Flipping Out?: Myth or Fact? The Impact of the "Year in Israel"

by Shalom Z. Berger, Daniel Jacobson, Chaim I. Waxman

Flipping Out?: Myth or Fact? The Impact of the "Year in Israel" by Shalom Z. Berger, Daniel Jacobson and Chaim I. Waxman takes a hard look at a phenomenon that has become a major source of both inspiration and consternation in the Jewish community. The Jewish community has changed over the past four decades for many reasons, prominent among them the phenomenon of large numbers of students spending a year after high school studying Torah full time in Israel. The results of this "Year in Israel" can be felt in many synagogues and homes, with a good deal of increased ritual observance and dedication to Torah study - the much discussed "Shift to the Right." Many questions arise from these changes. Have these students been brainwashed? Has their primary education so failed them that a single year in Israel is more influential than over a decade of American schooling? Have they found an easy way to alleviate some hidden insecurity? Or are they merely inspired by a profoundly rich and spiritual lifestyle? And how long does this newfound religious devotion last? Is it really the start of a radically different life path or is it merely a short-term religious high that becomes more moderate over time? These are just a few of the questions that need to be asked. This book gathers together insights from three talmidei chachamim who are top experts on the subject, each from a different perspective. Rabbi Shalom Berger, Ed.D., and Rabbi Daniel Jacobson, Psy.D., both performed statistical studies and wrote doctoral dissertations on the phenomenon of studying in Israel for a year. Rabbi Berger, drawing on his years of experience as a leading mechanech (Torah instructor) in the U.S. and Israel, approaches the subject from the perspective of an educator and addresses the "what" of the changes in students-what religious changes do we see in students from the time they leave to Israel to a year after they return. Rabbi Jacobson looks at the "Year in Israel" from the perspective of his psychological training and explores the "why" of the equation-what internal and external influences on these students cause the changes that happen. Dr. Chaim Waxman, a distinguished sociologist, looks at the impact of this phenomenon on the broader community from the perspective of a sociologist. How does the "Year in Israel" fit in with the historical relationship between American and Israeli Jewry, and how has it changed the American Jewish community? His decades of profound study of the Jewish community have earned him a place as one of our leading social commentators. Finally and significantly, Richard M. Joel adds to this impressive mix with an introduction based on his experience as the president of the Hillel college campus organization and currently the president of Yeshiva University.

218 pages, Hardcover

First published December 3, 2007

Reviews

[Leib Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Review
Flipping Out
3/5 stars
Dated; some interesting things.

Of the book:

-30 chapters over 198 pages (6.6 per)
-235 point citations (1.2 per page)
-Index
-Glossary

First problem: The book was written 18 years ago, and a lot of the sources reference books from the '80s and late '90s. So, it is dated--but still somewhat useful in order to get an idea of the benefit of a year in Israel as a way to fortify a child's Judaism. (Conditions have actually gotten more intense; a couple of my son's classmates finished the 11th and 12th grade in Israel, in Hebrew. I don't think when this book was written that was an option.)

Second problem: The book relies on survey information, and there are lots of methodological problems with that.

Third problem: (p.185) Some things don't seem accurate. The authors suggest that going to Israel is a positive return on investment because one can save on religious expenses. But, I have never spoken to one/single/person that has told me that they have gotten ahead financially by living in Israel.

All of them have told me that it is a financial loss-+And that would explain why most American Jews stay put.

(And it is pretty clear that this book is trying to sell the reader Modern Orthodoxy/ making aliyah without telling us that it is doing just that.)
***

The book has three sections (by one of the different authors each), and they do not need to be read in order.

Lots of information to be taken:

1. There are many different types of Yeshiva program. Traditional European Yeshivot. Yeshivat Hesder (The daily Language is Modern Hebrew, and most of the students are Israeli in between tours of duty). American programs in Israel (language of instruction is English.) Women's programs in Israel.

2. The effect of studying abroad is pronounced,  and it seems to even increase a little bit one year later.

3. The purpose of many of these study abroad programs (at least if you choose to believe the ones on which these authors focus) is to encourage people to make aliyah; if you are a parent who would prefer to see his children stay with Stateside, this is something  about which it is necessary to be mindful.

a. My children have converts for parents, and converts tend to slip in and out of status in Israel;

b.  Be aware that living in Israel and going to the military will have the benefit of polishing / finishing your young adult, but there is a very real risk of death. One really must evaluate encouraging his children to put themselves in Harm's Way in defense of a bunch of shiftless, trifling, parasitic Haredim.

4. (p.52) While the economy in Israel has improved, it is still easier to make a living elsewhere.

5. (p.147) The architects of Zionism had to put in a lot of work work to make it become a mainstream idea, and its initial reception from 1898 until 1941 was "weak, entirely uninspired, and irresolute."

There is a fair bit of information lacking in this:

1. The students who do these programs are self-selected to be more religious, but what percentage are they out of all observant Jews? (Observant Jews are probably about 12% of American Jewry.)

2. Most people who take this trip are not Orthodox (about 2/3), so this data could be interpreted as saying that the minor fraction of religious people become more religious.

Some things are (charitably described as) a little bit misleading:

1. Table 5 (p. 184) talks about aliyah statistics. But it also leaves out yerida statistics. (And a LOT of people do try to make aliyah and fail.)

Even with that all said, it looks like 124,666 Jews left America between 1948 and 2006, which is about 2,149 people per year on average.  But then, the number of Israelis who settle in the United States is many times higher than the opposite.

The American Jewish population increase between those years was about 1.9 million people, so that means that 94% of them stayed put.

2. (p.198) ".... Jews have long feared gun toting, and are much less opposed to gun control legislation than is the NRA."

Sorry, but this is just incorrect. a. First is that almost every human being is less opposed to gun control than the nra. b. Second is that in a community like Jewish Detroit, every second or third adult male carries a gun.

3. (p. 200) "....the Haredi masses are today among the most nationalistic in Israeli society."

Fat lot of good that does, because they have the lowest  rate of enrollment of all populations. One article showed 1,212 of those vermin enrolled,  in spite of the fact that they are 13.6% of the population. (Just under 1 million people. 0.12%.)

Verdict:

Save your money.
Save your time.

Just talk over the options with the appropriate school official that is employed at every private school at the right time.