source: Klal Perspectives

Before considering any suggestions of change to the current Yeshiva curriculum and educational philosophy, it would be wise to review the underlying value that informs much of the structure of the Lithuanian Yeshiva model that forms the basis of our current educational system. This value was famously articulated in a letter written by HaRav Eliyahu Dessler in 1951:

“The approach of the yeshivos was to establish a single goal, that being the development of greats (gedolim) in both Torah and fear of Heaven. It is for this reason that they forbade their students to attend university, as they could not see a way to develop “gedolim” in Torah without focusing their students’ sights exclusively on Torah.