The yeshiva high school saga continues. It began early this month when Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef - a former Rishon Letzion (Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel) and presently the spiritual leader of the Shas party - issued a ruling that a student who wishes to learn in a full-time yeshiva, while his father wants him to attend a yeshiva high school (which combines yeshiva learning with secular studies), need not attend the latter, \"since such institutions do not produce Torah scholars.\"
The statement drew sharp criticism from the religious-Zionist public, of which the Yeshivot Bnei Akiva movement is one of its proudest achievements. The movement was founded by the late Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neriah, who started the first yeshiva high school, Kfar HaRoeh, 60 years ago; 12,000 boys and 5,000 girls presently study in 29 high schools and 19 ulpanot [for girls] throughout the country. Rabbi Neriah\'s successor, MK Rabbi Chaim Druckman, who also heads the Or Etzion Higher Yeshiva and Yeshiva High School, told Arutz-7, \"It is hard to believe that he even said this, because the facts speak for themselves. A great Torah world has sprouted from these institutions, including many many Torah scholars, religious court judges, Roshei Yeshiva, etc... The yeshiva high schools have made a revolution in Israel regarding the place of Torah and its study... The Torah must be manifest in every aspect of life, and yeshiva high school graduates are in fact found in every sphere...\"
On the other hand, Rabbi Aharon Egeltal, head of the full-time religious-Zionist yeshiva in Ma\'aleh Hever presented a different viewpoint today. He said, \"First of all, we must express our gratitude to the yeshiva high schools, in which we all grew up, and certainly for Rabbi Druckman and his total dedication on behalf of education of our youth all these years. At the same time, we must recognize that there is a problem...\" He noted specifically that graduates of full-time yeshivot have a much more extensive knowledge of Torah texts than yeshiva high school students, and that the latter often do not make Torah studies the focal point of their lives. \"What we have to do, and this is something that has already begun to be demanded by many parents, is to begin thinking about building institutions where, for the first two years, the studies will be only Torah, and in the second two years, secular studies and preparation for the matriculation exams will be added.\"
The statement drew sharp criticism from the religious-Zionist public, of which the Yeshivot Bnei Akiva movement is one of its proudest achievements. The movement was founded by the late Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neriah, who started the first yeshiva high school, Kfar HaRoeh, 60 years ago; 12,000 boys and 5,000 girls presently study in 29 high schools and 19 ulpanot [for girls] throughout the country. Rabbi Neriah\'s successor, MK Rabbi Chaim Druckman, who also heads the Or Etzion Higher Yeshiva and Yeshiva High School, told Arutz-7, \"It is hard to believe that he even said this, because the facts speak for themselves. A great Torah world has sprouted from these institutions, including many many Torah scholars, religious court judges, Roshei Yeshiva, etc... The yeshiva high schools have made a revolution in Israel regarding the place of Torah and its study... The Torah must be manifest in every aspect of life, and yeshiva high school graduates are in fact found in every sphere...\"
On the other hand, Rabbi Aharon Egeltal, head of the full-time religious-Zionist yeshiva in Ma\'aleh Hever presented a different viewpoint today. He said, \"First of all, we must express our gratitude to the yeshiva high schools, in which we all grew up, and certainly for Rabbi Druckman and his total dedication on behalf of education of our youth all these years. At the same time, we must recognize that there is a problem...\" He noted specifically that graduates of full-time yeshivot have a much more extensive knowledge of Torah texts than yeshiva high school students, and that the latter often do not make Torah studies the focal point of their lives. \"What we have to do, and this is something that has already begun to be demanded by many parents, is to begin thinking about building institutions where, for the first two years, the studies will be only Torah, and in the second two years, secular studies and preparation for the matriculation exams will be added.\"