Israeli TV recently filmed a documentary of an Israeli Dati Leumi high school. It featured extensive footage of these boys for whom the term vilde chayos would be an understatement and an excessively harsh and uncalled for insult to vilde chayos. Vilde chayos are much more tame. They interviewed former students and teachers and they all describe complete lawlessness and anarchy.
I watched it. Not that I have a TV ח"ו but today there are other ways to watch things.
I don't know what the agenda of Israeli TV was to film this. Maybe to show "Look - the Datiim are no better than us. They are actually worse.... " Or that is was just good, cheap entertainment.
I believe that it was exaggerated. From watching the film you would think that the boys never learned anything. All they did was go nuts, cut class and break things. But the reality is that they all had to learn enough to pass the bagrut which requires a lot of study. And if they never learned - no parent would have sent their son to this place. But it can't be denied that there was also an element of the Wild Wild West [or in the case - the Middle East].
But here is the kicker: The boys turned out GREAT. Rabbis, lawyers, doctors, teachers, high ranking army officials, politicians etc. etc. Mechubedike contributing members of society.
It made me think of many kids I knew growing up. How crazy so many of them could be! But they all settled down, married, had children, made loads of money and bought spacious luxurious homes in places like Teaneck, the Five Towns and Ramat Beit Shemesh. They became upstanding members of society. Not necessarily perfect. Everyone can grow. But definitely not crazy or wild.
Mussar Haskel: Boys will be boys. They need rules and discipline but they often will rebel and it shouldn't shock or worry us. Eventually, almost everybody settles down. The hormones settle, the brain develops, the soul and psyche mature - and they bring nachas to the world. Many of them get into learning after years of running away. They no longer feel a need to rebel against Halacha and appreciate the structure and grounding it affords them. They connect to the past - to their parents, grandparents and what they represent. And they want to pass on the tradition to their children.
So parents - PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE!!!
