What the heck is the deal with yeshiva dinner ad journals, is it just me or can we all agree that they are one of the stupidest/suckiest things ever!!!
For all of you who don’t know what an ad journal is, I will explain. At yeshiva, shul or really any annual Jewish function they bug you for 6 months before the event to take out an ad saying “Mazel tov on your endeavors” in different sizes, the text and the size of page alow everyone who reads the journal to make judgments about you because everyone knows what they cost. You basically have an entire well made spiral notebook of ads, with several well posed shots of what the organization does in the front of the book.
Every journal calls the expensive pages something different, but for an extra $5,000 donation you get public recognition in full page form with a colored trim, I think I’ll just take the plain full page instead of the Gold, Silver, Platinum (can anyone tell the difference between silver and platinum?) emerald or sapphire. These ads are always wishing some Rabbi mazel tov or the honorees that have nothing to do with the yeshiva.
Then your status in the community goes down each time your ad gets smaller, forget about it if you have one of those business card-sized ads, you are royally screwed especially when they are signed Doctor or Esq.
So you must be asking, why all the bitterness? It sounds great, the yeshiva gets money, you get honored, what could be worse? Well the reason yeshiva ad journals bothered me so much was because they could have spent a drop more in the bucket and actually made something useful, like a YEARBOOK maybe, but yeshivas are vehemently anti-yearbooks, especially reject yeshivas like Rochester.
Yeshivas are anti-yearbook mainly because, the stock of kids changes on such a regular basis that yearbooks are next to impossible – even for just a senior class. I think the main reason is because they are too modern, and yeshivas want to do as little for the kids as possible. What does a yeshiva do besides for provide an empty space with old used sforim donated by shuls from ghetto areas that have been closed.
I also bet you that some folks deem yearbooks as ASSUR, for no other reason than the aspect of “if its too entertaining it must be assur”.
They always make too many ad journals, and they lie around in boxes after the dinner, only to be read by yeshiva guys on the toilet. Its kind of a waste if you ask me. Ad Journals seem like a perpetuater of Gaiva (haughtiness) and they are a waste, hopefully we can see some yeshivas make yearbooks in the future.
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t see why a yearbook would be an alternative to a dinner journal, but yes, journals are pretty pointless.
These things are not unique to Jewish organizations. I’ve seen the same thing done by volunteer fire departments, among other types of groups.
Now, New England prep schools are something else altogether. We auction off (not kidding) things like “a week on a tropical island” “flying lessons in my plane” and so forth – all donated by parents.
A23 – a yearbook has loads of ad space within it towards the rear, the only yearbook I have is from my year at Providence Hebrew Day School and the thing is filled with ads that ring to the yeshiva ad journal tone.
Here’s something to ponder: Journal ads raise much needed cash, yearbook don’t.
Well how would they know if they don’t try it, imagine if you have an ad journal with pictures that’s essentially what a yearbook is.
Yeshiva yearbooks promote Lashon harah and Leitzunus somthing no yeshiva should be apart of.Oy lyom hadin oy lyom hatocheihah!!
I never heard of yeshivas banning yearbooks. Is this something new? I graduated HS in 1987, so maybe it’s after my time.
1987 was way before the the utra right wing issurdox came into power
“issurdox ”
I like that!
The Derech program at Ohr Somayach Yeshiva in Yerushalayim had a yearbook in 2002, assembled by David Lavon.
you went to PHDS – nice!
I remember my highschool required all parents to pay 2,000$$ for the journal dinner yearly even though no one would really go.
Each yeshiva has another gimmick tomake money. As a parent, I’m all for them raising money by any means other than extorting the parents with mandatory raffles, give and get, dinners and similar functions, in addition to the ridiculous amounts they charge for tuition.
Ever notice how these institutions use your kids as hostages when it comes to extorting parents? Simple reason is that it’s simpler to extort people rather than actually implement profitable ideas such as selling school supplies and seforim, offering school based babysitters, etc.
It would be nice to have our yeshivas run like businesses instead of like the mafia.
Yeshivas wouldn’t need to extort money from people if they finally came to realize that; they don’t need to hire 20 teachers, 10 assistant principals, 5 principals and 3 office staff members for a school that only has 20 students in it!
And out of those 20 students only 8 of them will actually graduate, because 12 of them will be kicked out of the school because either they were talking to a girl at a shabbos table or their father wore a blue shirt once while out of town.
Yeah, there shouldn’t be extra costs over tuition.
I think a daycare for the babies is a great idea. The parents can drop all the kids off at once. I also agree with Religious Perv about the management. There seems to be several principals and rosh yeshivas and assistant teachers and I don’t even have kids. I just know what I hear.
Hesh,
How come you always put your pictures at the top of the blog and never in the middle of a post?
just a thought- the yeshiva boys dont get any recongnition or pictures or yearbooks, and yet most bais yaakov girls not only have yearbooks but usually they have really nice yearbooks…
a bais yaakov yearbook is really a guide for shadchanim.
Yearbooks are normally put together by students, and students working on yearbooks would be distracted from Gemara. We can’t have boys putting energy into anything besides Gemara can we?