THE JEWISH CHARITIES AND JEWISH EDUCATION

Introduction

The principal of an afternoon religious school is at the hub of the school's activities. It is quite likely that if the principal is performing adequately, then the school is functioning as it should. Therefore, it is imperative that the principal be evaluated on the basis of how well the principal performs assigned duties.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JEWISH EDUCATION AND JEWISH IDENTIFICATION

A resounding “yes” was the answer given recently at a conference of Solomon Schechter Day School principals by Professor David Weiss Halivni of the Jewish Theological Seminary to the question: Can modern critical scholarship be introduced when teaching Talmud on the day school level? The response was accompanied by an example which engendered great delight among the participants. But, soon, the initial magic began to ebb and the reality of the day-school dilemma emerged. Our teachers, the principals unanimously agreed, are hardly qualified to recreate the critical ingenuity which Halivni had demonstrated, and even if in theory the critical perceptions would be valuable additions to the classroom, in practice this is clearly impossible. This frustration is the result, however, of inadequate familiarity with modern scholarship, and in fact one of its central tenets, a theory suggested by Halivni himself, could very well be the best of all teachers' aids in beginning Talmud study.     

JEWISH ACCULTURATION AND THE OLDER SOVIET JEWISH ADULT

Beginning in 1979, significant numbers of refugees from the Soviet Union began to participate in the programs offered by Camp Isabella Freedman, a residential camp for older adults under the auspices of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York. The camp provides two week sessions for adults, 60 years of age and older, during a 12 week season between mid-June and early September.     

JEWISH RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

“Few would disagree that if Catholic schools are to continue to develop quantitatively and qualitatively, changes must be wrought.”     

JEWISH EDUCATION ABROAD

This research identifies four profiles of Jewish day school (JDS) teachers and analyzes their association with teacher retention in JDSs and Jewish education. We employed a comprehensive sample of JDS teachers from the Educators in Jewish Schools Study (EJSS; N?=?552) and the DeLeT Longitudinal Project (N?=?77) which tracks JDS teachers prepared by the DeLeT programs at Brandeis University and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). The study identified two distinct profiles of teachers among EJSS teachers, which we termed (a) very engaged teachers, and (b) disengaged and unsupported teachers. Moving to DeLeT teachers, we identified two different profiles: (a) well supported teachers, and (b) very engaged and unsupported teachers. While these profiles describe a somewhat gloomy story of Jewish day schools, they also offer a glimpse of hope, if further proactive steps are taken.     

JEWISH EDUCATION IN EXTREMIS: A PROLEGOMENON TO POSTMODERN JEWISH EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT

Abstract In this article the author argues that for 150 years Jewish education has negotiated the tensions between modernity and Judaism by means of liberal religion, ultra Orthodoxy, and secular Zionism. All three are in crisis today due to the rise of postmodernism. Jewish educational thought therefore needs to create new syntheses between Jewish and postmodern life. To this end the concepts of Aliyah, modernity, and exile should be reevaluated and Jewish education should embrace the goal of working with God toward redemption. For more than 150 years Jewish education has focused on the tensions between rabbinic Judaism and modernity. Each of the models for negotiating these tensions-religious liberalism, ultra orthodoxy, and secular Zionism-succeeded beyond the imaginations of those who conceived them. Yet, each is in a state of crisis today, resulting from a deconstruction of both the rabbinic and modern assumptions upon which they are based. Addressing these crises requires reevaluation of key assumptions about the educational significance of Israel, modernity, and exile in order to lay the groundwork for more productive interactions between the Jewish people and its heritage on the one hand and the postmodern condition into which we are emerging on the other.     

JEWISH EDUCATION IN IRAN

Introduction

Historically, two periods are discernible in the development of the system of extra-curricular activities in the Israeli schools — the first period, from the founding of the first Israeli high school around the beginning of the twentieth century to the establishment of the State of Israel (1948), and the second period, from 1948 to the present. The main difference between the two stages lies in the degree of local autonomy in the administration of the activity program.     

TESTS IN JEWISH HISTORY

In the years following Manny Gamoran's retirement, we would meet often to talk, not just of our mutual educational concerns, but of theology. This was an old bond between us dating back to my student years in Cincinnati. The substance of these conversations, though they wandered over many an issue, was ultimately the same. Manny could not understand why I found Mordecai Kaplan's view of God intellectually inadequate and pro‐grammatically dangerous, though I agreed with a number of Kaplan's views on the Jewish community and supported a number of his practical proposals. Manny's loyalty to the Power that makes for salvation never faltered. His constancy almost persuaded me where his arguments did not.

Since leaving the Commission on Jewish Education of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations as Manny's successor, I have had the time to re‐read Kaplan's major works. This has enabled me to make my part in that long discussion clearer. I regret most sincerely that Manny is no longer able to meet my arguments with his great patience and undaunted resistance. In his memory then, I should like to analyze one aspect of Kaplan's view of God which has not received appropriate attention.     

THE TANGIBLES OF JEWISH EDUCATION

As a Rule, when discussing Jewish existence, we use the term survival. Actually, continuity is more accurate. Certainly it is more dynamic. Continuity indicates the state or quality of being continuous. It denotes the fact that Jewish life is an uninterrupted succession of Jewish people and events. Continuity is an absolute condition. Survival, however, indicates an act of surviving or merely lasting longer than others. Survival is something that continues to exist after the cessation of something else. As such, survival is a relative phenomenon. Moreover, continuity implies creative growth; survival connotes bare existence, even decline.     

THE TEACHING OF JEWISH MUSIC

This article deals with a recurrent situation in congregational schools, in which parents lobby for a reduction in the number of days per week of instruction. Following two similar studies by Joseph Reimer, the article utilizes the theoretical construct of a “social drama” as a frame for the recounting and analysis of a recent occurrence of this conflict at Kehillat Lomdim. In contrast to the cases brought by Reimer, this congregation convened a task force to study the underlying educational issues related to Hebrew instruction; the task force arrived at a decision that was both educationally sound and satisfying to both sides of the debate.