Recent articles on problems with Modern Orthodoxy have missed the boat (“The Modern Orthodox Brain Drain, II,” May 1).
Sure there are income issues with paying for education but it is also lifestyle as well. Sure kids are being encouraged to be doctors and lawyers and businessmen. The question was asked as to why we cannot be satisfied with our daughters marrying artists.
The elitism goes beyond this. Why not teachers? Why not nurses? Why not bank tellers? Why not tradesmen? Why can’t the Orthodox community stop hiding behind the cost of education and admit the truth? We are elitists in terms of lifestyle and occupation, and the sooner we temper our desires, and educate our children about what is important instead of spoiling the hell out of them, the better. Unless we encourage them to get part-time jobs so they understand what earning is about, and learn to respect hard-working individuals no matter what they do, nothing will change.
By the way, I have both an M.D. and a Ph.D., and I hauled garbage and swept streets to pay my way through school.
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