Numerous bochurim were recently thrown out of various high-level yeshivos at the beginning of the winter session of studies due to having procured a driver’s license – which is prohibited by the Yeshivos.
Maran Hagaon HaRav Shach made it prohibited for students of Lithuanian Yeshivos to procure a driver’s license, when he passed a ruling through the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah stating that Roshei Yeshivos should prevent their students from getting a license. The ban came following a number of serious car accidents that Yeshiva students were involved in at the time.
Many of the Yeshivos accepted the ruling, however, there were some who did not implement the ban. Among those who did not accept the ban were the Hebron Yeshiva, Knesses HaGedolah, and Ateres Yisroel.
As the years passed, more and more yeshivos prohibited the procurement of a driver’s license, even for older bochurim. Ponovezh Yeshiva is one such institution, however, there is no enforcement of the rule at Ponovezh. At the yeshivos where licenses aren’t prohibited, they are only permitted for students older than 21.
Yeshivos used to check whether students had licenses, once a year, by calling up the Licensing Bureau and asking with regard to each individual student. Ever since MK Osnat Mark changed the rule and no longer allows the Licensing Bureau to give out this information over the phone, then Yeshivos used the internet to apply for a license for the student online to see if they already had one or not.
At the beginning of the winter session, a number of Yeshivos including, Chevron, Beis Matisyahu, Wolfson, Mir, and others, decided to do a sweep of all students who have licenses and expel them from the Yeshivos. This house-cleaning included older students as well.
Dozens of students were caught with a license, even though it was prohibited. The Yeshivos decided to expel those who didn’t have a legitimate reason s to why they needed the license, and in Chevron Yeshiva, 15 students were expelled.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
20 Responses
Excellent!! Let’s make sure we send out the message loud and clear: Conforming to old rules without any thought to whether they are still useful is more important than the learning of Torah.
so between the lines it sounds like only one yeshiva actually expelled & the number is 15 out of thousands of bochurim.
if a bochur with a license means a unsupervised bein hazmanim road trip to hotels in arizona ….than for that alone this takana is a yeshua
Wow! This piece of loshon ha’ra certainly goes a long way to increase ahavas Yisroel, kovod and chasivus ha’Torah vi’lomdehah! Thank you YWN!
Thius rule and its enforcement are what we might call pseudo-chinuch. It can verbally express a valid reason, but the logic does hold up better than a house of cards.
It is reasonable to exert some control and guidance about the activities of a bochur, as some may actually detract from the mission of the yeshiva. This includes driving. I fail to see how possessing a license makes any difference at all. The extent of enforcement described in this article borders onthe obscene. “Let’s see if we can catch you.” Someone provide me with the basis to accept that this is chinuch.
No, the bochurim should not have gotten licenses. But do we examine the business practices of the yeshiva offices? Can we catch them transgressing something? Are we micro-managing the lives of the bochurim? This picture is quite disturbing, and I fail to see how this is useful to the Klal.
Many U.S. colleges prohibit freshman from registering their cars on campus but really cannot control drivers’ licenses which have become a de facto ID Card for travel, access to bars, voting etc.
Then they want to know why people go off the derech. I can understand the prohibition but the methods the yeshivos took to investigate on their own are total communist/socialist.
rules need to be followed
I can hardly believe that the Roshei Hayeshivos (CHIEF MECHANIKS) AUTOMATICALLY kicked out the OUT OF CONTROL, DRIVING force of the yeshiva – the bochrim, who most likely STEERED the yeshivos in the right direction. These guys didn’t YIELD to the yeshivos RULES and they CROSSED THE LINE and got themselves BOOTED out. It?s a SHIFT that they will LOOK BACK to one day. Perhaps it?s a good time to check their MIRRORS, CHARGE their BATTERIES and take a BRAKE instead of SPEEDING through life on CRUISE CONTROL doing silly things?.maybe this is a good oppurtunity to SWITCH GEARS and go to an ALTERNATE(OR) yeshiva. I’ll stop SPINNING MY WHEELS why they were LEFT in the TRUNK. Perhaps they can connect back in by going ZOOM!
What will become of these bochurim now?
Oh, so they use INTERNET to check up on them???? Interesting
Absolutely and TOTALLY ridiculous
Yoshev Bshamayim Ischak,
Then go blame smart phones, chilonom, going, or the yetzer horoh when kids people off the derech.
When made up rules are more important than Jewish souls, we know that this is not Judaism.
Having a license is not an avera, kicking kids out of yeshiva has tremendous long term consequences and not only for the child himself, but for his family and his peers. But we are in an age, where chillul Hashem, and making the rabim sin is considered a mitzvah.
Every parent should take a their child out of such a “yeshiva”. Al taamod al dam re’echa. This is absolutely opposite of everything Judasim stands for.
So let me make sure I understand this correctly. The sakana of driving with a license is more dangerous whan driving without a license, and way more dangerous than being unvaccinated. I it mre dangeorus than drinking mayim shelanu. Can we check that on the internet.
I totally don’t get it. How can a Yeshiva for American older Bochurim make a rule disallowing “procurement” of a license? They usually get the license long before they decide which Yeshiva in Israel they’ll go to.
The whole rule is retarded anyway, like getting a license or not is going to make a difference in the bochur’s learning life. If he is in Israel to learn, he’ll learn, and if not, the license or lack thereof won’t make a difference. The proof that the rule is asinine is the sick way the pathetic enforcers found out if they have licenses. Being a former Yeshiva Bochur myself, and having had to deal with such sin’as Yisroel from unexpected places, the whole story makes me nauseous.
Stupid tekana, what is wrong with having a driving license? Tell them not to drive recklessly or teach them how to be considerate on the roads.
The litvaks with their dingaling slogans of only learning is important, ruin lives.
Are they afraid that they will drive off-the-derech? Or worse take a date in the car?
They can make any rules they want. They can forbid public expression of the word Saturday if they want.
As long as the applicants sign to agree, they can be penalized or expelled IF that is all spelled out in a contract they sign at over 18, or their parents co-sign.
However, to spy out for the data by asking from the dmv is midoraisa lifnei iver for the rep to be a moser plus roichel.
Option 2 of frum litvish yeshivish chareidi and all the labels administrators, using the verbotten internet to spy? Or even to hire a shaliach (shaliach kamoso) I mean, self-explanatory w-r-o-n-g.
Prepare proper contracts and disclosure agreements. The only way it can be permitted al pi halacha. But was that done? Can’t see how on earth.
Complete and total madness. I am making a machoah against these archaic rules, ??? ?????? ????? ???.