I assume that many Lookjed readers have seen the New York Times article about how the Stamar movement recently reiterated its prohibition against higher education for women in their community - [
mobile.nytimes.com]
While it is reasonable to assume that all readers of this list reject that edict (for both women and men), I wonder about a quote that appears in the article that seems to offer credence to the rejection of secular education -
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The notion is not an invention of the Hasidim, Allan Nadler, the director of Jewish studies at Drew University and a scholar of Hasidic practice, explained. The Mishna, a multivolume compilation of Jewish law that predates the Talmud, contains a prohibition against “external books.â€
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My assumption would be that forbidding chassidim from going to college stems from other concerns of the Satmar community. Surely the prohibition against the study of Seforim Chitzonim does not forbid acquiring the knowledge to teach special ed! Is Professor Nadler mistaken, being misquoted or are there opinions that all secular studies are prohibited?
Thanks,
Alyssa
