Visions of Jewish Education Essay
Esti Shulman
Azrieli Graduate School
“We can expect a feeling of love for all Jews, whatever their background, whatever their status. There will be those whom we will applaud, those whom we will oppose, those who will give us pain, even make us cry. But we will try never to forget that we are one and that the inner door should never be closed. And we will keep an outer door, to the outside world, open as well. To be sure, it will have a screen. Not everything is needed or wanted. But it is, after all, God 's world and we live in it, not despite it.” (Rabinowitz, ) These beautiful words describe a broad vision for the Jewish people in the modern world, but they also can inform and inspire a vision for …show more content…
Many Jewish educators describe their vision as being that their graduates should become productive members of Jewish society (Fox ???). That is very fine; but its meaning depends on our vision of what Jewish society ought to look like. So an educational vision is part of a societal vision. For example, Rosenak (???) discusses at length the difference between Modern Orthodox and Haredi educational visions, which reflect, in turn, their different visions of an ideal Orthodox society.
The following describes the core of my educational vision, which I attempted to instill in the schools with which I was associated. The kind of education I believe in endows our children with:
(a) A sense of belonging to something larger and greater than themselves. Bieler describes just such a vision and suggests curriculum and strategies to realize this value If we focus on mesorah, develop a curriculum that is rich in history and heritage, connect our students with the biblical and historical personalities who are their forefathers, focus on our families and their histories, then our students will realize they are part of that heritage and will want to pass it on. A holocaust teacher will not only teach her students about the horrors of the genocide but inspired them with the charge to rebuild as much as we can of what was lost. The Jewish holidays are not just days of celebration
Esti Shulman
Azrieli Graduate School
“We can expect a feeling of love for all Jews, whatever their background, whatever their status. There will be those whom we will applaud, those whom we will oppose, those who will give us pain, even make us cry. But we will try never to forget that we are one and that the inner door should never be closed. And we will keep an outer door, to the outside world, open as well. To be sure, it will have a screen. Not everything is needed or wanted. But it is, after all, God 's world and we live in it, not despite it.” (Rabinowitz, ) These beautiful words describe a broad vision for the Jewish people in the modern world, but they also can inform and inspire a vision for …show more content…
Many Jewish educators describe their vision as being that their graduates should become productive members of Jewish society (Fox ???). That is very fine; but its meaning depends on our vision of what Jewish society ought to look like. So an educational vision is part of a societal vision. For example, Rosenak (???) discusses at length the difference between Modern Orthodox and Haredi educational visions, which reflect, in turn, their different visions of an ideal Orthodox society.
The following describes the core of my educational vision, which I attempted to instill in the schools with which I was associated. The kind of education I believe in endows our children with:
(a) A sense of belonging to something larger and greater than themselves. Bieler describes just such a vision and suggests curriculum and strategies to realize this value If we focus on mesorah, develop a curriculum that is rich in history and heritage, connect our students with the biblical and historical personalities who are their forefathers, focus on our families and their histories, then our students will realize they are part of that heritage and will want to pass it on. A holocaust teacher will not only teach her students about the horrors of the genocide but inspired them with the charge to rebuild as much as we can of what was lost. The Jewish holidays are not just days of celebration