by Ira J. Wise, R.J.E. Taking A Year Off This past fall many Jewish educators encountered a newish phenomenon. Some families in our religious schools were “taking a year off” from Religious School and in some cases synagogue membership. If these were families whose youngest child recently became Bar or Bat Mitzvah, we might wring our hands and say “Ri-i-i-ight. Taking the year off. We’ll look for you next fall.” But most of these … [Read more...] about Put Your Own Oxygen Mask On First, And Then Help Your Children
Growing Jewish Education in Challenging Times
Seeing Clearly With Double Vision
by Robert Lichtman Why do children learn in parallel rows in the winter and in circles in the summer? The parallel rows are the desks in the day schools. We can demonstrate what day school students learn about the history of our people, Hebrew language and literature, Torah, Israel, holidays, Jewish Peoplehood, culture and folklore. The circles are the depressions in the grass left by thousands of Jewish tushies that sit around camp … [Read more...] about Seeing Clearly With Double Vision
Day School Sustainability: Ours to Achieve
by Yossi Prager I have email alerts that notify me when anyone blogs about “day school tuition” or “yeshiva tuition.” Even Orthodox posters express frustration over high tuitions or, more poignantly, resignation that they will be unable to enroll or maintain their children in a day school. Plainly put, our most effective form of Jewish education is financially unsustainable. Will day schools ultimately disappear, at least outside of the … [Read more...] about Day School Sustainability: Ours to Achieve
The Dance of the Four Children
by Daniel Libenson The Torah tells of four children: one wise, one wicked, one simple, and one who does not know to ask. (Passover Haggadah) Jewish education must be a two-step dance: provoke a hunger to learn, feed that hunger. Provoke huger, feed hunger; provoke, feed. But we don’t focus enough on the first step, and our efforts can look more like lurching than dancing. Working with young people during the transition to adulthood … [Read more...] about The Dance of the Four Children
Toward Adult Jewish Literacy
by Rabbi Elie Kaunfer What would it take to radically improve adult Jewish literacy in America? This is a problem long debated, but I believe we face an unprecedented opportunity to make a quantum leap forward during the next decade. A cursory look at Jewish life in America reveals only the challenges to this goal: declining engagement, membership and connection. But below are some of the factors that are playing in our favor. Demand … [Read more...] about Toward Adult Jewish Literacy
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