This yeshiva student knows his stuff

A new, clever video ad for the Lev Academic Center at the Jerusalem College of Technology targets young ultra-Orthodox men, and at the same time aims to bust stereotypes about such Jews.

While it is true that the lives of the majority of Israel’s male ultra-Orthodox citizens revolve exclusively around the study of Torah, there are some Haredi men who pursue secular academics and professional training. JCT has been offering advanced academic degree studies to this segment of the population for the past decade. In fact, last September, The Times of Israel published a story about JCT’s trailblazing Bachelor of Science in Nursing program for ultra-Orthodox men.

In the Hebrew-language video, a young man in traditional Haredi garb comes running into a Yeshiva saying he has to ask the rabbi for a blessing immediately. After first checking with the other men waiting to see the rabbi whether they agree to let this newcomer cut in line, the guy in charge asks the young man for some information.

He asks for the young man’s name, mother’s name (required for the blessing), and the type of blessing sought. It turns out the man seeks a little divine intervention in finding a wife.

Then the gatekeeper starts to grill the young man on his studies. Does he have good references from his rabbi and spiritual supervisor? Yes. What is he studying? One tractate in the Babylonian Talmud and another in the Jerusalem Talmud…and physics.

Physics?!

Suddenly all eyes and ears in the room are on the young man, but the man grilling him doesn’t react as expected. Without missing a beat, he knowledgeably asks the young man in detail about the aspect of physics he is studying, and inquires about the mark he got on his last exam (for the record, it was 98% — without the need for a makeup test).

Impressed, the interrogator tells the young man he has a good shidduch (match) for him: his own daughter. Immediately the other men are on their feet running over to offer their own daughters as a wife for this obviously worthy scholar…of physics (as well as Torah, of course).

The voiceover at the end of the ad says, “Lev Academic Center — and you’re all set.” While not all Haredim would agree, at least in some circles, an academic degree makes a young man a hot commodity in both the employment and marriage markets.

In more familiar terms: secular studies are a double blessing.