Over the past two weeks, Rebbe Responsa has released a two-part installment presenting a selection of the Rebbe’s letters on college education, including many previously unpublished letters.

These letters reveal the Rebbe’s extremely nuanced position, offering guidance both for Jewish youth in their formative years and for individuals who had already invested time in pursuing a degree.

The first installment records the Rebbe’s opposition to attending college during one’s formative years. The Rebbe emphasizes that Jewish youth require years of undistracted Torah study to survive as a minority with no external barriers to assimilation. College culture and influence, he writes, are vastly at odds with yiddishkeit, causing deep inner conflict and religious erosion.

The Rebbe’s concern extends beyond curriculum to the campus atmosphere itself, describing universities as breeding grounds for moral and ideological influence fundamentally at odds with Torah values. College, in this context, represents a divergence from a Jew’s life purpose and task, potentially preventing the individual from fulfilling his mission to illuminate the world with Torah and mitzvos.

The Rebbe also challenges the common assumption that a degree is necessary to earn a livelihood, emphasizing that material benefits are not guaranteed while spiritual dangers are certain. Yeshiva study before entering the world, the Rebbe stresses, is a good investment: “G-d provides parnasah, and you will make a vessel for it when the time comes.”

The second installment addresses individuals who had already begun their academic studies. In these letters, the Rebbe encourages completing college once it has been started, so that the time invested does not go to waste. In some cases, the Rebbe advises setting aside personal aspirations to finish a degree – for example, guiding a ba’al teshuva to finish qualifying as a lawyer – and even provided financial assistance in the form of scholarships.

Completing academic studies, the Rebbe explains, should be done without interruption, and the time spent on secular studies can and should be utilized in the service of Hashem. Academic accomplishments can also support spreading Yiddishkeit and Chassidus.

The editors of Rebbe Responsa urge readers to carefully consider the context of these letters and the circumstances of the individuals who received them. Notably, many of these recipients came from secular backgrounds and were already married, which significantly shaped the Rebbe’s guidance.

These two installments collectively highlight the Rebbe’s nuanced approach to college, emphasizing both caution and encouragement in alignment with a Jew’s ultimate mission in this world.

Here are selections from the letters:

• Root of the Disorder – Opposition to college attendance is not based on turmoil and disorder on campuses, but on the underlying root cause; added negative influence on campuses in the Holy Land.
• What About Economic Security? – Persuading a yeshiva student to attend college; inner conflict should be avoided; material benefits are not guaranteed, spiritual dangers are certain.
• A Good Investment – Yeshiva study before entering the world is a good investment, not a waste of time; G-d provides parnasah, and you will make a vessel for it when the time comes.
• Should I Drop Out of College? – Judaism is an all-encompassing way of life that must inform all decisions, including whether to complete college.
• A Discouraged Philosopher – Finish philosophy doctorate as soon as possible; since already started, must finish without interruption; examination anxiety.
• Law School on the House – Five letters on the Rebbe’s efforts to help a chossid become a qualified lawyer.

All letters and content referenced here are drawn from Rebbe Responsa, which provides the only comprehensive collection of the Rebbe’s English letters. With over 5,000 letters organized by both topic and date, the app makes finding the Rebbe’s guidance and worldview simple and accessible.

Click here to download the first booklet.

Click here to download the second booklet.