[Avodah] The Vilna Gaon and Secular Studies

[Marty Bluke]

On Tue, Apr 10, 2018 at 12:23 PM, Prof. Levine <larry62341 at optonline.net>
wrote:

>
> When Rabbi S. R. Hirsch was asked about the dangers of teaching secular
> studies,  he replied,  (I do not have the exact reply, so I am
> paraphrasing..) "True some will be led astray by studying secular
> subjects,  but how many more are led astray by the fact that they did not
> study secular subjects and are not prepared to deal with the world?"
>
> I have been told that Satmar is experiencing considerable defections from
> observance by some of its youth.  I have been told that the same is true of
> Chabad.  I have no data to back up these assertions.
>
> YL
>
> And Modern Orthodoxy which does learn a complete secular studies
curriculum has at least as high a drop out rate then Satmar if not higher
and even among those who do remain their level of observance is not
necessarily that high. See for example the following study
http://listserv.biu.ac.il/cgi-bin/wa?A2=LOOKJED;4e21c035.1801p which has as
one of it's conclusions the following disturbing statement:
"All this relates to practice, so that it would be fair to say that, when
the dust settles, the graduates of Yeshiva high schools are largely
Orthoprax."
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