June is a very difficult time for schools. Some might say it is a wasted month as far as learning goes. Final exams, graduation, book collection, report cards, end-of-year parties, packing up rooms, etc. all take up time that could otherwise be used for learning—graded or ungraded. I am always an advocate for teachers, but let’s face it: they want to leave as much as their students do. The extra days designated for packing up rooms, for which teachers are paid and contractually bound, are rarely fully used since students often “help” their teachers pack up for the summer before school is over.
In order for report cards to be given out on the last day of school, testing must be completed beforehand so that papers and projects can be graded. Once students are no longer graded, the impetus to study and/or teach is somewhat diminished. This unfortunate lacuna often generates time-wasting busy work prior to the end of school and precious learning time is squandered. As it is, the recommended 180 days of school is already compromised by assemblies, plays, trips, snow days, teacher conferences, etc.
Another victim of the end-of-the-year malaise is serious study of the two summer fast days, the 17th of Tammuz and the ninth of Av. Some might argue that they may not be as significant as Passover or Rosh Hashanah. On the other hand, the events leading up to the destruction of the Temple, the cessation of sacrifices and the priestly rituals, and the beginnings of the current Diaspora are perhaps more significant. And yet, aside from some discussions at summer camp for those who go to camp, these fast days are largely ignored. (By the way, Tisha b’Av night can be very meaningful in a camp setting. Eicha by candle or flashlight in a field or by a lake is very inspirational.)
There are many halachot that students need to know about the Three Weeks, the Nine Days and the fasts themselves. We are robbing our children of an important part of their education by not exposing them to the selichot, the kinot, Megillat Eicha and the many relevant Talmudic passages associated with this period of time. Some schools may try to squeeze it in, but most do not. Creative teachers, and we have many, can find ways to effectively communicate these lessons even though “it won’t be on the test.”
At some point everyone learns about Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai’s escape from Jerusalem and the establishment of the yeshiva in Yavneh. What is never studied is the fact that there are two other versions of that same story, one in the midrash to Eicha and one in Avot d’Rabbi Natan. These texts are ripe for role-playing and socio-dramas. The various factions in Jerusalem prior to its destruction are mirrored in contemporary political rhetoric about the prospects for peace with Israel’s neighbors. The Kamtza and Bar Kamtza story also reflects contemporary hatreds.
The fact that many significant historical events occurred on the Ninth of Av is another vehicle for making this instruction exciting. The Abarbanel’s introduction to his commentary on Melachim is an eyewitness account of the Spanish expulsion in 1492 on Tisha B’Av. Another eyewitness account can be found in Cristobal Colon’s (i.e., Christopher Columbus’) diary.
It is a missed opportunity to deprive our children of this important aspect of their education just because “we only have a few days left.”
By Rabbi Dr. Wallace Greene
�Rabbi Dr. Wallace Greene has had a distinguished career as a day-school teacher, principal and administrator.
