It is axiomatic, logical and obvious to all but the most die-hard secularists that a day-school education provides the best option for fostering Jewish continuity, observance, literacy and involvement. The sheer mathematics of spending 3–4 hours daily immersed in high-level Jewish studies for 8 to 12 years versus 3–4 hours weekly, if even that, for three to four years makes the case. Jewish youth groups, summer camps and Israel trips can help to foster a deeper Jewish identity, but in the end it requires more than a touchy-feely approach, experiential learning, values-driven activities etc. to develop a lasting Jewish commitment.
Children need to possess the tools to navigate Jewishly. They ought not to remain tourists in their own culture. Jewish day schools, the home and the synagogue all play an important role in forming a child’s Jewish persona. This takes time and mastery of skills that cannot be accomplished by today’s congregational schools. Back in the day (the ’50s) synagogues of every stripe offered classes Sunday through Thursday plus junior congregation on Shabbat. Those who stayed for 6–7 years came out with some background. Unfortunately, with synagogues competing for student bodies, and multiple extracurricular activities, and texting competing for students’ time, the hours have been slashed, content diminished and instead of preparing kids Jewishly, the goal becomes the Bar/Bat Mitzvah performance. As Prof. Jack Wertheimer observed: “The post-war American Jewish community bet on the wrong horse.”
Well-intentioned people have been wrestling with this problem for decades. Since most children do not attend day schools, what can be done with the limited time they do spend in congregational schools? Other than changing Bar/Bat Mitzvah to age 18, not much. The most we can hope for is that somehow they will be turned on enough to continue studying at an age when Judaism can be better understood. Regrettably, Bar/Bat Mitzvah represents the termination of formal Jewish education for most of our community’s children.
We are fortunate, however, to have in our community an institution which for the past 41 years has provided a serious Jewish education for children in grades 8–12. The Bergen County High School for Jewish Studies (BCHSJS) offers a five-year program of electives on a wide range of topics. Students from all local synagogues and the unaffiliated, as well as day-school students who do not continue on to a Jewish high school, attend classes every Sunday morning held at The Moriah School in Englewood. In addition to academic and non-academic classes, there are trips, Shabbatonim, chesed projects and an Israel component for selected students.
Full disclosure: I have been a BCHSJS Board Member for many years. I am constantly awed by the dedication and skill of the teachers and the rapport they build with the students. Often students stay with the same teacher for several years. In another setting we would call this a talmid-rebbi relationship. The success of this worthy and well-run program can be gauged in several ways. Students look forward to getting up on a Sunday morning to be at school with their teachers and with the new friends they have made from schools all around Bergen County. At graduation, year after year, students are literally in tears about leaving their favorite teachers. Many alumni come back to visit when they return from college. Some volunteer to staff the Shabbatonim. Alumni have made Aliyah, served in the IDF, attended yeshivot in Israel, matriculated at Yeshiva and Stern College, joined Hillel, taken Judaica courses in college etc. Through BCHSJS students have joined the Jewish Student Union, NCSY and other groups to foster their Judaism.
This is a community school. Students from all backgrounds attend and are made to feel welcome. Other than strict adherence to Shabbat and kashrut, and the wearing of kipot in class by the boys, there is no dogma taught here. Options are explored, texts are studied, questions are encouraged and relationships are forged. Students can explore Judaism through rabbinic texts, art, music, drama, the Bible, comparative law, philosophy, theology and a whole range of elective courses (see www.BCHSJS.org). Topics and issues are explored at an age when understanding leads to meaningful life decisions. As opposed to those who drop out after Bar/Bat Mitzvah, BCHSJS students really begin to grapple with and understand their Judaism beyond the pediatric approach they encountered in their earlier years. Many congregational school principals try valiantly to get their graduates to attend BCHSJS.
For most day-school parents, BCHSJS is irrelevant since their children are getting a full-time Jewish education. However, as members of the larger Jewish community, we do have a responsibility to be concerned about the children who are not receiving a Jewish education and about those who are making an effort to get one. We cannot fix the problem of congregational schools until we fix the problem of adults and community leaders (including parents) who do not consider Jewish education a priority. However, we have it within our capacity to support institutions such as BCHSJS. Its annual dinner is May 28 at the Fair Lawn Jewish Center. Find out what BCHSJS is all about. At the very least, send them a contribution. “All Jews are responsible for one another.”
Dr. Wallace Greene, a veteran educator, was the Director of Jewish Educational Services at the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ for a decade, has served as a day-school principal, most notably at the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy, and was the founder of the Sinai Schools.
By Wallace Greene
