The ubiquitous post-high school year in Israel experience for graduates of Modern Orthodox day schools has a profound intellectual, social, and religious impact on the young men and women who go there to study. It also has an impact on their parents, family, and community, and the institutions they attend after the year or two in Israel.
It is too easy to lapse into anecdotal stereotypes based simply on observing many young men and women returning from Israel. It is true that many become more observant–from black hats to long skirts to changing their choice of college to allow for a more intense Torah environment. Many who take Torah study more seriously may even opt to skip college or put it off for a while. Many actually make aliyah. But it is also true that many who return resume their lives and college careers with nary an external change. It’s the internal changes that are important, especially those that are not fleeting.
We need to understand what the issues are, why the year away from home has such an impact, why some changes occur, and what factors contribute to these changes. Obviously not everyone “flips out,” some gradually return to their pre-Israel Jewish identity (much to their parents’ relief) and some should never have gone to Israel in the first place. There is also a very small sub-group who use this opportunity in Israel to do drugs, drink to excess, and hang out in unsavory places. Israel affects some more than others, and there are often more subtle changes. While not totally synchronous, the comparison to converts often seems plausible since some of the elements are there.
Since almost every graduate of a Modern Orthodox high school spends at least one year in Israel as a rite de passage, parents really ought to know the different types of schools for both boys and girls, the curriculum variations, and the far too common lack of supervision in many schools. Many parents have no idea at all what the schools’ religious orientations are, nor how their children will be spending their spare time. Despite the best efforts of principals and Israel guidance personnel, more often than not the herd mentality determines where a high school graduate will spend the year. In addition, guidance counselors and principals sometimes suggest a school based on what they feel reflects well upon their school rather than what is in the student’s best interest.
Starting a school for American students has become a successful business in Israel. Students attending a regular Israeli yeshiva or seminary have a totally different experience from those where the student body is exclusively English speaking. For almost all of those spending a year in Israel, it is their first extended time away from home. The impact of the Israel experience is directly related to “issues” experienced by young men and women prior to high school graduation. Put succinctly, high school graduates with a strong sense of who they are and who are comfortable in their religiosity will gain the most from this experience. Israel ought not to be the default for what wasn’t accomplished by the home/school partnership up to that point.
Important questions to be asked of Israeli schools are: What are their goals? How much unsupervised time is there? How much time is spent on Israeli current events and Hebrew language? Who are the roshei yeshiva? What kind of atmosphere exists in the school? It is very possible to have an Israeli yeshiva or seminary experience that differs little from Lakewood, Monsey, Borough Park, Baltimore, Golders Green, or other insular enclaves. Classes are for the most part taught in English and there is little contact with the outside community. The American programs in Israel operate largely as if they were islands of American religious life in Israel. Some changes are slowly happening, but trips and chesed are not a substitute for interaction with Israeli society and culture unless isolation is the goal of most Modern Orthodox parents whose children will go to college.
Yeshiva life in Israel is very different from what the average young man or woman experienced in high school. It is a more intense, even raw, an all-encompassing experience of strong, powerful, concentrated, passionate, extreme, and fervent authority figures in a total environment that supports a lifestyle and values that in most cases do not reflect the homes from which these American students come. Unlike the Modern Orthodox world in which they grew up, there is no “other” subject or activity to pursue but Torah. This is not to knock the yeshiva system, it is just a realistic depiction of a 24/7 environment into which these young men and women are catapulted.
Some might suggest that the changes that frequently occur are merely the next step in development of previously held ideas. It is not rejection but part of a maturation process to reach another place or level. We strongly disagree. All parents want their children to be observant and to set aside time for Torah study, but the profound attitudinal changes affecting behavior, values, and external appearances are not based on a logical progression of previously held values.
Every Modern Orthodox day school values daily prayer and intensive Torah study. Students are exposed to positive role models and are encouraged to develop their aptitude for Torah scholarship. However, this 12-year exposure in no way transforms them into living a yeshivishe lifestyle. One can attend daily minyan, pray with fervor, and dedicate hours to Torah study–yet there is still math, social studies, literature, science, sports, TV, SATs, dating, etc. During the year in Israel everything is monochromatically Torah oriented. That by itself may not be a bad thing, but the impact of this change cannot be underestimated.
If young men and women return enriched from their Israel experience, invigorated by a deeper appreciation for learning and more committed to observance in the “real” world, then all concerned are happy. If some went to Israel already in the yeshivishe mold and their experience only strengthened their resolve to dedicate their lives to studying and disseminating Torah, that too is okay. Davening in an Israeli yeshiva/seminary is not like praying in one’s local synagogue. Students often bring back a fervor and intensity that makes the more staid members of synagogues uncomfortable. However, it is when nominally affiliated and modern young men and women return in a state in which their own parents hardly recognize them, that the Flipping-Out Syndrome is said to exist. Separation from the larger society is a major factor in the change process for those who join cults. The same can be said for spending a year away from home in the cloistered environment of an Israeli yeshiva/seminary.
Rabbi Dr. Wallace Greene has had a distinguished career as a Jewish educator. He is the founder of the Sinai School, and has received many prestigious awards. He is currently a consultant to schools, non-profit organizations, The International March of The Living, and serves as Executive Secretary of The Alisa Flatow Memorial Scholarship Fund. He can be reached at [email protected].
By Wallace Greene
