Many people are horrified to discover that some rebbe in a poor yeshivas have students who occasionally take drugs. They may be shocked because they expect these yeshivas to be a haven for all that is pure and good and to have only "straight" boys in the yeshiva, and the reality of having some students who do toe the line, horrifies them.

It shouldn't.

The fact is that most yeshivas do have a higher standard and a higher level of studies for their students than the students who are not in yeshivas. They are better - as a whole.

On the other hand, there are some who come in and they are not on the anticipated level or expected level. In those cases, the yeshiva a decision to make:

It can throw out these students in order to preserve its fine reputation - and some yeshivas do choose this route and it is understandable and expected.

The other option is to keep these students in the yeshiva. The idea is that if they leave the yeshiva or are thrown out of the yeshiva, then they will probably go straight to places in which they will not be protected from sinking lower and lower. These yeshivas believe that they might be able to save some souls by keeping them in the yeshiva.

The yeshiva's ultimate question is whether these children are going to harm others or cause others to take the wrong steps. That is indeed a difficult, academic or administrative question.

However, a yeshiva that chooses to accept or continue working with a child who has severe problems is to be commended for their efforts and this should not be a reason to point to yeshivas and say Oh look, they're going the way of the rest of the world and they're just as bad as anything anywhere else. That is a wrong way of looking at it and it's not the case.

Of course, it also raises a question about whether you would want to send your own child to a yeshiva that has children who take drugs or who smoke or who have other bad traits.

But that's a question of your choice and not a reflection of the yeshiva itself, and certainly not on the yeshiva world.1