I was recently at my friend’s Purim seudah. His children were present and we got in a conversation about what one of his teenaged sons was learning at a highly regarded yeshiva day school. After his son described his schedule, I asked him if he ever had a class on God or emunah. He flatly said no. We then all got into a discussion about what such a curriculum might look like and the questions it might address. His children came to life, offering opinions on classic theological issues such as why bad things happen to good people, how God responds to prayer, how God can intervene in the world and yet still grant us free will, etc. My friend’s children happen to be very bright, but I wondered if since they became so animated over such questions, whether other teenagers would as well.
I have often been baffled at the lack of classes about God and emunah in our day schools and yeshivas. I have always thought it important to have a framework or foundation for these issues so that one can address them in a mature way in adulthood when they inevitably arise. Is it that these questions are considered too ethereal or “fluffy” in a curriculum already jam-packed with requirements? Or is it that they are too challenging to broach given our own confusion about these issues?
I know my question is not original, as I have heard many respected Jewish teachers such as Sara Yocheved Rigler or Rabbi David Aaron address this same issue. But I am wondering how your readership might respond and if they think it is a topic worthy of more community attention.
