Jewish education
The Book of Proverbs also contains many verses related to education: “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your mind retain my commandments; For they will bestow on you length of days, years of life and well-being“ (Prov.
Rabban Gamaliel, the son of Rabbi Judah Hanasi said that the study of the Torah is excellent when combined with Derech Eretz, worldly occupation, for toil in them both keeps sin out of one's mind; But [study of the] Torah which is not combined with a worldly occupation, in the end comes to be neglected and becomes the cause of sin.
The Talmud (Tractate Bava Bathra 21a) attributes the institution of formal Jewish education to the first century sage Joshua ben Gamla.
The Talmud attaches great importance to the "Tinokot shel beth Rabban" (the children [who study] at the Rabbi's house), stating that the world continues to exist for their learning and that even for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, classes are not to be interrupted (Tractate Shabbat 119b).
Until the 19th century, young men generally studied under the local rabbi, who was allocated funds by the Jewish community to maintain a number of students.
Some believe this idea gained traction due to the New York Times article "In Hasidic Enclaves, Failing Private Schools Flush with Public Money," which was written by Eliza Shapiro and Brian M.
In the 21st century, critics in both the United States and Israel have protested that (some) Haredi and Hasidic yeshivas are teaching religious studies to the exclusion of secular subjects such as mathematics and science.
In America, some yeshivas of Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox), but non-Hasidic (Lithuanian) identity, offer state-compliant secular education curriculums.
For example, Yeshiva Torah Vodaas runs a "NYS Board of Regents certified High School"[9] with a contemporary curriculum "in compliance with the latest Common Core standards.
"[10] American Hasidic yeshivas, from elementary to high school levels, have a long history of shying away from all but the most rudimentary exposure to secular studies.
For example, when several decades ago Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam of the Bobov Hasidic dynasty was met with intensified calls for higher-level secular education from Hasidic parents of Bobov-affiliated yeshivas, Halberstam rejected their pleas and stated that on principle he would not compromise "even if it means that I will have no more than one student.
"[11] Critics such as Naftuli Moster have worked to promote the adoption of national or state standards on secular subjects by such yeshivas.
Select schools do provide more robust syllabi which include science and social studies, and interactive learning programs such as fairs and spelling bees.
Additionally, accounts of almost three dozen then-current and former teachers across the state's Hasidic yeshivas, including in those schools that do not administer standardized test, revealed that most of the thousands of boys whom they had taught had left school without learning to speak English fluently, let alone read or write at grade level; in regards to math, most could add and subtract, some could also multiply and divide, but few could do more.
[13][12] Despite these apparent short-comings, there has been research that suggests that a traditional Yeshiva education can be an indicator of later success in law school, whether that relationship is causal or merely correlative remains a matter of debate.
[14] The educational philosophy of Hasidic and most non-Hasidic Haredi yeshivas in Israel is largely similar to that of their American counterparts, i.e. opposed to secular studies, no path to attaining a Bagrut certificate.
As of 2017, percentage of Haredi girls taking matriculation exams was 51% (up from 31% a decade prior; for boys it was 14% (down from 16%),[15] since Orthodox yeshivot mostly ignore core subjects.
Miriam Ben-Peretz, professor emeritus of education at the University of Haifa, and winner of the 2006 Israel Prize notes: “More and more Israeli students don’t have any foundation of knowledge, any basics — not in math, not in English, not in general...things have to change."
The first Jewish day school developed in Germany, largely in response to the higher emphasis in general on secular studies.
[18] One of the main arguments for this educational inequality of discouraging women from learning Torah related topics is found in the Talmud.
Traditional religious views were that women were not on the same intellectual level as men, and therefore were unable to understand the intricacies of the Torah and Talmud.
[19] This situation changed largely due to the efforts of Sara Schnirer, who founded the first Jewish girls' school Bais Yaakov in Kraków in Poland in 1918.
In the Beth Jacob system, women primarily learn Torah, and also some halacha (Jewish religious law), but not the Talmud.
[24] Programs such as Jewish Crossroads by Shlomo Horwitz provide educational theater in schools and synagogues in various English-speaking countries.
[25] The Lookstein Center at Bar-Ilan University, a think tank geared to Jewish educators in the Diaspora, lists many drama-related programs on their website for use of teachers in the classroom.
The perceived role of sports as a historical avenue was crucial for Jewish people to overcome social, religious and cultural obstacles toward their participation in secular society (especially in Europe and the United States).
