulfilling their obligation to the best of their ability (or to the extent they feel it is their responsibility).

  • OY SE-TUT VEY

    To Jacob Eherenkrants wrote.
    you wrote that there isn’t any in flow of cash to crown heights.
    you are dead wrong what about all the sheluchim who come on to crown hieghts and shop in CH.
    there is plenty of money going back to CH.
    They just need to start fund raising and learn how to do it well. and treat the wealthy people in CH like gold maybe they will be able to reverse the bad taste they have towards them

  • RealThinker

    This forum is very healthy and hopefully it will bare fruit.

    I just want to make note that if the system was able to function than you would simply have to twick it and then it would run smoothly. But here we have a system that by definition cannot maintain itself.

    The CH system does not teach children any professional skilss and even demonized any rational child for trying. Then unless they come from a wealthy background will either go broke and live off of wealfare and work off the books or… In Pirkei Avos it says that if you don’t teach a child how to make a living you teach them how to steal.

    The system … i don’t care who set it up is a crime.

    Listen to some Torah sense … read the Rambam and realize that you cannot preach shilchus forever. Someone needs to stand up and say- we need to change this model and yes it is ok to be a professional, a yirat shamayim professional. If people made enough money they would be able to pay tuition and would not have to relay on other people’s wimb.

    By the way, when you come back to BR with a degree they will pay you more. How do you like that for hypocrasy

  • be dan lkaf zchus

    “I don’t know the extent of their giving but following the concept of dan l’kaf zchus I would imagine that they are fulfilling their obligation to the best of their ability (or to the extent they feel it is their responsibility”

    Perhaps they are giving secretly, like in the story of the miser that died and then everyone found out how much he really was giving.

  • unfair

    the worst part is that the children our being subjected to the problem, on the first day of school the children are called out of class ans humiliated. is that fair you want to speak tto the parents ok but the kid????

  • aThought

    This forum is very healthy and hopefully it will bare fruit.

    I just want to make note that if the system was able to function than you would simply have to twick it and then it would run smoothly. But here we have a system that by definition cannot maintain itself.

    The CH system does not teach children any professional skilss and even demonized any rational child for trying. Then unless they come from a wealthy background will either go broke and live off of wealfare and work off the books or… In Pirkei Avos it says that if you don’t teach a child how to make a living you teach them how to steal.

    The system … i don’t care who set it up is a crime.

    Listen to some Torah sense … read the Rambam and realize that you cannot preach shilchus forever. Someone needs to stand up and say- we need to change this model and yes it is ok to be a professional, a yirat shamayim professional. If people made enough money they would be able to pay tuition and would not have to relay on other people’s wimb.

    By the way, when you come back to BR with a degree they will pay you more. How do you like that for hypocrasy

  • Rochel

    The bottom line fact is that placing this insurmountable tuition burden on parents in ALL JEWISH SCHOOLS AROUND THE COUNTRY is like trying to take water from a rock, or fit a circle through a square.

    The economy is a mess! Real estate is a mess! (Thanks George W.) Doctors and lawyers cannot afford full tuition and put a roof over their families heads at the same time. The money numbers don’t add up (for anyone).

    Schools charge too much and expect too much! We don’t send our kids to Jewish schools so we can brag at the water cooler that our kids go to private school. We want our kids to LEARN AND LIVE TORAH!

    What happened to Hillel Hazakayn who froze on top of the Bais Medrash because he couldnt afford Torah, of all things. Torah is compared to water–for one reason being that water is free and everyone has an inelienable right to come drink. This generation should be ashamed of itself that we have overpriced our torah education and are C”V hurting the next generation of future Talmidei Chachamim.

  • To OY SE-TUT VEY:

    To OY SE-TUT VEY:

    Interesting perspective you bring to the table. Do you think that Shluchim coming into CH for a shluchim convention weekend or to visit family spend enough money to offset the CH tzedokoh that is leaving the 11213/11225 zip code?! does it even move the needle? Even if we assume it does, only a fraction of $$ in end up in the hands of the buisness owners (after business expenses etc.) and then from there has to make it back to the moisdos.

    I am not trying to put shlichus or giving to shluchim in a negative light. Just trying to look at it from an economic perspective that CH faces and even larger problem than most other frum schools because less of baali batim tzedokoh dollars end up at the CH mosdos because they are spent trying to help their son/brother/nephew/friend that is on shlichus.

    I don’t think I am perfect example but I try and alocate my tzodokoh 1/3 shlichus, 1/3 limud torah, and 1/3 other (Hatzalah, bikur cholim etc.). I also do not benefit at all from shluchim shopping in CH (I don’t work in an industry that benifits from this). I give because it is my way to be mishtadel in the Rebbe’s vision of Hafatzoh. If I lived in Lakewood and my prespective were different I would be allocating 9/10 to limud hatorah and 1/10th to other. The chinuch mosdos have an easier time making ends meet with the Lakewood perspective.

  • Ohev Tzedek

    Samuel Popack alone could and and should contribute one million dollars a year to the education of the children on the Crown Heights.He made his fortune thru the suffering of the people in Crown Heights.It is time to return some of the loot to the community.This will go a long way to solve the tuition needs of Crown Height’s children