From kollel to computer desk

Haredi Center for Technological Studies

Who would have thought that the tradition-bound Haredim (or “ultr-Orthodox” Jews) would look toward the high tech sector once cutbacks in government subsidies began to send more of their men onto the job market?  I personally might not have ever made the connection that intensive Torah study could prepare someone for learning computer programming languages, but when I think of the Haredim’s many daily hours spent decoding “pages filled with nonlinear, multiple conversations and different typefaces” it makes sense (Rosenthal, 190).  It obviously made sense to Dr. Abraham Fuss, who founded the Haredi Center for Technological Studies in 1996.  Dr. Fuss recognized “the need for a place where Haredim could be trained for professions without compromising their standards, enabling them to earn a decent livelihood to support their large families.”

Dr. Abraham Fuss

With the concern for strict haredi standards in mind, the institute
offers night classes so that Haredi men can continue their religious studies during the day.  The classes are male or female only, since the Haredim are prohibited from studying in universities where coed classes are offered.  Haredi women have generally already studied basic English and mathematics, and so are at an initial advantage over the men.  However, Haredi men reportedly quickly grasp these subjects after some introductory courses. 

A plaque at the entrance to the school contains a quote from Moses Maimonides, which reads “The highest degree of charity is to help a person earn a livelihood, so that he needn’t rely on others.”  Based on the Haredi Center’s website, its founder seems to have been committed to this motto.  A short bio on Fuss off the Center’s website concludes:   “The successes of the graduates as they went out into the workplace were his pride and joy. Every graduate who found profitable employment gave him “naches”, and he felt that each one was a Kiddush Hashem, making a good name for Haredim as reliable, intelligent, industrious and honest workers.” 

It seems this “making a good name” is increasingly important for the Haredim.  Based on Donna Rosenthal’s The Israelis, there is some degree of animosity toward the Haredim amongst the non-orthodox and secular Israeli community.  It makes sense:  the Haredim receive government subsidies and exemption from military duty; meanwhile, many ultra-Orthodox Jews vehemently oppose the state of Israel, seeing it as man interfering with the work of God.  I can see why some non-Orthodox Israelis would feel resentment toward the Haredim.  On the other hand, the Haredim both represent and actively preserve a key element of Jewishness:  the dedicated study of the Torah.  According to Rosenthal, “quite a few centuries-old observations written by rabbis who were psychologists of their day are still rich and relevant...” and one of the Haredim she interviewed declared that “‘the spiritual wealth of learning Talmud is worth more than any paycheck.’” (177). 

Be that as it may, various factors are driving increasing numbers of haredi men into the workforce, often resulting in unfamiliar experiences, both for themselves and their new colleagues.  Tzvia Ehrlich-Klein’s article “High-Tech Haredim” quotes an employee of a “major Jerusalem high-tech company” about his experience with a haredi coworker:  “I never worked with anyone before who wore a kapota... and I certainly never shared a bag of bisli with anyone like that.  Though we live in the same city, we live in two different worlds...But since Moshe and I started working together on this Internet project, we both discovered that we can like and respect each other without dressing the same way or having the same worldview.”  There is definitely some useful wisdom in that statement. 

So just how successful has the Haredi Center been?  According to the website, some 10,000 graduates have entered the workforce since the school opened, and they claim an 80% success rate.  It is difficult to gage the reliability of the Haredi Center website.  For one, accessing official data on how many employed Israelis are actually graduates of the Haredi Center would be nearly impossible.  Furthermore, the website clearly has an interest in making the school appear successful so as to attract students.  Ehrlich-Klein’s article is posted on Torah.org, a religious website, so there is also a suggestion of a bias there.

What we can say for sure, though, is that anyone who can pore over esoteric Hebrew texts for twelve hours and generally eschew the outside world world would probably feel right at home in the role of a programmer.   

Ethiopian Israeli Youth Culture

In his paper, “The Story of the Ethiopian Jews”, Ethiopian archaeologist, anthropologist, and historian Dr. Yohannes Zeleke suggests that Judaism may have existed in Ethiopia since “the time of Abraham”, and that-- based on archaeological evidence-- these “Hebraic people” in Ethiopia appear to have “practiced the earliest forms of Judaism, which existed in the pre-Judaic Culture of early Israelites and pre-Talmudic Judaism” (Zeleke, 1-2).  Zeleke then traces the history of Jews in Ethiopia, and concludes by saying that “Ethiopian Jewry is in a precarious situation”, namely that many synagogues, burial grounds, and sacred places are currently unprotected (Zeleke, 5).  Much of the Ethiopian Jewry’s cultural heritage stands to be lost if such sites remain abandoned.  Zeleke suggests the immediate establishment of Jewish community centers in Addis Ababa and Gonder.   I came across the article while looking over the Beta Israel of North America (BINA) website.  BINA is a cultural foundation based in New York whose mission includes “fostering the continuity of the Ethiopian Jewish (Beta Israel) cultural heritage”.

BINA is a nonprofit organization and Dr. Zeleke is an Ethiopian anthropologist, so the information is most likely reliable.  Of course, when an organization relies on donations and an anthropologist worries about the fate of his own culture, there is obviously some vested interest in getting the message across.  Nevertheless, it seems a legitimate message.

Based on some internet research and the “Out of Africa” chapter in The Israelis, by Donna Rosenthal, it appears that the Ethiopian Jewish culture is in much need of the efforts of BINA, and other like-minded people and organizations.   Jewish culture in Ethiopia was first threatened by seventh century Coptic Christians who forbade Ethiopian Jews from owning land and ostracized them from society, calling them falasha (strangers) and accusing them of having Satanic powers (Rosenthal, 154).  Strangely, this unique Jewish culture is now indirectly threatened by Israel itself, as thousands of Ethiopians have made aliyah to the Holy Land and, through assimilation, stand to lose much of what distinguishes them as a people.  On the whole, it seems like this assimilation is a good thing:  it has provided Ethiopian immigrants a more peaceful life and opportunity for advancement in a modern society.  However, the challenges they face are undeniable.  In Rosenthal’s words, “Few Jews have sacrificed so much to emigrate.  And no group has arrived with more handicaps:  blacks in a white society, preindustrial villagers in an urbanized, postindustrial country.  The Israeli government invests roughly four times more for each Ethiopian than for other immigrants.” (157).

Batia Eyob, a researcher of Ethiopian Jews and an Ethiopian Jew herself, is quoted in Rosenthal’s book saying “In Ethiopia we didn’t have a youth crisis.  Everyone knew his role.  The roles are not clearly defined here” (162).  One organization working with at-risk Ethiopian youth is Friends by Nature.  They are affiliated with the Ethiopian Israeli advocacy NGO, Tebeka  and work directly with communities in Israel to keep at-risk, mainly Ethiopian Israeli youth out of trouble and on-track with school.

Their model is setting up a community which encourages volunteerism and provides positive role models.  Organization members become actual members of the community.  They are involved in leading a variety of extracurricular activities as well as providing homework assistance.  The website claims great success with this model.  At the bottom of the page there are bios of some of the organizations founders, which include native Israelis, and Ethiopian immigrants.  The members are both religious and secular.  The organization hopes to address the challenges faced by young Ethiopians in Israel, as well as strengthen the Ethiopian Israeli identity.


Of course, not all of the Ethiopian Israeli youth are at-risk.  Some are flourishing quite well.  The Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews outlines some of the Ethiopian Israeli community’s many successes, including the establishment of a Fullbright Scholarship program for outstanding Ethiopian Israeli students who, following an all expenses paid graduate program in the United States, would return to Israel to work in their areas of expertise.

It appears that Ethiopian Israeli youth have the prospect of a bright future, though they clearly face some unique and daunting challenges.

Malca and Ayala Ingadeshet

While researching Ethiopian Israeli youth culture I discovered these talented sisters.  Their family immigrated from Ethiopia to Israel in 1980.  These days the girls are making some very good pop music largely inspired by Soul and R&B.  Samples of all the songs off Malca's first album are available here, and Ayala's site contains an interesting bio.