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South Korea: The New Hotbed For Talmudic Scholarship

While we Jews love to mock North Korea for their endless stream of batshit insanity, their neighbors to the south are giving Yeshivas a run for their gelt. A recent Ynet News article claims that people in South Korea are out-bachuring Israel in terms of Talmudic study and ownership. According to Korean ambassador to Israel Young Sam Ma, “We tried to understand the secret of the Jewish people. How do they – more than other nations – manage to reach such impressive achievements? How is it that Jews are such geniuses? The conclusion we reaches is that one of your secrets is studying Talmud.” Don’t forget gefilte fish and an incessant drive to complain about everything. The article also mentions that Koreans feel an intrinsic bond with Israel, on account of the fact that the countries are the same age, have experienced similar struggles, and both emphasize family values and education. Personally, I’d take Omri Casspi over Kim Yu- Na anyday. (That’s a lie, that girl can triple axel like it’s nobody’s business).

South Korea has even begun introducing Talmudic study into their school system. While Korean parents may be rejoicing at this new approach to smartening up their children, I bet Korean kids are going to be just as bored as I was after they’ve heard the thousandth argument between Rav Huna and Rav Ashi over the proper way to kasher a stove. If you guys need some extra teachers, I know plenty of YU grads looking for work. They may find their chemistry with Koreans is better than they thought.

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