I just got a call from a friend of mine who teaches in a yeshiva on Long Island. I'll leave out the name in order to avoid embarrassment. He asked me where he could find a Gemach from which he could take out a loan. His yeshiva had not paid the rebbeim for more than three months. Yes, they had paid the English teachers, the electric and gas companies and even the custodians. As usual, the rebbeim were at the bottom of the totem pole. They hadn't gotten a decent raise in years, and there was little they could do about the situation. Striking was an option they didn't want to consider, since it would cause bittul Torah. There was no one they could go to with their grievances, and the situation was deteriorating. Parents didn't want to get involved because of a variety of reasons.

Much ink has been put to paper and many articles have been written on the problem of teen dropouts, yet few have offered practical solutions. A recent article in The Jewish Observer written by the esteemed Rosh Hayeshiva Rav Chaim Epstein scored a direct hit. The writer suggests paying a rebbe a living salary so that he doesn't have to work three jobs and is able to devote his full time and energy to his talmidim. What profound insight, yet how rarely instituted. Little do we realize that the only practical solution to many of our schools' problems and difficulties are the four M's: Money, Money and More Money! If yeshivos had these four ingredients available to them, they could easily solve many of their problems.

They could attract and retain the best talents to become rebbeim. They could get rebbeim to spend their afternoons and evenings preparing their lessons and helping needy students on an individual and more personal level. They could afford to hire Special Ed professionals and psychologists who could work with those who show signs of problems.

While many fault the yeshiva or the rebbeim, the real fault lies in great measure with the community at large, which spends far more money on the luxuries of life than on the necessities. Far more money is spent on vacations and other frills and indulgences than for the education of our greatest treasures.

While the average parent struggles to meet tuition payments, just look around at the millions of wasted dollars. The millions lost to Ponzi scams prove that the money is out there - but going to the wrong causes.

Whiles yeshivos raise their tuition each year, the money is usually diverted to such pressing needs as oil, gas, maintenance, new buildings and other urgent needs, without which they couldn't open their doors. Rebbeim's salaries are usually at the bottom or the totem pole; raises are minuscule and rarely keep pace with the rise in the cost of living. Most rebbeim are forced to take afternoon or evening jobs to make ends meet. They are forced to take out loans in order to celebrate their simchos. The cost in time and peace of mind is incalculable - and those who suffer the most are the families and talmidim of the rebbeim.

Well-publicized meetings are called and advice is offered on ways to improve our educational system, but unless we stop ignoring the real problem and start greasing the system with the four M's, I'm afraid that we're not really being realistic. Only when we admit our faults and fix what's truly broken can we hope to solve the present mess we find ourselves in!

The community cannot remain complacent to the rebbeim's plight. People must get involved and changes must be made!

When rebbeim, who are already grossly underpaid for their work, are not paid on time, don't expect miracles! Remember, they too are only human.