Machon Shlomo
I have been asked about Machon Shlomo. First I'd like to address the myth. Until you get that out of the way, you can't have a normal conversation about the place.
The Myth
The myth is that it's the "Ivy League yeshiva" for the "best and the brightest." Those words are from their website, so we see the origin of the myth. Here's the full quote: "In a little over ten years, Machon Shlomo became known as the 'Ivy League' yeshiva, a place for the best and brightest to come and rediscover the treasures of their millennia-old heritage." (https://machonshlomo.org/history/our-history/)
I feel a little bad addressing this, but people are making life altering decisions based on this kind of talk. We are so conditioned from public school to revere the Ivies, that as soon as we hear the word Ivy we leap without looking. So I believe it has to be addressed.
This Ivy League yeshiva stuff is fantasy for all kinds of reasons. Ivy League schools have long histories. All but one of them are more than two centuries old. The newest of them is 150 years old, the oldest 386 years old, that's nearly 4 centuries.
Ivy League schools didn't establish their reputations (deserved or undeserved) overnight, or as Machon Shlomo claims to have done "In a little over ten years."
Ivy League schools also large and diverse student bodies. Brown University, for example, has undergraduate students from 100 nations and 48 states plus D.C.. They speak 70 languages.
Machon Shlomo has a student body of 15-20, depending on the year. They are mostly from middle and upper middle class Jewish homes in the USA. Sometimes, there are students from other Anglo countries like the UK or South Africa. They are pretty much all in the early twenties. They are all (or nearly all) unmarried. The website claims, "The student body at Machon Shlomo spans a broad spectrum of background and personality type." Sure, no two people are the same, but let's get real. We are talking about a pretty similar type here, particularly as Machon Shlomo seeks college grads from more distinguished schools.
Ivy League schools also have sizable and distinguished academic staff. Yale has an academic staff of 4,869 including 67 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 55 members of the National Academy of Medicine, 8 members of the National Academy of Engineering, and 187 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Machon Shlomo has a small staff. I think at this point it's 4 part-time, 2 more full time. Half of them are related or related through marriage. I believe that 2 of them come in to give a class and leave.
There have been all kinds of prestigious staff at the various BT schools. Many of them are or have been run by talmidei chocham of note. Ohr Somayach in Israel had Rav Dov Schwartzman, z’l, the son-in-law of Rav Aaron Kotler, z'l, Rav Schwartzman founded and led the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia together with Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky and was known as a Talmudic genius. Ohr Somayach also had Rav Aharon Feldman, who is now on the Moetzes Gedolei Torah of the Agudah and is the author of several books such as The Juggler and the King, a presentation of commentary from the Vilna Gaon on several aggadatos. Ohr Somayach also had Rav Nachman Bullman, translator of numerous books including Book of Our Heritage, Jew and His Home and Rite and Reason and rabbi of several Jewish communities. It also had Rabbi Uziel Milevsky, z’l who was the Chief Rabbi of Mexico and author of the two volume Ner Uziel of commentary on Chumash. In the summers, Rav Yisroel Reisman, the Rosh Yeshiva of Torah V’Daas and the maggid shiur of the legendary Nach shiuruim serves on the staff at Ohr Somayach. Aish HaTorah has had a whole slew of scholars including Rav Chaim Malinowitz z’l, who was the chief editor for the Artscroll Gemara and Rav Yitzchak Berkovits, who is the mara d’asra of Jerusalem’s Sanhedria Murhevet neighborhood and a Rosh Kollel. Ohr Somayach in Monsey had Rav Yisroel Simcha Schorr, the son of the gaon Rav Gedaliah Schorr z’l and a general editor of the Artscroll Gemara. D’var Yerushalayim had Rav Aryeh Carmel, z’l, the author of the five volume Strive for Truth and the classic Aiding Talmud Study. They have also Rav Boruch Horowitz who was a translator of Rav Hirsch's Horeb and a scholar in his own right and Rav Yoel Schwartz, who is the author of 200 books. Yeshiva University has world class scholars like Rav Hershel Schachter and Rav Dovid Bleich. Machon Shlomo has no advantage on the other BT schools in terms of prestige of faculty.
Ivy League schools also have huge libraries. Harvard's library has 16 million volumes, Yale has 12 million, Columbia 11 million, Cornell 8 million, Princeton 7 million, and Penn 6 million. That's six of the 18 largest university libraries with the Ivy's being in 1st, 3rd, and 5th place.
Here's part of Harvard's library:
Machon Shlomo has a small library as compared to the other BT schools. When I attended decades ago, there was no library at all, just a half-shelf of books. There were approximately 15 books in all, less than there were students. Harvard has 800 volumes per student. Machon Shlomo had less than 1. Thus Harvard's library was over one million times bigger and its book per student ration was 800x bigger.
Today, Machon Shlomo has a small library that exists essentially in one small room - it's about the size of a kitchen in a small Manhattan apartment. It's not organized. Much of it is used Gemaras. The room is cluttered with shtenders and other junk. It's a kind of storage room. (The shiruim room have some Hebrew books as well.) Having a library has never been a priority there. That is not Ivy-like. Here's what the beis midrash looks like now. (Pictures from their website.) There are no book shelves at all. That's unusual for a yeshiva.
Compare to Aish Hatorah:
and Ohr Somayach:
:
Shapell's/Darche Noam
Tiferes Bachurim:
Yeshuos Yisroel
Ivy League schools have huge academic programs. Princeton offers 42 doctoral departments and programs. Cornell has 16 schools and colleges. The University of Michigan (an Ivy equivalent) has 275 degree programs. Columbia has three undergraduate schools, thirteen graduate and professional schools, a world-renowned medical center, four affiliated colleges and seminaries, and more than one hundred research centers and institutes.
Machon Shlomo has a limited course list. Basically, for first year guys it's Gemara b'iyun, Chumash with Rashi, musar, and a bit of halacha and tefilla. It's possibly the least broad curriculum of any BT school. That's not very Ivy-like. I'll talk more about the curriculum in a bit.
Ivy League schools have extensive foreign language course offerings and requirements for foreign studies departments. For example, the Princeton program in Near Eastern studies requires two years of Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Persian, Swahili, Turkish, or Urdu. The Stanford Eastern Studies department requires students to demonstrate Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language fluency at the third-year level or above, to be met either by coursework, examination, or a degree from a university where the language of instruction is in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.
Here are the courses in Persian at the University of Pennsylvania:
PERS 011: Elementary Persian I
PERS 012: Elementary Persian II
PERS 013: Intermediate Persian I
PERS 014: Intermediate Persian II
PERS 015: Advanced Persian I
PERS 016: Advanced Persian II
PERS 017: Persian for Heritage Speakers
Prerequisite: Proficiency in Persian (whether Farsi or Dari) without literacy
Persian for Heritage Speakers is conducted in Persian and designed to help you strengthen your skills by learning not only to read and write, but also to engage in more complex forms of discourse in Persian.
Here are the Hebrew courses at Berkeley:
HEBREW 1A Elementary Hebrew 5 Units
HEBREW 1B Elementary Hebrew 5 Units
HEBREW 10 Intensive Elementary Hebrew 10 Units
HEBREW 11A Reading and Composition for Hebrew Speaking Students 5 Units
HEBREW 11B Reading and Composition for Hebrew-Speaking Students 5 Units
HEBREW 20A Intermediate Hebrew 5 Units
HEBREW 20B Intermediate Hebrew 5 Units
HEBREW 30 Intermediate Hebrew 10 Units
HEBREW 100A Advanced Hebrew 3 Units
HEBREW 100B Advanced Hebrew 3 Units
HEBREW 102A Postbiblical Hebrew Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 102B Postbiblical Hebrew Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 103A Later Rabbinic and Medieval Hebrew Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 103B Later Rabbinic and Medieval Hebrew Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 104A Modern Hebrew Literature and Culture 3 Units
HEBREW 104B Modern Hebrew Literature and Culture 3 Units
HEBREW 105A The Structure of Modern Hebrew 3 Units
HEBREW 105B The Structure of Modern Hebrew 3 Units
HEBREW 106A Elementary Biblical Hebrew 3 Units
HEBREW 106B Elementary Biblical Hebrew 3 Units
HEBREW N106 Elementary Biblical Hebrew 6 Units
HEBREW 107A Biblical Hebrew Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 107B Biblical Hebrew Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 111 Intermediate Biblical Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 148A The Art and Culture of the Talmud: Advanced Textual Analysis 3 Units
HEBREW 148B The Art and Culture of the Talmud: Advanced Textual Analysis 3 Units
HEBREW 190B Special Topics in Hebrew 3 Units
HEBREW H195 Senior Honors 2 - 4 Units
HEBREW 198 Directed Group Study for Upper Division Students 1 - 4 Units
HEBREW 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units
HEBREW 201A Advanced Biblical Hebrew Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 202A Advanced Late Antique Hebrew Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 202B Advanced Late Antique Hebrew Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 203A Advanced Medieval Hebrew Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 203B Advanced Medieval Hebrew Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 204A Advanced Modern Hebrew Literature and Culture 3 Units
HEBREW 204B Advanced Modern Hebrew Literature and Culture 3 Units
HEBREW 206 Ancient and Modern Hebrew Literary Texts 3 Units
HEBREW 298 Seminar 1 - 4 Units
HEBREW 301A Teaching Hebrew in College 3 Units
HEBREW 301B Teaching Hebrew in College 3 Units
Unlike Ivy League schools, Machon Shlomo offers zero instruction in Hebrew grammar or language as a study unto itself.
Ivy League students study abroad or at other colleges. They see the world. They study in Florence, London, Rome, Tokyo - you name it. Walk into any humanities department office in the Ivy League and you'll see countless postings for study abroad.
Machon Shlomo goes on maybe one trip a year. (When I attended, they went on zero trips. Zero) They don't have anything to do with other schools even Machon Yaakov which was founded by the same people.
Ivy League schools also have beautiful campuses with elegant buildings that are sometimes covered in ivy leaves, hence the ivy in their very name Ivy League. Here's Harvard:
Here's Darmouth:
Here's Princeton:
Machon Shlomo consists of a few apartments in a single apartment building that is shared with other residents. Here's the outside:
Not exactly Cornell or Darmouth.
Here's the dining room of the law school at the University of Michigan (a public Ivy):
Here's the dining room at Machon Shlomo:
I'm not saying that fancy facilities are the purpose of life, but truthfulness is important. If you are going to describe yourself as the Ivy League yeshiva then the description has to be accurate.
Ivy League schools are rich. They have huge endowments:
To put this in perspective, the University of South Dakota has an endowment of $264.1 million.
Here's the GuideStar listing showing the yearly receipts and gross assets for Yale University. (This might be somewhat broader than endowment.)
Here's the one for Machon Shlomo:
Since MS characterizes itself as a church, it doesn't have to file a 990 with the IRS, so this likely doesn't reflects all their finances. But still, if there were any serious money flowing here, we'd see some numbers that are greater than 0.
Is it a church? It's a school. I have seen other yeshivas designate themselves as churches, yet Aish HaTorah and Ohr Somayach don't list themselves that way and are required to file. Maybe this is because they fund other programs. Here are listings for some of the Aish Hatorah branches:
That's at least 12 million dollars in income. Here's Ohr Somayach with 3.6 million dollars in income.
Here's Hadar Hatorah:
So what do they mean by Ivy League? Do they mean top students, "the best and the brightest" as they boldly, impolitely, and goyishly phrase it? MS pursues guys from elite schools. Does it get them? It gets a few. There's a myth that they are running some kind of Cal. Tech graduate program in physics. The reality is not like that. There's usually an Ivy League or Ivy-equivalent (Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley) guy or two, sometimes three. Other BT schools also have such students. I know of a UC Berkeley undergraduate and law graduate who went to Aish HaTorah, a U. Chicago grad. who went to Shapells, a Harvard grad. who went to Shapells, a Penn and Columbia graduate who went to Shapells, a Columbia guy who went to Kol Yaakov, a Yale guy who went to Kol Yaakov, a Haverford graduate who went to Kol Yaakov, a Michigan graduate who went to Kol Yaakov, a University of Toronto PhD graduate who went to Ohr Somayach. And I know a brilliant guy who taught himself Hebrew and Yiddish in a short time who didn't go to college at all. He went to the BT program at Shar Yashuv. Here's the Penn. Wharton, Columbia guy who went to Shapell's.
Here's a Harvard guy who went to Shapell's: (from Arutz Sheva)
Here’s the graduate of Shapell’s who went on to get a PhD from Harvard University.
So before moving to Boston to pursue further graduate studies, he and Yael spent a year at the David Shapell College of Jewish Studies/Yeshiva Darche Noam in Jerusalem. “That year in Israel really accelerated my knowledge,” Aldrich said. “We both studied text full time. We came back to Boston fully observant.
Aldrich received a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard and his wife received an M.B.A. and an M.A. in Jewish Community Studies, both from Brandeis University. (
Here's Darche Noam (the couples program) and Yale (the wife went to Yale):
Here's a Harvard and Columbia graduate who went to Ohr Somayach:
- Harry Rothenberg, Born and Raised: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Columbia University, BA: 1988, Harvard Law School, JD Magna Cum Laude: 1993
- Yeshivat Ohr Somayach Jerusalem: 3 years (https://ohr.edu/articles/harry.html)
Here's another Harvard guy who went to Ohr Somayach:
"The program provided me with an introduction to Judaism that challenged and stimulated with its willingness to address fundamental questions and to examine the limits of belief."
Nicholas Retter, BA, Harvard University (https://ohr.edu/1595)
Here's a Yale graduate who went to Ohr Somayach:
Rabbi Jeremy Kagan grew up in Hawaii and attended Yale University, where he received a B.A. in Philosophy. While traveling in Israel during college he began his Torah studies, going on to learn in Ohr Sameach, Meshech Chochma, and Heichal HaTorah B’Tzion. (https://midreshettehillah.com/great-school/meet-the-directors/)
All the schools have guys like this -- not that it's the most important thing in the world. ("I would rather be governed by the first 2000 people in the Boston telephone directory than by the 2000 people on the faculty of Harvard University." William F. Buckley) But it impresses people. People think that every Machon Shlomo guy is from one of these places, but most are not. They nearly all are college students or graduates and usually from respectable schools -- Rutgers, Wisconsin, Purdue, Union College, Cooper Union for example. Those are fine places but not Ivy League or Ivy equivalent. (Again, not that it's so important, but that's what MS is advertising.) Smart hard-working people go to such schools. But most American Jewish youth go to places like that. Machon Shlomo is not distinguished in that way.
I theorize that some people imagine Machon Shlomo to be "the Ivy League yeshiva" (a Barnum statement if ever there were one - meaning vague and having a different meaning to each person) because they think it's stocked with Ivy League guys and is the only yeshiva like this. But that's not true. As I explained, most of their guys are not from schools like that and all the other schools have guys like that. By thinking that they only admit Ivy League guys, you think of them as the Ivy League yeshiva. It's not based on anything they do. It's image based on who people imagine to go there.
On the alumni page of the MS website, they list 12 graduates, 5 of them are physicians. (As of June 2022). You get the impression that it's some kind of medical school. But 3 of the 5 went to Machon Shlomo in the 1980s. That's four decades ago. Only 1 of the 12 are in the last decade. You see they are really digging. Medicine is the ultimate prestige profession. So the writer of the Machon Shlomo web page dug into its forty year history to find five doctors in order to create an mystique. Is this what they mean by Ivy League yeshiva, that they can list a few doctors among their graduates? That's just image. If it's their reputation, it's based on marketing.
The Real Machon Shlomo
So let's dispense with the image and the illusion. With that aside, what really is Machon Shlomo? I think it's this: One to two years of serious study of Gemara lomdus and Chumash with Rashi, a strong emphasis on musar, and a drop of halacha and tefilla and then back to one's home country to pursue a parnassah.
Going back to work is a good goal. I am one who proposes that many baalei teshuvah shouldn't go to yeshiva at all. It's too much of a disruption to their lives, they often get moved along too quickly, and they get pumped with an approach to Judaism that isn't practical for most of them. By that I mean kollel and Zionism. For most BTs, that's just too much. They go through enough changes. They don't have the financial backing for kollel or moving to Israel. They likely don't even have the desire. The Hebrew language is new to most. Torah learning is new to all them. As the posuk tells, Torah life is not across the seas, that you have to do ridiculous things to keep it. For most BTs, kollel and aliyah are not practical.
But there are advantages to attending yeshiva for a time. One can acquire a dedication that he might not be able to acquire solely by taking classes at night. And if one is going to go, Machon Shlomo's goal of 9 months of study and then returning home to earn a parnassah is appropriate for some, particularly since it costs at least $100,000 a year to raise a Jewish family. Given this, it would be better if the program were located in the USA. In Israel, there is a kollel culture. There is also much pressure to move to Israel. So if Machon Shlomo's mission is to get guys to resume their careers in the USA, they should be located in the USA. Maybe the argument for the Israel location that many people find their way to Torah Judaism via sponsored trips to Israel, so the school needs to be there. That wasn't the case when the place was founded in 1982, but it is the case now.
What about the simple program of Machon Shlomo? Many schools try to make themselves bigger, by offering as much as possible, hoping that something ignites a spark in the person.
Machon Shlomo's approach is to limit the program and focus on what they call the basics, which they deem to be textual study of a few pages of Gemara with commentators and Chumash with Rashi. The argument goes something like this: The Gemara is the primary vehicle of the Oral Torah, a world in itself, and navigating it does require skill. One needs to learn its language, its style, and its method. So obtaining those keys opens doors later on. And one needs help for this. It's very hard to do alone.
And Rashi is a world too. He writes simply, but if you have the tools you can unlock tremendous wisdom. His commentary is the basis for more than 300 "supercommentaries" which analyze his language and citations.
As for musar, that's an important part of Jewish life. Even Chassidim study musar. If the musar is done well, it will impart principles of emunah as well as self-development. Machon Shlomo is heavily musar oriented. I don't know if they discuss emunah. They didn't when I attended, but maybe they do now. From what I hear, the focus is on self-development. That makes me a bit nervous. The focus isn't on Hashem but on you. But it could be helpful if done right.
So that's Machon Shlomo's approach. And some of the guys say it works for them, not that they have anything to compare it to, any other yeshiva experiences.
It seems to me that this can work only as a second-stage program. It is not for brand new beginners to Torah observance for a variety of reasons. 1) They don't study the Hebrew language and grammar. If you don't know grammar, you won't be able to even look up words in the dictionary in many cases. For example, you see the word בערב, but don't know what it means. If you look under the letter ב in the dictionary, you won't find the word because the ב is a prefix meaning "in the." In Hebrew, the prepositional phrase is attached to beginning of the word. Same goes with definite articles "the" and possessives, which are attached at the end. בערב means "in the evening." ערב means evening. That's the word to look up. You won't know how to do that if you don't know some grammar. With verbs, it gets even more complicated. You need to know grammar. Inexplicably, Machon Shlomo doesn't have a class in that. (Machon Yaakov does). As long as they don't, this cannot be considered a first-stage program.
2) It is not a first-stage program also because it doesn't have a class in mitzvos and has only an hour a week in halacha. You are taking on a life of mitzvos. You need to learn all about them. Some schools like Toras Dovid in Monsey, NY approach this via classes not only in halacha but in Mishnah. Machon Shlomo has neither a class in mitzvos nor a class in Mishnah.
Here's what an introductory class in halacha looks like. It's offered at Ohr Somayach:
Jewish Law 104-105- Basic Laws of Sabbath and/or Kashruth (Dietary Laws)- 3 credits p/semester Introduction to, and practical application of, the major literature dealing with Sabbath and/or kashruth observance. Focus on roots of the law of Sabbath and/or kashruth observance, definition of the 39 categories of activities forbidden on the Sabbath, and practical application, how kashruth laws are derived from the Pentateuch, and the difference between Divine and rabbinic injunctions. Emphasis on practical application of the laws.
Here's one in hashkafa, again from Ohr Somayach:
Philosophy 100-101- Introduction to Judaism- 3 credits p/semester Exploration of the philosophical underpinnings of Judaism, deism, monotheism, free will, integration of the Written and Oral Law, immutability of Torah Law, Divine revelation and ethics.
The Maharetz Chajes said, “The importance for a beginner in secular fields to have clear introduction is obvious, but it is even more important when studying Torah.” He cites the Yerushalmi (Shabbos 87a): “any Torah without a foundation is not Torah.” Says Maharetz Chajes, “That means Torah without an understanding of basic rules and concepts....” (Introduction to Toras Nev’im in Eidensohn, Daas Torah)
3) They don't take you out to see the Jewish world or bring guest speakers into the building. Typical frum from birth kids spend an entire childhood being involved in the Jewish world, going to chasunahs and brisim, enjoying Chumash parties, meeting rabbis, interacting with their uncles and aunts and grandparents, hearing different speakers in cheder, mesifta, and shul. This provides important feeling for the religion as well as a broader perspective. BT schools have to replicate this to some extent. MS doesn't do it. And maybe that's OK for the students that had a taste of it and want to focus on their studies, but it's not good for most beginners. Again, MS is a second stage program.
Machon Shlomo is not appropriate also for second-stage guys who seek breadth in their learning. They want to see different kinds of material. They want to hear different perspectives. Interestingly, there's somebody on the staff of Machon Shlomo who advocates this approach. He's the second year rebbe. He wrote this:
…the approach of the study of hashkafa must take into careful consideration the specific needs, goals, and 'desires' of each individual in order to personally 'recognize the One who spoke and created the world.’
…on a pedagogical level, the faith-study of the Torah is essentially the discerning and elaboration of the spectrum of ideas which defines the possibilities and boundaries of acceptable positions. A consequence of this is that the student must be exposed to a full spectrum of hashkafic thought in order to fully appreciate the issues and then formulate his own position. (
It's ironic because MS doesn't offer this. They don't have guest speakers other than a former graduate or two. They don't take you or direct you to classes outside the yeshiva. They don't take you to see gadolim. They don't look much into philosophical texts. They look primarily at only the introduction to Mesillas Yisharim. Really, they shouldn't list Mesillas Yisharim on the website as part of the schedule. It's not accurate if they only read the introduction. First year guys don't do Gemara bikiyus. They don't study Chassidus or history.
Machon Shlomo will argue that broad programs leave guys confused and that much of what other schools teach can be obtained from books. I could hear that argument if they actually had a decent library. But that's their argument. It could be true in some cases. But a program that is narrow can leave a guy unengaged and even turned off if what is presented is offensive to him or is ill-suited.
At Machon Shlomo, students typically spend 70-80% of their day working on a piece of Gemara with commentary. Is that what you want to do? Could be you do but be sure before you go. It seems that the Vilna Gaon advises against this for beginners. The Gaon said “One must first fill himself with knowledge of Tanach, Mishna, Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, Tosefta, Mechilta, Sifrem and all other baraisos. Then he should discuss and debate his learning with his colleagues. By studying in this sequence, one attains the splendor of Torah. One who changes this arrangement, however, and studies how to debate before knowing one Mishnah openly, will forfeit even the little Torah he heard in his youth.” It can be very taxing, exhausting, and frustrating studying Gemara, particularly when one isn't used to it. The Vilna Gaon said, “Just as in craftsmanship one should learn an honest and easy trade, so in Torah one should seek an easy area of study that will not tax his capabilities and lead him to stop studying.” (Even Shelaimah, chapter 8).
So it's a few pages of Gemara b'iyn, Chumash with Rashi, and musar. As I said, they pursue a Cheshbon HaNefesh approach to musar, even though they don't look at that particular sefer. You also could call it a Delphic know thyself driven mission. They identify parts of the self to work on. I hope also that they identify strengths. I hear that they do. You can't just count up your flaws.
I think the yeshiva would be better off if they advertised what they really do and dropped all the Ivy League pretensions. It's not in the spirit of musar to describe yourself in grandiose terms. So rather than try to sell themselves as the place for the elite to attain "individual greatness," as they put it, they should say what they really do, which is to have a handful of capable guys focus on some basic textual skills and prepare for a return to earning a parnsassah back in their home country. Maybe for some people this is all that is needed. For others, it's insufficient.
I have spoken to students who say they are happy with the program -- again, not that they have anything to compare it to. I also know students who didn't like it. I think it's very important that any BT school suggest other schools for students who are not happy. Too many of them bank on "the power of Torah" to make everything good. That is magical thinking. Others bank on the genius of their program. That's arrogant thinking. Some people belong in big places, some in Chassidish places, some in very focused small sized neo-Litvish musar places like Machon Shlomo. Depends on the person. If it isn't working out, school choice may be the answer. No one school is for everyone. No one school is the best. There is no Ivy League BT yeshiva.
Some additional strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths:
1. Machon Shlomo doesn't do that disparagement of the secular world thing that is so common in BT schools and is very confusing. You spend your whole life preparing for college and then spend all your money being there. The wholesale disparagement of college and other secular pursuits like sports, chess, and music is very unsettling. At Machon Shlomo they go too far in the other direction with all their idolization of elite secular schools. That's not healthy either. You see this on its website and on the website of its sister school Machon Yaakov. So ignore all that silliness, but feel good about your scholastic accomplishments and education. Despite this, there is a fair amount of disparagement of Modern Orthodoxy at Machon Shlomo. And it is confusing to hear praise of elite colleges at the same time that Modern Orthodoxy is disparaged.
2. The students are mostly decent students. Actually, when I attended there were a few that weren't, but interestingly they came from wealthy homes. I guess an exception was made in their case. Ahem. As I said, they are not geniuses. The are not "the brightest." And even if they were, that wouldn't make them "the best." But most hit the books. And if you are that kind of person too, it can be helpful to be around others who are the same.
3. Small size, if you like small size. Some people get lost in big places. They want to see the same faces everyday.
4. Intention to go back to work. While some students go on to other yeshivas, the basic goal for nearly all is to become baalei batim. In some BT schools, there's pressure to become a kollel guy and be in learning forever. BTs don't have the financial backing for this except in rare cases, and usually they don't even have the desire. The learn forever mentality can be very harmful.
5. They stress musar as well as Gemara lomdus. In some places, you'll hear all kinds of talk about the primacy of Torah and becoming a gaon. This is not realistic for BTs. (It's not realistic for most guys.) Nearly all of us go back to work and that doesn't work too well with the ideal of being a gaon in Shas. However, musar is applicable to working guys.
Weaknesses:
1. I mentioned this already, but it's worth repeating: They don't teach Hebrew grammar. It really makes no sense to say that you are text based but don't study the grammar of the language of that text. By contrast, Aish HaTorah, Ohr Somayach, Orayta, Shapell's/Darche Noam, Toras Dovid, Tiferes Bachurim, Machon Yaakov, and Dvar Yerushalayim all teach Hebrew grammar and language.
Here's what descriptions of classes in grammar looks like at other schools:
http://dvar.org.il/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114&Itemid=119&lang=en
Toras Dovid:
MS needs to start teaching Hebrew grammar. If you go there, ask for Hebrew instruction and then when they say no, get yourself a book. The Adult Hebrew Primer is a good one. Go through it yourself. I don't recommend Machon Shlomo to anybody who isn't familiar with basic Hebrew grammar and vocabulary.
Shapell's college for men has 3 levels of Hebrew. Now, that is closer to the Ivy League.
Afternoons at Shapell’s feature a carefully constructed program of Hebrew, Chumash, Halacha, and Jewish thought – in addition to Gemara. Students progress through three levels of Hebrew and four levels of other subjects to receive a well-rounded education. The afternoons also feature our monthly Holocaust Education Program.
Here's Hebrew/Ulpan at Dvar Yerushalayim:
Even Machon Yaakov teaches Hebrew:
"Though all texts are studied in the original Hebrew and Aramaic languages, many of our students arrive with little or no background in Hebrew. A Hebrew language program is provided to bolster vocabulary and grammar. Most students make tremendous progress in reading skills within a matter of months, if not weeks, as the program is highly intensive and motivating."
Here's Ohr Somayach:
Language 100- Fundamentals of Hebrew Language- 3 credits Phonetic reading, basic Hebrew vocabulary and primary writing skills.
Language 101-102- Elementary Modern Hebrew- 3 credits p/semester Speaking, reading and comprehension skills. Textbooks and newspapers designed for the novice are utilized. Prerequisite: Basic reading and vocabulary skills.
Aish Hatorah:
Mayanot:
Toras Dovid:
Machon L'Yahadus, Chabad, women's program
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
https://www.womensyeshiva.org/
3 times a week Hebrew Skills classes. It is broken into 3/4 level classes where the students work in small groups to master and improve their Hebrew skills.
This is from a seminary Midreshet Rachel v'Chaya, which is a branch of Darche Noam:
Grammar Classes take place 3 times a week to help students develop the skills for learning Biblical and Rabbinic Hebrew. Developing Hebrew language skills is a key element of our textual learning curriculum. The ability to read, translate and understand a Hebrew text enables a student to grapple with Jewish sources independently in the original Hebrew. (Midreshet Rachael v'Chaya)https://darchenoam.org/midreshet-rachel-vchaya/mrc-student-life/
Here, Rav David Bar Hayim argues that according to the Rambam, based on the Sifri, says we should speak Hebrew with our children to give them fluency. That's closer to Ivy League.
The Vilna Gaon, even though very knowledgeable in secular subjects, discouraged many people from studying them, with the exception of grammar. He encouraged everyone to study Hebrew grammar.
Here's an excerpt from the book A Jew Returns Home that is relevant to this topic:
...I am very grateful for having had the opportunity to learn Hebrew in a professional manner. The first time I picked up a siddur to daven, I understood what I was saying. I can pick up a Hebrew sefer, read it and understand it better than many students who have spent years learning full-time.
I think it’s absolutely crazy that baalei teshuvah should skip over acquiring this basic skill. I am convinced that by investing time in learning the language properly, the dividends will be well worth it, and everything else would become much easier.
Q: This obviously bothers you very much.
A: Yes, it bothers me a great deal. When I was living near Ohr Somayach, I spoke with many baalei teshuvah, and you have no idea of the feelings of inferiority and frustration engendered because of the deficiency in basic Hebrew reading skills. If a Jew can’t pick up a sefer and understand it, he will never feel truly at home in the Orthodox world.
I think that people tend to forget that most baalei teshuvah will not remain in yeshiva for years and years. If they are not given the basic tools – such as Hebrew and a solid foundation in Chumash – they will lack the skills necessary to become committed baalei batim later in life, and will never reach their true potential.
(Ben Ami as interviewed by Sara Soester. A Jew Returns Home, pp. 75-6.)
2. Dating is not allowed until second year after Chanukah. The administrators will proffer their reasons (you are not ready, dating will disturb your studies or the program), but I think the rule is ill-advised. In Israel, there are women to date. In many parts of the USA there are not. Also, dating in Israel is more equitable. You meet at a hotel lobby. In America, the man is a beast of burden, calling, driving, paying, thinking of things to do. Also, dating is different for BTs who are going through many changes and tend to need more time to make good decisions in this matter. Presumably rabbis at a BT institution will understand that and advise accordingly. When you go back to America, you might not be able to find people with the right experience to advise you. So the time in Israel is the time to go out and find a wife. You don't have to do this in your first month, but there shouldn't be a rule about this. My advice, date anyway. Just ignore them and do what you need to do. This is true at any place. Don't be so obedient. Do what you feel you need to do to help yourself. You don't have to announce it. Do it on the sly. Yeshiva administrators are not gods. They don't have all the answers, even though some think they do. Many don't understand BTs very well, and will give you prescriptions and mandates that aren't good for you. You can trust your instincts. Do what you feel you need to do.
3. Reliance on a few instructors. The first year program is built largely around one guy and a different guy during the second year. If you don't care for each of these people, you are stuck. There are no options. If you really like them, which some people do, then you might be happy. So in your first year, you get a sampling of the second year guy. But how do you learn about the first year guy? He has a few short videos on youtube, but it isn't much to go by. And here. You can learn about the second year guy here.
4. They don't take you to see Israel, maybe one trip a year. When I was there, we went on 0 (that's zero) trips, not even to Jerusalem. My suggestion, go yourself during the summer months. Go to see Meah She'arim, the Old City, Bene Brak, Tiberias, Sefat, the Negev, the Dead Sea, Hebron, and one of the Chareidi cities like Elad, Beit Shemesh, Kiryat Sefer or Beitar.
5. The website exaggerates to a ridiculous degree. (Many of the BT school websites are inaccurate as I will explain.) The photos page lists around 50 pictures showing warm get-togethers and trips, when the reality is they do little of that. At MS, they focus more on studying. The site references a close alumni network where jobs are to be had. I have lived in towns known to have Machon Shlomo guys and as far as I could tell most had little to do with each other. The website talks about graduates having career success in the "highest levels" of the professions. This is ridiculous. Highest level of finance is CEO of Goldman Sachs, Chairman of the Fed, President of the New York Stock Exchange. Highest level of journalism is being a Pulitzer prize winner, being Seymour Hirsch, that sort of thing. Highest level of music is conductor for the New York Philharmonic, rock star, violinist for the Berlin Symphony. Highest level of fiction writing is Nobel Prize for Literature. Highest level of law is US Supreme Court Judge or Dean of Yale Law school. You get the point. There's nobody like this who comes out of Machon Shlomo or any BT yeshiva. Becoming Torah observant is enough of an accomplishment. Very few people of any kind - Jew or Gentile - are at the top of their professions. For frum people it's even harder. Harvard has graduates in the highest levels of many professions. Once again, MS is pretending to be Harvard.
The MS website also claims that "Our soon-to-be state-of-the-art facility is slated to be complete in the near future." Yet, there are no photos of it, which is strange, since institutions always show you buildings in the works for fundraising purposes. From what I hear, there is no such facility in the works, only a room extension that is on hold.
They claim also that "From outdoor porches and from most windows, one can take in expansive views of the forest, valley, and outlying hills toward the North of Israel." Yet, the primary scenery is that of the Har Menuchos cemetery.
(Photo from the website. Cemetery is to the right. Behind that are the expansive views of the mountains.)
(View of Cemetery from the building)
(Closeup of cemetery from outside Machon Shlomo)
Many BT school websites exaggerate, making their programs seem richer and better staffed than they really are. They list classes that don't take place. (Maybe the classes once took place, but the website hasn't been updated to reflect any changes.) They list programs that are now defunct. They show photos of instructors that are no longer associated with the school or were never more than minimally associated with it. The people are all smiles in the photos but not in actual life. You get a false impression of cheery bliss that is not the reality. One place calls itself "the premier institution in Jerusalem dedicated to helping college graduates and young professionals grow in their Jewish life and learning." That's quite a statement since Jerusalem has many programs for such people as that description goes beyond just baalei teshuvah. Most schools claim to have warm environments and to encourage independent thinking when that isn't an accurate description for all of them. It might not even be accurate for most of them. They invite you to sign up for newsletters that are long defunct.
Yeshiva websites are notoriously out of date, which is more understandable with traditional institutions whose students don't necessarily use the Internet. But prospective baalei teshuvah live on the Internet and rely on the websites as oftentimes their only source of information about the schools in which they are entrusting their souls. There are websites that need updating to show that the school has changed its name or moved. There are websites for schools that appear to have shut down. Meanwhile, secular colleges are generally accurate, listing exact degree requirements, course descriptions, and course availability every semester. The Jews should learn from the Goyim in this regard. As the Gemara tells us, we are held accountable for imitating their bad ways and not imitating their good ways. See introduction to Duties of the Heart. Where secular colleges are inaccurate is in their promises of student aid when most of that aid is loans that need to be repaid and in their claims to help with job placement.
So it isn't only Machon Shlomo that exaggerates. But what appears on its site is too much. MS really needs to be more accurate in its marketing. There are limits to acceptable exaggeration for recruiting purposes. The lack of accuracy and the attempt to brag to a ridiculous degree is concerning, particularly for a school that is built around musar classes. You only want to learn musar from baalei musar. It is dangerous to get lectures on humility from a person who is not humble. A student in any institution may encounter a teacher who struggles with his ego and gives passionate talks about humility in effort to tame himself. So he goes over the top, giving out medicine in doses that are too strong for the average ego. In even more unhealthy situations, what happens is the student humbles himself to the point of self-annihilation while the person with the oversized ego overtakes his life and gives a model that is really arrogance in disguise. Sounds like quite a mess. You want your initial experience of Orthodox Judaism to be as clean as possible. You see problems as well with the matter of bitul Torah (wasting time). Many teachers talk endlessly about bitul Torah as a way of getting themselves to study more. But the talk can be destructive to BTs who are brand new to Torah study and are doing all that they can right now.
Machon Shlomo should be credited with being more accurate in what is probably the most important area -- the daily schedule. Many schools don't tell you exactly what classes are actually available and what the schedule looks like. You might even write to them and not get a response. They leave you with vague promises. Machon Shlomo gives an actual schedule that is mostly accurate. Among the inaccuracies, from what I hear, the 12 PM Jewish philosophy class is actually hashkafa on two days, hilchos Tefilla on one day, ideas on Tefilla one day, and a Musar Vaad on the fifth day. Also inaccurate is the 5 PM Mesillas Yesharim class as many days the Chumash class runs over it and even when the class is held, they never go past the introduction. Part of the reason for the greater accuracy of the Machon Shlomo schedule is that it is very simple and it has not changed in forty years. Even long before the Internet was invented, this was the schedule, so there was no updating necessary once the website was first published. Generally, the Machon Shlomo schedule as published is as accurate as any other institution and more than most.
6. While MS doesn't pressure students to become Kollel avreichem or gadolim or to make aliyah, it does have an atmosphere of elitism and the pressure to become a leader of some kind. It's hard enough just becoming Torah observant, taking on the mitzvos, and changing over your entire life. You have to become a leader too? And a leader at what? It's very difficult for BTs to become leaders within the frum world. We just don't have the connections or the learning. Rabbis run everything. Aside from them, there are the school principals and the wealthy donors. Not too many BTs land in those circles. Telling a BT that he has to become a leader is as unreasonable as telling him that he has to be a Kollel man or make aliyah. All that pressure, gets in the way of the primary task which is to develop an awareness of Hashem and a comfort with the mitzvos. Aside from that, BTs aren't supposed to become leaders. As Rav Avigdor Miller said, "“Now when a convert or a ba’al teshuva comes to the Jewish people, he has to know that he has to be a follower – he has to listen. But sometimes a ba’al teshuva comes in and he takes over. Right away he wants to teach all the old-time Jews how to be real Jews! He knows better! So what does he do? He follows the models that he formed in the gentile world or in the non-religious world.” (Rav Avigdor Miller, Tape # 30, August 1973.)
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