Yeshivos Don’t Need To Be ‘Substantially Equivalent’

From the Anash.org Inbox: Trying to convince the government that our mosdos are “substantially equivalent” is a weak argument. Instead, we must assert the honest and bold truth and refrain from any concessions. This is a fight for the future of Chinuch in America.

By Chaim Goldman

For years, the New York State government has pushed for greater oversight of yeshiva education, demanding that our schools meet so-called “substantial equivalency” standards in secular studies. Recently they have significantly modified those standards and tried to enforce them on Yeshivos.

In response, many in our communities have sought to prove that our schools already meet these standards. They argued that yeshivas provide sufficient secular knowledge through subjects embedded in Torah learning—math through Mishnah and Gemara, literacy through Chumash, and history through Jewish history in Tanach and other sources.

While this approach is well-intentioned, is not wrong on the merits, and may succeed in the short-term, it is fundamentally misguided.

Instead of trying to prove that yeshivas align with the government’s expectations, we must reject the entire premise of substantial equivalency.

We must stop defending yeshivas as being within the state’s framework and start asserting that the government has no right to regulate our education at all.

One of the fundamental flaws in the government’s approach is the assumption that a yeshiva is just a school—a place where children go for a few hours a day to receive an education. This completely misunderstands the nature of a yeshiva. A yeshiva is not just an institution of learning; it is an all-encompassing lifestyle that shapes our children’s entire existence.

From the moment a child enters the yeshiva system, he is immersed in an environment dedicated to Torah, Avodas Hashem, and midos tovos. The entire structure of daily life—from the way a student wakes up, davens, eats, and interacts with others—is built around our values.

The goal of a yeshiva is not simply to impart knowledge but to produce a Torah Jew, someone whose thinking, speech, and actions are all shaped by a deep and unbreakable connection to Torah.

To impose secular studies on a yeshiva is not just a matter of adding subjects to a curriculum—it is an attempt to fundamentally alter the yeshiva lifestyle, to shift the focus away from the ultimate goal of producing Jews who live and breathe Torah. This is why the battle against government interference is not just about education—it is about preserving the very essence of Torah life.

The Rebbe was unequivocally opposed to any secular education in yeshivos, calling it a spiritual compromise that ultimately weakens the Jewish people. The Rebbe didn’t believe in trying to make Yiddishkeit appear more acceptable to the secular world; instead, he emphasized the need to be fully honest about what we believe.

This was the Rebbe’s famous approach to Eretz Yisroel as well. While some argued for Jewish sovereignty over the land based on security concerns or political strategy, the Rebbe insisted on publicly acknowledging the truth: Eretz Yisroel belongs to the Jewish people because Hashem gave it to us. Any argument that relies on pragmatism rather than principle ultimately weakens our position.

The same applies to the battle over yeshiva education. If we argue that yeshivas are “substantially equivalent,” we are implicitly conceding that secular education is necessary.

Instead, we must take the Rebbe’s approach:

• We do not need secular education to be better people. Torah is our education, and it has sustained us for thousands of years.

• The government has no authority over our schools. The Rebbe strongly opposed any state interference in yeshiva curricula.

• We will not compromise our values for political convenience. The moment we accept even a small level of government oversight, we are only inviting more control in the future.

The argument for the need to be substantially equivalent is based on a false premise. It assumes that secular education is an absolute necessity, and that without it, a community will be uneducated, unproductive, and unable to contribute to society. This is simply false.

For thousands of years, the Rebbe argued, Yidden have flourished without any secular education. Even in America, the yeshiva system has thrived for over a century without the need for government-imposed secular studies. Entire communities function within this model, producing business owners, legal professionals, community leaders, and educators.

The Amish proved this exact point in Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972). The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that forcing Amish children to attend public high school violated their religious rights, because the Amish had their own functional society that did not require modern schooling. If this argument worked for the Amish—who reject much of modern society—how much stronger is it for our community that actively engages in business, law, and a regular society?

We should not have to prove that we meet the standards of the public school system. Instead, the state should be forced to explain why its model is superior to a system that has a much higher rate of success for producing upstanding citizens than its public school system.

New York’s attempt to dictate what must be taught in yeshivas is not just unnecessary—it is a blatant violation of religious freedom. The First Amendment guarantees that the government may not interfere in religious practice without a compelling reason.

If New York succeeds in imposing secular studies requirements, what’s next? Will they mandate that yeshivas teach wokeism? Will they require our schools to promote ideas about alternative lifestyles and family values that are contrary to Torah? Accepting the legitimacy of substantial equivalence opens the door to far greater government interference in the future.

It’s time to shift the conversation. We don’t need to prove that we meet public school standards. We need to reject the premise that public school standards should apply to us at all.

If we fail to stand our ground now, we risk setting a dangerous precedent for the future of Jewish education in America. Instead of trying to appease government regulators, we should be demanding full educational autonomy—not as a favor, but as a fundamental right.

This is not just a policy battle. It is a fight for the future of Chinuch in America. The time has come for the Jewish community—especially our community, which has always been at the forefront of Jewish education—to reject substantial equivalency outright and assert our right to educate our children according to Torah, without government interference.