A unique way of life has developed in Israel that is unlike that of any other country in the world. In the chareidi community, a majority of men continue to learn in yeshivos for many years, if not a lifetime, while their wives provide parnassa – historically through jobs in their own communities. This unusual and idealistic way of life was made possible by an agreement between the former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and the Chazon Ish in the earliest days of the State. The Bnai Brak gadol explained to Ben-Gurion that the Nazis had killed our Torah elite and that in order to revive it for the next generation we would need people learning full time. Ben Gurion thus accepted the idea of deferring army service for full-time learners.