“Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is fear walking.” The closing keynote speaker at this week’s Prizmah Conference, Susan David, a leading management thinker and award-winning psychologist, reminded the more than 1,500 day school and Jewish community professionals, lay leaders and investors who attended that what happens every day in Jewish day schools and yeshivas is nothing short of heroic.

Globally and throughout the Jewish world, this is a moment when fear abounds. The scars of a worldwide pandemic are still healing; threats of antisemitism loom large; the State of Israel is under attack; and we live in a dangerously polarized political and social climate. Like all the generations before us, we must do what we can to ensure a better future for the world and for our people — to hold those fears and keep moving forward.

At "Looking to the Horizon for Jewish Day School Education," the plenary session of the 2025 Prizmah Conference, leading Jewish thinkers Rachel Fish of Boundless, Tamara Tweel of the Teagle Foundation and Erica Brown of Yeshiva University discuss the short-, medium-, and long-term future of Jewish day schools. Courtesy/Prizmah

What an honor it was to witness the gathering of hundreds of individuals who are enabling Jewish day schools and yeshivas to fulfill their promise at precisely this moment. These leaders have what it takes to walk with fear, act courageously and not run from it.

As recently as five years ago, many in our community questioned the future of Jewish day schools. They doubted our quality. They didn’t understand our impact. And now, at this time of profound upheaval — in what Israel’s President Isaac Herzog called a “prolonged moment of crisis for our people” in a video greeting to the conference — day schools are appropriately taking center stage. More parents are choosing our schools, day school alumni are leading from the front on campus and investors are prioritizing day schools, as we see with the Mandel Foundation’s recent $90 million endowment matching gift in Cleveland. We know that the best way to combat antisemitism is to invest in immersive Jewish education, and the way to ensure a strong Jewish community is through our schools. 

In countless sessions, in networking meetups, in the hallways and in the elevators, Prizmah Conference attendees engaged in learning that moves the needle towards even greater excellence in the way Jewish day schools function, from classroom to faculty lounge to boardroom and beyond. The level of professionalism was unprecedented. The years of seeding advancements in teacher and leadership training, curriculum design, financial management, governance and more is yielding an unprecedented and flourishing garden.

We saw the courage of day school alumni who are among the leaders on campuses where Judaism and Israel are attacked on a regular basis. Ethan Fine, a senior at Indiana University and graduate of the Ann and Nate Levine Academy in Dallas, spoke about the confidence and competence his day school gave him to act like the biblical hero Nachshon and “jump in” at the shores of a dramatic moment. We know from Prizmah’s research that day school alumni are more than twice as likely to say Jewish identity is very important to them compared to those who did not attend day school, and four times more likely to feel a strong connection to Israel.

Orna and Ronen Neutra shared the story of their son, Omer Neutra, z”l, who was murdered on Oct. 7, his body still held hostage by Hamas. Orna and Ronen reflected on the moment they first visited the Schechter School of Long Island, where their children would attend. “It was Groundhog Day outside, cold and rainy,” Orna said, “Yet inside, it was Tu B’Shevat, and we knew we had found our home.” The courage of Omer’s parents as they walked onto our stage, just as they have taken the podium to speak countless times in the past 15 months on behalf of the release of all the hostages, was exactly what Susan David described. 

When I think about what it means to have courage and Jewish day schools, I am reminded of the relationship that is at the core of learning between teachers and learners. Educators in our schools show up every day, no matter the news headlines or their own fears, in order to continue the task of building a better future. Their courage is worthy of our highest respect. Teachers and school leaders have been and will continue to be the heroes and the role models our students need to eventually replace them as the teachers, leaders and thinkers of tomorrow, seeding generation after generation of Jewish connection, continuity and remarkable contribution both to our community and wider society.   

I believe we can and will succeed in seizing this extraordinary moment because of the talent, passion and dedication — and courage — of all of the professionals and volunteers in our schools. The future of our community will be shaped by the students we teach, and by the courage they show.

Paul Bernstein is the CEO of Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools.