Mazal tov to all of Bergen County’s graduates! I have enjoyed flipping through the paper the past few weeks to see how the community has been celebrating amidst the madness (huge shoutout to Rabbi Hagler and Yeshivat Noam!).

At the same time, I was concerned to see our yeshivot, cornerstones of our Jewish community, advertising their students’ forthcoming attendance on non-Orthodox gap year programs and university campuses with little Jewish life.

As a Jewish educator myself, I have watched my very diverse population of students graduate high school and go on to an equally diverse assortment of paths across the denominational spectrum and I am proud of each and every one of them. I, too, often look for excuses to showcase their accomplishments, academic accomplishments included, whether or not they fit in with the traditional Jewish value system that I strive for personally.

With that said, it is no secret that proper adherence to Jewish law is a challenge for college-aged students regardless of which campus they are on. All the more so, remaining observant is near impossible when students find themselves in environments with few or no Orthodox friends or minyanim, and in some cases little or no kosher food available on campus.

To be clear, this letter is not meant to be read as a tirade against non-Jewish academic institutions. There are some secular universities with thriving Jewish communities and support systems for Orthodox students. Therefore, why would our yeshivot take pride in sending their students to campuses that lack those resources? I am not even saying that we should not support our children in whatever paths they choose to pursue, but there is a fine line between parents supporting their children and schools taking pride in such “unorthodox” ventures.

Parents have proven time and time again that they are often willing to sacrifice their children’s observance for the sake of academic superiority; yeshivot ought not do the same.