Dear Matzav Inbox,
Thanks for providing this forum and for recently addressing various financial issues affecting the frum community.
I’ve just finished sending my daughter to seminary in Eretz Yisroel, and the final bill – after tuition, flights, and spending money – was well over $40,000. Yes, you read that right. Forty. Thousand. Dollars. For one year of seminary! It’s not just a hefty sum; it’s downright insanity.
And as if that wasn’t enough to make me question my own sanity, I’m now gearing up to send another daughter off to seminary in Israel, bracing myself for the financial bloodbath all over again.
But what choice do I have? This isn’t about indulging in luxuries or pampering my daughter. I did what I felt was necessary for her chinuch and wellbeing. She had a good year, and it was a meaningful experience for her. But at this price tag? It’s not just steep; it’s outrageous and unsustainable.
Let’s be clear: I understand that education costs money. I’m not one of those people who expect a free ride or feel entitled to a handout. I’m willing to pay for what my daughter needs, but the costs associated with sending a girl to seminary in Israel have become completely divorced from reality. And here’s where it gets really frustrating: If this was truly the cost of providing a quality chinuch in Eretz Yisroel, I’d probably grit my teeth, swallow the bitter pill, and move on. But then I hear about Rabbi Moshe Dovid Perlstein, who somehow managed to open a seminary and charge a fraction of what everyone else is demanding – $17,000 or whatever his seminary charges. Proof positive that it is possible to run a seminary without extorting parents. So what’s going on here? Why are the rest of us being ripped off?
This isn’t just a rant about my personal finances, though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t deeply frustrated. This is a broader issue that affects countless families in our community. Frum life is already expensive – we all know that. Tuition, housing, yomim tovim, food, chasunos, bar mitzvahs  – the list goes on and on. But the costs associated with seminary in Israel have reached a point where it feels like the system is taking advantage of parents who are trying to do right by their daughters.
Why does sending our daughters to seminary – an experience that we all recognize as important for their growth and development – have to come with a price tag that feels like extortion? We talk about the importance of chinuch and investing in the next generation, but at what cost? Literally. It’s time to ask the hard questions. How did we get to this point? And more importantly, what can be done about it? Because something has to change.
Sincerely,
G. L.
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