Had the Czars issued edicts limiting the number of Jewish children, the outcry would have been deafening and a way would have been found to circumvent the decree. The same would have applied to all the enemies of the Jews. Yet there exists today a system that causes Jewish couples to limit the number of children they will have of their own free will! I have heard too many times from too many couples that they planned to limit their number of children or stopped having children due to the cost of Jewish education. Jewish day schools are clearly shown to have the best effect on reducing intermarriage and ensuring a Jewish future. Sadly, the very families that will raise children with the greatest chance of Jewish continuity impose limitations due to the very harsh financial realities of Jewish education. The tuition crisis is an existential one for the observant community and must be dealt with as such. Economies of scale must be enacted for schools to pool their costs. Priorities for charities must be reconsidered. The Jewish resistance to tax credits for private education needs to end. It is the greatest crisis for the American Jewish community.

Scott David Lippe, M.D.