As our underlying mission is to ensure the emotional wellbeing of the Talmid, we understand the importance of communication between parents and children. And we strongly encourage every Bochur to be in close contact with parents regularly. We recognize the difficulty to do so when a child is away from home and the Brocha of cell phones is a welcome development in this area.
However, one of the most important commitments we make to the parents of our Talmidim is to provide their son with a safe environment. We want every parent to feel confident that when they send their son away from home, he will not be exposed, Ch”V, to unhealthy influences and content. Likewise, it is obvious that today’s devices are a tremendous distraction that makes learning and growing as a Tomim even more difficult.
In order to balance both of these needs, we have found that a strictly enforced policy regarding content and usage, with a liberal allowance of possession of the phone is an effective means of achieving these goals.
As such, we allow Bochurim to have their own cell phones and they may keep them throughout the week. At the same time, we are very serious about the type of device and the content available on these devices, as well the times they may be used.
A Tomim in our Yeshiva may only have a phone which is NOT a “smart-phone” and has no ability to connect to the internet (including Cell/Wifi or any other connection). Simply canceling the Internet service on the phone’s line is not sufficient. Furthermore, phones may not have any texting service available on the phone. We understand that texting is a very convenient and useful means of communication with your child, but at the same time, it is a significant distraction and risk as well. Adhering to this policy enables us to allow Bochurim to keep their phones with them throughout the week in a practical way, thereby enabling parents to reach their children much more flexibly than the other option of taking phones away during the week.
We feel that most parents will appreciate the adherence to this policy and the peace of mind that they will have knowing that their son will not be exposed to unhealthy content from peers. If this policy will be difficult for you to accept, please reconsider wether this is the best Mosad for your son.
Please feel free to click here to contact the Hanhola to discuss this further if you wish.