Blog

This week I have been virtually attending the Jewish Educators Assembly convention. For those unfamiliar with the group, it is the professional organization of educators in the Conservative movement. I must say that in all my years in Jewish education, I have never met a more dedicated group of professionals who are passionate about Jewish education and the engagement with all age groups in transmitting the knowledge of our ancestors. Many may not recognize that, especially after the sudden transformation to virtual learning in the public schools in 2021, there were even greater challenges for Jewish educators who had to face young students already tired of sitting in front of a computer earlier that same day. It required immense creativity, and having spoken to many of my colleagues and learning what incredible efforts and out-of-the-box thinking that went into what they do, I am proud to be associated with them.

This year’s theme is “The Leader Within”, and workshops and discussions have been held on the innovations and transformational steps necessary to keep Jewish education relevant and worthwhile as the conditions in life continue to throw curve balls. As one very smart man once told me, “If life throws you curve balls, learn to hit the curve ball.” Certain standard elements continue to remain anchors of a quality Jewish education, such as:

• Bible. The universality of its teachings continue to inspire us thousands of years later. Each and every discussion about Bible unveils new directions and possibilities not yet explored. I and my congregants who join me for Shabbat in Sixty know this from our meaningful study and dialogues.
• Prayer. The prayer book stores an incredible wealth of attempts by humans to express their innermost thoughts and feelings to God. The tools necessary to approach God and engage in direct conversation are timeless.
• Israel. Our connection to the land is unquestionable. However, we must provide our students with the necessary skills to address those who deny Israel’s right to exist.
• Mitzvot. We cannot better the world until we are the best possible version of ourselves. Mitzvot provide us with a framework on how to do this.

Yes, there are many more subjects I could list, but outside forces put pressure on even the most outstanding Jewish schools to shorten the hours of instruction. Extracurricular activities frequently coincide with Jewish school hours. It is critically important to remind parents that whether their child does indeed become that 1% who becomes a professional in that field, they will nevertheless always remain a Jew. It is our community’s responsibility to provide them with the skills and tools to be a competent Jew in the 21^st Century, to be able to respond to antisemitism and those who deny Israel’s right to exist while at the same time relishing the beauty of Shabbat, the timelessness of the Bible, that special feeling that comes when connected to community, and the purposeful life derived from the world’s oldest, continuous religious civilization.

I’m proud to be a Jewish educator, and honored to know so many Jewish education professionals that I can not only call colleagues but friends, some who I have shared decades with in our common journey. While we struggle with the challenges of a pandemic and how to continue to offer a quality education in a meaningful way, we also must note that Judaism itself teaches us how to respond to such challenges in the relationships that we have with our fellow human beings. Perhaps you might know of someone who would answer this calling? It is indeed a noble profession.