Isn’t Jewish education worth at least as much as a secular education — or more?

Miriam grew up in a typical middle class home where she was accustomed to certain niceties, such as a hot supper waiting for her every evening, and a closet full of freshly cleaned and laundered clothes. She could count on her transportation, her cell phone, and her miscellaneous expenses all being paid for, courtesy of her wonderful parents and the nice people at Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

Then one day, when Miriam turned seventeen, it occurred to her that she wanted to study in seminary in Eretz Yisrael for a year. Her parents were supportive, except for one little detail. Circumstances being what they were, they couldn’t see how they could possibly pay the bill.

Why is it that when someone mentions the seminary experience, the first thing that people think about is the expense? Why has the cost of seminary become a red-hot issue in our community? And does studying in Eretz Yisrael inevitably mean breaking the bank? After speaking to many about this topic, one thing emerges — learning in Eretz Yisrael is expensive. But if a young woman wants it badly enough, she can make it work.

Taming Tuition

The most significant expense of seminary is, of course, the tuition. And while many parents are incredulous when they encounter the sticker price of one year in Israel (which varies, but is approaching $20,000), let’s consider the reality of this expense. Perhaps it’s a question of putting this cost in perspective.

“Let me say first that education — especially Jewish education — is expensive,” says Judy Gross, academic dean of secular studies at Maalot Baltimore.

In a column she wrote for Where-What-When magazine in Baltimore, Mrs. Gross explained that when one crunches the numbers, the cost of attending seminary in Eretz Yisrael is not much higher than the cost of an out-of-town seminary in the United States, especially when one factors in tuition, housing, and incidental travel expenses. Furthermore, she also analyzes the cost of tuition at secular American universities, and finds that they are prohibitively expensive.

“Assess the figures and tell me,” she concludes. “Isn’t Jewish education worth at least as much as a secular education — or more?”

Sounds nice, but the reality is that right now your daughter is not really considering the option of attending Columbia University or Cornell. Chances are that she is considering her year in Israel as opposed to a year at home, where she can perhaps gain part-time employment, while beginning to work towards a degree. Certainly Eretz Yisrael sounds more glamorous and enticing. But the bottom line is that someone has to pay the bills.

Parents like Eli and Devorah* understood that logically it made the most sense for their daughter to stay home. “But when we told her,” says Devorah, “how lovely it will be to live at home, and how many wonderful shiurim she can attend in our own neighborhood, she just burst into tears and ran to her room.” Like many parents, Eli and Devorah decided to reconsider.

There are creative and resourceful ways to reduce tuition expenses. Chaya, who lives in Detroit, attended seminary two years ago. Her school offered her a $2,000 “mechanchim” discount on the tuition, because her father is a rebbi. There was only one catch: to qualify for the discount, she had to agree to stay in Eretz Yisrael over Pesach. The school administration felt that anyone willing to pay the additional expense of traveling back to America for Pesach could probably pay full tuition as well. In other words, going home for Pesach is a luxury, not a necessity.

Thankfully, Chaya was very happy to stay in Eretz Yisrael for Pesach. Apparently, many other girls also opted to stay for the Yom Tov, not necessarily for financial reasons. And she was thrilled to have the discount.

Temima, who lives in the Five Towns, was offered a different option. In exchange for a discount on tuition, the school asked her and several other students to “contribute” some time to the seminary, a student work-plan exchange.

“One of us was asked to help keep the library organized,” she says. “Another girl helped to arrange the chagigah. I was asked to help organize a lost-and-found at the end of the year with all the items that were left around on campus. I really didn’t mind.”

Temima says that the “odd jobs” were never annoying or embarrassing. And it was always discreetly arranged, so none of her friends would find out the reason for her volunteer work.

There are, of course, more official methods of offsetting tuition expenses, such as Pell grants, private scholarships and government loans. These options have to be actively pursued. A student and her parents have to be on top of the situation, filling out the appropriate forms and following up accordingly. If planned properly, it can be very helpful in easing the bottom line of the seminary bill.

Rabbi Elozor Meisels of Seminar Yerushalayim is of the opinion that the whole concept of the high cost of seminary in Eretz Yisrael is grossly exaggerated.

“There are so many misconceptions out there,” he says. “I tell everyone that they may be pleasantly surprised to find out that a year in Eretz Yisrael is a lot cheaper than they think.”

How’s that? Rabbi Meisels walks us through the calculations. The MASA program is funded by the Jewish Agency and is relatively easy to qualify for (although there are some seminaries who don’t accept it). The federal government offers Pell grants that offer $4,000 to $5,000 a year to students who can demonstrate low income on FAFSA forms. New York State has TAP (other states have similar programs), that offers sizeable compensation for those who are eligible.

Mrs. Gross points out that New York residents hold a decided advantage when it comes to applying for these programs.

“Recently, some of the sponsoring institutions have decided not to accept out-of-town students, primarily because they do not expect them to continue their studies in their school once seminary is over.”

She cautions parents and students to be very careful when navigating the system. “If a program sounds too good to be true,” she says, “check it out thoroughly.”

Rabbi Meisels also points out that certain cities and corporations offer financial aid as well, but parents have to learn the ropes. “If your daughter wants to go to seminary,” he says, “become proactive. Speak to mothers who have recently sent their own daughters and are familiar with the opportunities. Network with others who have already been there.”

Most important of all, don’t be uncomfortable about discussing the situation openly with the administration of the seminary, especially if your daughter is considered a good student and your family has a reputation for its integrity. Seminaries are interested in recruiting students like these and want to help.

Staying on a Budget

Once a student arrives in Eretz Yisrael, the pressure is on. She is surrounded by all sorts of enticing opportunities to spend money, and is overwhelmed by the fact that she is responsible for her own budget for the first time in her life. Add that to the total confusion over the shekel system. Suddenly, a two-and-a-half dollar pizza costs ten shekel, and the foreign bills seem like colorful play money, with those strange coins that make no sense at all.

Eli Pollock, a Baltimore–based CPA, writes a column on financial advice. He suggests that the best way to budget during seminary is to withdraw a certain amount of money and make it last for a specified amount of time.

“Track your expenses,” he says, “by writing down the date when you changed say, $100, and note how long it lasts. I personally think that the system that works best is to write down every single purchase in a notebook with columns.”

Chaya tried to do that. “When I got to Eretz Yisrael,” she says, “I decided that I was definitely going to write down every expense. I really tried to keep a log but it was just too hard.”

In the end, she relied on her own instinct to maintain control. Temima, on the other hand, kept to a strict schedule.

“I knew I had to be careful,” she explains. “So I would take a few hundred shekel out of my checking account once a month and tried to live on that.”

Did that mean that she had to occasionally deny herself certain luxuries? It certainly did.

“Some girls would go out for sushi one a week. Or iced coffee. I usually stayed in seminary. Eventually you realize that these are things you don’t really need. You also don’t need the key chain or the T-shirt at the souvenir store.”

Miriam is currently attending seminary, and is being careful with her budget, because the money she spends is her own hard-earned cash. Like many seminary students, she made a deal with her parents in the beginning that they would cover the cost of tuition, and she would pay for all incidentals with her own money.

“I knew I wanted to come here for the last couple of years,” she says. “So I spent my summers babysitting and working in day camps. The money I’m spending is my own.”

Books and Seforim

What about the expense of books? Nowadays, there’s no point in bringing seforim from home, especially considering how much they add to the weight of a suitcase. Instead, many students partner with friends and acquaintances who attended the same seminary the year before. They ask them to leave their used seforim for them, usually in a designated area in the school. In that way, books are passed down from year to year, and the new students have their seforim ready and waiting for them. Often, girls will work out a deal whereby the second-year student pays a nominal fee towards the original cost of the books.

Transportation

One of the biggest adjustments in coming to Eretz Yisrael is learning to use the transportation system. Girls who were chauffeured to school in car pools for years are suddenly discovering the challenges of mastering the bus system. At one point, for security reasons, parents were requesting that their daughters travel only by taxicab, but that option is expensive. And considering that girls may not recognize which taxi drivers are reliable, it may not be all that safe either.

Students under eighteen also have the option of a discounted student card

Food

Often, the most daunting expense of all is can be the food bill. Eighteen-year-old girls can be finicky when it comes to their eating habits, and the fact that some seminaries serve their meals “Israeli-style” —the main meal is at lunchtime, not suppertime — means that many girls feel they are starving at the end of the day. While there will always be the select few who have unlimited credit card use and can eat out in cafes as often as they want, most girls have to think carefully before they venture out to the nearest eatery.

Miriam says that her friends have invested in a few practical kitchen tools in order to prepare their own meals. “One girl bought a burner and a pot, and she cooks chicken, macaroni, and soups.”

Dini remembers that when she attended seminary, she shared the expense of kitchen gadgets with her friends. “We bought an electric stovetop and a pot,” she says, “and we had a microwave where we made popcorn a lot.” The girls would split the bill for the ingredients for a vegetable soup or rice pilaf, and then would share the dinners. For others, even these options were extravagant.

“When I needed a filling American meal,” says Temima, “I bought a box of Israeli cereal and a bag of milk.”

Laundry

Most seminaries have laundry rooms where girls can do their own wash for about seven shekels a load (and another seven shekel for the dryer). Invariably, the girls are disappointed to discover that Israeli machines are tiny, fitting just a few items. Even in this area, they came up with creative solutions.

“We mixed our whites and colors in one load,” said Dini, “even if the clothes didn’t come out looking great. And we combined our stuff with friends when we used the dryers, which were considerably larger.”

What about dry cleaning?

“You’ve got to be kidding,” was the standard reply. “Who had money for that?”

Cell Phones

Nowadays, most schools advise their students to purchase cell phones from a designated dealer so that everyone will be on the same network. Still, a girl’s cell phone can be her lifeline that connects her to her family in America and to her best friend attending a seminary in another neighborhood.

Resourceful girls will learn pretty quickly how to limit their paying minutes and how to take advantage of the minutes that are free. Incoming calls are generally free as well, so parents are encouraged to call their daughters at a designated time rather than the other way around.

And how about this trick? According to Miriam, when calling a friend or relative who won’t mind, “A lot of times, girls will call, let the phone ring once, and then hang up. Usually, the other person will call you right back.”

Bottom Line

For girls who’ve never before had to think twice about spending money, budgeting in seminary can be a real challenge.

“Money is definitely a big issue here,” says Ariella Farkas, LCSW, who lives in Jerusalem. “I speak to plenty of girls who are having trouble learning how to keep to a budget. It’s often the girls who are impulsive by nature, or who have trouble thinking things through for the long term, who have a harder time maintaining a budget. For many, it’s definitely an emotional strain.”

On the other hand, isn’t that part of the overall experience of growth? Ariella points out that the budgeting issue is a lesson for life.

“This is what it’s all about,” she says. “It’s about learning to be happy with what you have. It’s about being able to tolerate wanting something and not being able to have it. And it’s about living within your means and being satisfied with it.”

Rabbi Meisels suggests that perhaps that’s one of the many reason to be sending our daughters to seminary in the first place.

“The whole experience,” he says, “is meant to take them out of the little bubble and the cozy cocoon that they’ve been swaddled in for the last eighteen years and to teach them to become independent. In seminary, they learn to be responsible and to think about the future.”

That’s something that just won’t happen as easily when a young woman is living at home, no matter how independent she may be in spirit.

The seminary year is pivotal, it seems, in more ways than one. Priceless lessons are learned and internalized, as a young woman is transformed from a teenager to a young adult. There are times when she will inevitably make mistakes. There are times when she may be homesick, she may be tired, and she may wonder where her next shekel is going to be coming from. But hopefully, by the end of the year, she’ll learn to make the best of the experience and to become an adult in every sense of the word.

*Names have been changed

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 221)