“Young man, we haven’t changed our curriculum in over 3,000 years — and we aren’t going to change it now”

Photo: Yeshiva Bais Moshe

AT

Yeshiva Bais Moshe’s 58th annual dinner last week, the Scranton Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Chaim Bressler shlita, shared with the attendees an incident from years ago.

Like many yeshivah gedolahs in America, Bais Moshe is certified by the Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools (AARTS), the accreditation agency for yeshivos recognized by the United States Department of Education, which allows them to access government funding. At one point the Scranton yeshivah missed a crucial filing deadline, and its accreditation was revoked.

The yeshivah appealed the decision, and Rav Bressler had to make the trip down to Washington, D.C., to present at a hearing at the Department of Education. When he arrived, he realized the scene didn’t portend good news. The atmosphere in the room felt stiff and unforgiving; the officials were stern-looking, and Rav Bressler had a sinking feeling that the appeal would be refused, which would cost the yeshivah a significant amount of funding.

When he finished his presentation, the most senior member of the group got up to speak. He recalled attending an initial hearing on the topic of granting accreditation to Talmudic schools.

“At one point,” recalled the staffer, “the members of the committee were skeptical about a certain aspect of the Talmudic program, and a junior staffer wondered out loud why the schools couldn’t simply alter their studies to accommodate what was needed in order to grant accreditation.”

Immediately after this seemingly innocuous suggestion, “a biblical-looking man gazed up from behind his spectacles,” the man continued. (Rav Bressler later discovered that the “biblical-looking man” was Rav Mordechai Gifter, the rosh yeshivah of Telshe Yeshivah, who had testified along with Rabbi Naftali Neuberger of Baltimore’s Ner Israel and Rabbi Yaakov Weisberg of Lakewood).

“Young man” he said, “we haven’t changed our curriculum in over 3,000 years — and we aren’t going to change it now. Even for the United States government.” The members of the committee were moved by Rav Gifter’s comment and voted in favor of awarding yeshivos accreditation.

This aide — who had since climbed the ranks and today holds a prominent position in the DOE — shared that Rav Gifter’s conviction left a lasting impression on him, and since then he has maintained an admiration for yeshivos and their studies. The mood in the room shifted and Bais Moshe’s accreditation was restored.

Recounting this story at the dinner, the Scranton Rosh Yeshivah continued. “After many years, the yeshivah is embarking on a building campaign. Yet even though the setting will be new, the yeshivah’s curriculum will not change — just as it hasn’t for over 3,000 years.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 952)