What is yeshivish?
I am consistently wondering what on earth yeshivish means. Does it mean you attend yeshiva, if so one who went to Ramaz which has a prom may even be considered yeshivish. What about those who learn full time, are they yeshivish? But what if they learn full time at YCT, surely that cannot be considered yeshivish. Then you have people who do not learn at all, but they have peyos behind their ears and eat at chap-a-nosh and say words like shayich and shtuch, that’s yeshivish??? Then I have friends who learn full time, their wives get some secretarial degree from the internet (kosher net of course) but they don’t consider themselves yeshivish? What’s the deal- I cannot figure it out.
Unlike the word Heimishe with which I really had to ask- Yeshivish is one of those words I know something about. For most its just a matter of opinion and I will state mine as well.
On frumster they have this question for all of categories: What does Yeshivish Balck Hat/Modern mean to you? They have two types of Yeshivish, one for those that read the Jewish Press and wear 4 piece yarmulkes and the other for the greasy peyos types that say “come have a mezoynos” instead of a piece of cake. I propose we break it down a little farther- because God forbid we call yeshivish people yeshivish when they are really just modern orthodox people who wear black hats.
I myself cant really claim any detailed knowledge of this yeshivish business, for I went to a chofetz chaim yeshiva (which apparently isn’t even in the system anymore) and according to the real yeshiva world chofetz chaim yeshivas are not yeshviish by any means and the only people who think they are yeshivish, are modern orthodox folks.
To me yeshivish has always meant, you are devoting your life to learning or chinuch within the yeshiva system. Lately, the yeshivish crowd has begun to do something which they lambasted chabad for years, and that is kiruv. Yeshivish people are being sent by various agencies mostly Aish or Wolfson to go and make Heathers and Johns into Chayalas and Yankels.But if you go into kiruv and leave your beis medrish, can you really be called yeshivish. Some folks refer to these people as laid back yeshivish, but God forbid we call them modern.
Some people look at anyone with a black hat and a non-artscroll shas set as yeshivish and that is simply not the case. I know plenty of people who would not refer to themselves as yeshivish, even though their sons and daughters are living it up yeshivish style – which basically means they take home $1000 month from kollel and only see their wives for 15 minutes a day. To be yeshivish a girl must support her husband, real yeshivish girls get what they call a certificate, usually medical billing or administrative assistance type of stuff.
To me, if you actually went to college you are relegated to modern, that’s how I see it at least and you are free to argue. You could essentially get your BTL and then go to law school, but already you have entered a world of gashmius, unless you go to Touro, Touro College is the cure all, in fact Touro can improve your shidduch status immensely because going to Stern, or God forbid Queens or Brooklyn just means you are damaged goods. One girl told me that she went to Kingsborough because Brooklyn had other Jews which posed a threat, but having just minorities put everyone out of the question.
I do have some questions about what it means to be yeshivish:
Must you have peyos behind your ears?
Must you wear your yarmulke on the middle of your head so it peaks out of your hat?
Do you have to use terms like Grada, Mailos, Mimayla and Chesronos on a regular basis?
Must you only have a Hebrew name on your birth certificate?
Must your wife wear stockings all the time?
Could Baalei Teshuva ever achieve status of being yeshivish?
Is there such a thing as a yeshivish lubavitcher? Since Chassidim and yeshivish are sometimes indistinguishable?
Must you have a lot of dandruff?
Can someone chofetz chaim ever be considered yeshivish?
Do you have to be rude to be yeshivish?
Do yeshivish guys ever have firm handshakes?
Can you have a nice car and still be considered yeshivish?
When people refer to people as Litvishe, why don’t they just say yeshivish, because what if your from Hungary?
Do yeshivish women wear red?
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