Ḥeshbon → Where to start
Everything, by season
All 69 pieces, grouped by the season that produced them, newest season first. Essays are the shorter visual pieces, research briefs carry a working paper, and tools answer rather than argue.
Higher education
Where Jewish students go after high school, what it costs, and who pays for the schools. 6 pieces.
- Campus Bracket: the selection show for Jewish students Tool
- How much will university cost? Essay
- How can these ultra-Orthodox yeshivas exist? Essay 11 min read
- What does a gap year in Israel cost? Essay 15 min read
- Does an Israeli degree really cost a fraction of an American one? Tool
- Best Graduate School Cities for Observant Families Tool
Aliyah
What a move to Israel does to every line of a household budget. 18 pieces.
- The Aliyah Ledger: seventeen essays, one street Series
- How much apartment does the same money buy in Israel? Essay 8 min read
- What this apartment actually costs you, before and after you make aliyah Essay 8 min read
- Why does the same car cost twice as much in Israel? Essay 8 min read
- Which bills go up when you move to Israel, and which go down? Essay 9 min read
- What does one week of groceries cost in Beit Shemesh, and in Teaneck? Essay 7 min read
- Move to Israel, and what share of your money goes to food? Essay 7 min read
- In a country where everything is kosher, who pays for it? Essay 7 min read
- Is Israel expensive because of geography, or because of policy? Essay 8 min read
- What does a family pay for health care, before and after aliyah? Essay 8 min read
- Six children, two systems. Which country actually pays for them? Essay 9 min read
- What would you actually earn in Israel, and how would that compare to now? Essay 8 min read
- At what salary does moving to Israel start costing you in tax? Essay 9 min read
- If you move to Israel, what happens to your money? Essay 8 min read
- How much cash will your family need to survive the first year in Israel? Essay 7 min read
- If you make aliyah at sixty-five, what does Israel owe you when you retire? Essay 8 min read
- You have a degree. What would it be worth in Israel? Essay 9 min read
- What will school cost you in Israel? Essay 9 min read
Giving and institutions
Where communal money comes from, and what it costs to keep the buildings open. 14 pieces.
- The Giving Ledger: your own town, then ten stories Series
- What does Jewish giving build where you live? Tool
- Where does your federation's money come from, and where does it go? Tool
- The City of Jewish Giving Essay
- How much more charity do Jews give? Research brief 8 min read
- Does planting a kollel make a community grow? Research brief 9 min read
- Does a kollel ever pay for itself? Research brief 7 min read
- How many hands does a charitable dollar pass through before it feeds anyone? Research brief 10 min read
- Where do fifty of America’s biggest Jewish givers send their money? Essay 9 min read
- What happens to federation money after the grant arrives? Research brief 8 min read
- When a federation raises less, where does the money go? Research brief 10 min read
- Should an Israel check go to the federation, or straight to the cause? Research brief 7 min read
- What does it cost to keep a Jewish building secure? Research brief 9 min read
- Which Jewish communities prioritize their day schools? Essay 8 min read
Communal affordability
What a year of Orthodox family life costs, community by community. 18 pieces.
- If a community is cheaper, does it pay you less? Research brief 8 min read
- Is the frum world sorting by politics? Research brief 8 min read
- The Household Ledger: ten essays, one house Series
- What does a year of Orthodox family life actually cost? Research brief 7 min read
- Two hundred and sixty-nine communities, one map of what each one costs. Tool
- Four communities, fourteen measures, side by side. Tool
- Weight what matters, and the ranking changes. Tool
- How much of the kosher premium is actually about being kosher? Research brief 8 min read
- What does it cost to set a Shabbos table every week, and to fill it with guests? Research brief 6 min read
- Does the city tell you whether the neighborhood is safe? Research brief 9 min read
- What does walking distance to a shul cost? Research brief 7 min read
- When the tuition bill ends, where is the best place to grow old? Research brief 7 min read
- Where can a divorced Orthodox couple both afford to stay? Research brief 7 min read
- In a large Orthodox family, which child is the expensive one? Research brief 8 min read
- Thirty-five years of choices, each one priced and compounded. Tool
- Why does one Jewish sleepaway camp cost twice as much as another? Essay 11 min read
- Why does Jewish day camp cost twice as much as the camp down the road? Essay 12 min read
- A hundred and six overnight camps, each priced by the day. Tool
School finance
Who pays for a Jewish day school, and which ones are in trouble. 13 pieces.
- Which Jewish day schools are actually in financial trouble? Research brief 3 min read
- The Day School Ledger: eleven stories, one building Series
- How much of a posted tuition dollar actually arrives? Research brief 7 min read
- How do Orthodox schools run the most expensive kind of school day for a third less money? Research brief 8 min read
- Jewish day schools teach two curricula. Who pays for the second one? Research brief 5 min read
- Growth stops saving most schools money at about 150 students. Does it stop saving these? Research brief 6 min read
- Day school tuition rises about 4% a year. Does it track inflation? Essay 3 min read
- Five schools hold nearly 40% of the endowment. Does that buy their families more aid? Essay 6 min read
- Ten schools hold more than half the endowment. Does the aid follow the money? Essay 3 min read
- Revenue at these schools grew about 8% a year. Did executive pay follow? Essay 3 min read
- Boards benchmark head-of-school pay against tuition. Does tuition predict the pay? Essay 3 min read
- Build your own school. What will your choices cost? Tool
- School Financial Health Report Card Tool