- Why has Judaism survived for thousands of years?
You could point to the rituals,
to the communities, to Challah's magical restorative powers.
While many factors have played a role,
arguably the most important one
is the continuing focus on education.
So, how much of an emphasis
has Judaism put on education, historically?
And how does that compare to what's being done today?
Learning in Judaism goes all the way back.
In the bible, examples range from the priests
to prophets to Ezra all teaching,
but let's skip ahead.
All the way to the 1st Century BCE.
Up to this point,
most Jewish learning was done from father to son.
Shimon Ben Shetach saw a major group not being taught,
boys without fathers.
So he set up a school for orphans,
wanting everyone to have access to education.
While a novel idea,
it started at the age of 16 and wasn't mandatory,
so it didn't catch on.
A couple hundred years later,
Yehoshua Ben Gamla built on this,
pushing for elementary schools
freely available to every boy.
This is quite possibly the earliest example
of public school by any culture.
Much like today,
there were debates about class sizes
and how much material should be covered,
with subjects ranging from Torah to mathematics.
Memorization played a key role
as there was still over a thousand years to go
before the printing press.
Spoilers, it's very clear that Judaism
had a strong focus on education even back then.
Talmud is a compilation of rabbis from generations,
debating each other and learning together.
It's very format as evidence
of the continued emphasis on education.
There's an idea in Jewish liturgy
that there are 10 things that are incredibly important,
welcoming guests, giving to charity, et cetera
but learning is equal to them all.
In Hebrew, "Talmud Torah keneged kulam."
Some say because it leads to the rest.
In the Shema, one of the main prayers, it says,
"Teach your children, when you sit at home
and when you travel, when you lie down and when you rise."
So, all the time.
Some have argued,
because of this emphasis on education,
Jews were historically more literate
compared to the general community,
and that helped the Jewish People thrive.
There are Yeshivas,
that lasted nearly a thousand years.
They put an emphasis on having a study buddy,
always having someone to debate and bounce ideas off of,
called the Chevruta Study.
This is still the main format of learning in Yeshivas.
Today, many, primarily Orthodox kids,
attend Yeshivas following High School.
But this idea of Yeshivas, for most Americans, is foreign.
When many think of Jewish Education,
what comes to mind is Hebrew School.
And there's this challenge that a lot of kids hate it.
[Ominous music]
There's this struggle for educators of "Is this helping?"
"Is this giving people a positive taste for Judaism?"
When Samson Benderly updated the religious school system,
it was up to five days a week.
And this remained the case, in some places,
through the 50's and 60's.
Over time, it went down to four days a week.
Three, two and now they're even one day a week
in some places.
The fact is, you're not going to be fluent in Hebrew
from a couple hours a week.
Most are doing what they can to get kids up to speed
in time for their Bar and Bat mitzvah.
And some are trying to add in a bit of
experiential learning, as a way to, at the very least,
instill a strong sense of Jewish identity going forward.
Creating community and having powerful Jewish experiences
is notably one of the key reasons why Jewish Summer Camp,
Youth Groups, and Israel Trips are so loved.
Hebrew School is going through a transformation right now,
and it's not entirely clear where it's gonna end up.
But there's an awareness that what it is right now,
can't last forever.
Day schools; Jewish Private Schools,
are also facing a challenge.
On the one end, costs have continued to increase
to a degree that would make any parent pause.
For some, especially in the Orthodox community,
sending their kids to day school is almost a given.
But there's a lot of Jews who are on the fence
and feel that amount of money, if possible at all,
just isn't worth the sacrifice it would take from them.
So Day Schools are going through both this challenge,
and the challenge of competing with other private schools,
needing to spell out
'What's the edge that a Jewish school provides?'
And the answers range from giving the kid the
same depth of knowledge that the parents hold,
to reinforcing the child's Jewish identity.
Some think about it on a more macro scale:
"This is how we connect ourselves
to the generations who came before us,
and those that follow."
These days, a couple of alternative options
gaining in popularity are after school Hebrew programs
available every day of the week
and Hebrew Charter schools.
For most, the debate isn't on whether education is central.
That's assumed.
Rather, it's about how best to approach it:
what to charge, what Jewish topics to emphasize,
amount of time spent on religious subjects vs secular ones.
These are all debates
that have been happening since the very beginning.
Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik,
the influential 20th century Jewish leader, said,
"The central figure in Jewish history has not been the king,
"nor the field marshal, nor the political leader,
but the very old teacher surrounded by very young children."
Education has always been a major part of Judaism,
and looking at how it has evolved in the past
and also what's happening today,
clearly sets the stage for what's to come.
Whether we're talking about Yeshivas or Summer Camps,
about Shimon Ben Shetach or Soloveitchik,
the message remains:
the continued emphasis on education
is the beating heart of what keeps Judaism going.
Thanks for watching.
This is one part of a series
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