Hebrew School Headaches

There has been a new article topic suggestion from . G-d is everywhere, not just in a Hebrew school! Living in Paris, France, my father took my sister and I out of public school where teachers showed hostility towards Jewish children, and sent us to Hebrew elementary school, which was about half hour subway ride and then Hebrew high school, which was 1 hour 20 minutes subway and bus to get there. We had to get up before 6 am. It was mostly a boarding school for boys but few girls were admitted too. So I spent few years with only 2 other girls in my class. Besides all the normal required classes, where most teachers were non Jewish, we had 2 hours of Hebrew every day, history, grammar/vocabulary, prayers that we would translate word by word, and traditional holidays—and I LOVED IT! Some were good teachers who captivated our attention and the will to learn but a lot were terrible and discouraging because of lack of constancy in teaching but I only saw the best.

The subject of the proficiency of the Jewish Day School is one that requires a lot of constructive criticism. It certainly has its benefits and its failings. However, the issue I wish to comment on is the statement made by Michael Steinhardt that non-Orthodox Jewish education is a Shandah. As I understand it, Michael Steinhardt does not support Torah education. If one looks at the statistics of intermarriage amongst Jews who graduate from an Orthodox Jewish Day school, and by inference, come from a practicing orthodox home environment, they are significantly lower. In many communities, the Orthodox day schools battle financially, as many of the families who send their kids there cannot afford to pay full tuition. Modern buildings, state of the art sports facilities and enrichment programming are not part of the schools’ make up. Many struggle to get by and scrape by month to month on pure emunah. However, if people like Michael Steinhardt were to support the Orthodox Jewish Day school system, these luxuries could become institutionalized. This is turn could help attract more families from less observant families. In my option this would do more in helping the survival of the Jewish people than a trip to Israel where many secular Israelis do not identify themselves as Jews at all and the bleeding heart liberal political agenda often highjacks any hope of pro Israeli sentiment. The Israel that is Steinhardt’s “Jewish miracle” is not the Israel of my children’s generation, unless I steer them to the beauty of the Torah observant communities that continue to thrive there. I feel very sad for Steinhardt who, in my opinion, has only scratched the surface of a very wise and ancient religion and judged the religion based on the people who practice it and not on the wisdom that our Torah has to offer us.

As a beginner Hebrew teacher I think you must make it fun for the children. Our synagogue school is still growing . Hebrew school does not end when you have a Bat or Bar Mitzvahs. The parents must make it a priority and show to be examples. There are so many ways to each and teachers must find ways even to help the children that are having difficulties. I enjoy teaching and am thrilled to see that they are understanding what I am trying to teach. At the end of the school year they are reading Hebrew well and that is after all my goal.

judaism is like disneyworld- rides of love and fun. the way hebrew schools are run today..it is not real judaism.. but rather- it's like remaining in the parking lot at disneyworld and never getting on the rides and attractions.

Here is my remedy, and one I've shared with my synagogue's education director: The URJ needs to establish very specific guidelines about what students should know at the end of each grade, which is what state education departments do. Until we get specific guidelines and standards for what information schools must impart, Jewish illiteracy will continue to be a tremendous problem.

Overall, it was up to us to learn, which I believe I did mostly on my own. My parents loosing part of their faith because of the Holocaust, where they lost all their families, ceased to be very religious. But all traditions, Jewish Holidays and synagogues still remained and were still part of our lives. So with Hebrew schools as bad as they were and my parents’ traditions I educated myself. It is really up to the individual to absorb all he can from life and believe or not in G-d. No teachers should do that for you. It should be a free will as oppose to some cults who brain wash people. My school's name was Maimonides and sadly enough is no longer there.

לא קראתי את מאמרו של מיכאל סטאינהרט, אבל אני יכול להעיד שנסיוני כילד שלמד במערכת לימודי יהדות/עברית רפורמית בצפון אמריקה לפני 40 שנים היה על הפנים. ההורים שלי שלחו אותי ללמוד יהדות בימי ראשון בבית כנסת רפורמית שבו היינו חברים. הלימודים היו משעממים, המורים עוד יותר איומים, והתלמידים שהיו חברי לכיתה היו גרועים מכל. במקרה או שלא במקרה גיליתי את היופי של לימודי יהדות בעצמי והמשכתי ללמוד במסגרת מתקדמת יותר (עדיין רפורמית). לאחר שסיימתי לימודי אוניברסיטה עליתי ארצה. למדתי עברית במרכז קליטה ובקיבוץ, אבל בעיקר למדתי בצה"ל. עד היום אני חילוני אבל אני אוהב את היהדות. כשחזרתי לארה"ב למספר שנות עבודה, למדתי שיעורי תנ"ך ותלמוד בקבוצה אורתודקסית ביוסטון. לפי דעתי יש כמה מפתחות עיקריות לעידוד לימודי היהדות בתפוצות (בניגוד ללימודי יהדות בארץ). קודם כל צריכים להביא את הנוער להזדהות עם היהדות ועם העם היהודי. לאחר שקיימת הזדהות אפשר לעודד מחקר שורשים, תרבות, ומסורת. החלק הקשה ביותר, במיוחד לאמרקאיים שלא ידועים כדוברי שפות מצטיינים, הוא לימוד השפה העברית. השפה העבירת היא כמובן גם המפתח להתעמקות בספרות הקדושה והבנת הפולחן. הפתרון ללימודי עברית עבור היהודים החילונים היא רק שהות בישראל. יתכן שרוב הנוער ייאבד לפני שיספיקו לבקר בארץ, אבל עבור מי ששורד כיהודי חילוני מעבר לגיל ההתבגרות זו הדרך המבתיחה ביותר לקרב אותם ולשמור אותם. תשמעו למילותיו של יהודי חילוני שאוהב את היהדות. If you managed to read this – Kol HaKavod!

Teachers are leaders They are supposed to be role models. If the teacher does not care about Judaism, what do you expect the children will draw and extract from that teacher? Dedicated Orthodox teachers who are good role models - is certainly a step in the right direction. But then there's also the very environment of a system opposed to the very values we want to communicate to the children. Children clearly discern the hypocrisy they are subjected to, and this only acts as fuel to hate Judaism all the more. Because what they are being subjected to is a very poor example of what Judaism in fact really is. In fact, the pure and innocent heart of a child sees right through the lie! Orthodox teachers who would institute a Kumzitz, emotionally driven and accompanied by singing with a guitar, and good stories that glorify sacrifice and commitment to Jewish values, might spark an emotion that might plant a seed of desire to self discovery of one's Judaism. Without self recognition on the parts of parents that the environment they are exposing their children to is dangerous and life threatening, because the values that are being taught expose their children to all sorts of potential dangers and a poor value system with people who are having difficulties with drugs & suicide. These specific problems are directly linked to the void created by poor education which is actually the lack of poor role models. A program that captures and involves parents as well, would be much more effective. Educating parents and being mekarev them by involving them in separate kumzitz sessions and one on one learning, can bring the family unit together again and allow parents to enjoy quality time with their children and really begin to experience what real Judaism tastes like. Organizations like Oorah are most likely to have better answers to this involved question because they have a very high success rate in dealing with precisely this type of scenario.

My experiences were so great, that I returned for a year after my Bar Mitzvah to complete my studies in Chumash and receive a diploma. I also was a member of the cantorial class that year and davenened for the Junior Congregation several times and read the Torah portion once.

At Temple Israel of Great Neck, Hebrew School followed by Hebrew High School was taught by teachers who inspired, who cared about your opinion, who taught you to question, and who brought you into the process. These teachers from the Jewish Theological Seminary asked the hard questions and listened to the myriad of answers from their students. We never felt as if they were just doing a job. "Learning by doing," bringing G-d into the discussion, textual learning, and relating what you learn to your own life: these are part of what will keep the students coming back for more. Being told what is expected of us as Jews while being a dugma will reach the students. Experiential learning in various settings and using technology will enrich the education of each student. Invest in teaching Jewish educators and compensate them well as there is no substitute for a great teacher!! Hatzlacha!!

I used to daven mornings in a shul until Mr. Steinhardt's Hebrew Language Academy charter school rented out the building the shul had been in for 35 years, and the building's owner (who disbanded the yeshiva that built the place) evicted us. Last Hoshana Rabba, we were standing with our bundles when the little HLA kids started coming in. An adult accidentally opened the door to the shul, and the kids looked in, saw each of us with tallis and bundle, and one of them yelled, "Look! Jews!" Maybe Mr. Steinhardt has some wise things to say, but spending a million dollars to fund a public school that took down the mezuzahs, forbids any religious teaching, has 60% non-Jews enrolled, and then claims that teaching Hebrew is enough of a benefit to lay out such money, such a person should maybe think a bit. If Birthright Israel paid to send 60% non-Jews to Israel, it would be a failure. Mr. Steinhardt should consider that teaching Hebrew without ever teaching Sh'ma is like someone saying they're going to teach you how to swim, taking you out on a boat into the Atlantic, and then locking you in a bathroom on the boat, filling the tub, and saying, "Here's how you swim!" Hebrew without Torah is pointless. I don't know much about Hebrew schools, but I do know my daughter goes to a Bais Yaakov yeshiva and is learning a tremendous amount in Hebrew and secular studies and having a great time. If your kids are hungry and need a good meal, forget the cotton candy and get them the real thing: find a good yeshiva. Only with yeshivas have we kept going for thousands of years. There is no substitute, Mr. Steinhardt, and what is happening to the Jewish community in this most hospitable great country is proof.

Rabbi Salomon says two scary words. "Hebrew School." I respond with two scarier words: "Abolish them." Hebrew Schools - at least those in the non-frum world - consist mostly of unqualified teachers teaching unmotivated students about a religion that the parents don't practice, for the sake of a cermony that the children are forced to go through. That hardly sounds like a recipe for success. I went through 12 years of Conservative HS and saw 75% of my classmates intermarry or drop out of Judaism altogether. Not knowing anything different, I sent my own kids to HS until they complained so much that I pulled them out, especially when I found myself agreeing with most of their complaints. The eye-opening experience for me was moving to a town with a frum community and observing the difference in yeshiva-educated kids vs. Hebrew School / public school-educated kids. You simply cannot compare the levels of Jewish knowledge, enthusiasm, and commitment. Unfortunately, by that time it was too late for my kids. I now hold that Hebrew Schools are a failure and should be closed, with the exception of schools run by organizations such as Aish that have a strong kiruv approach. It amazes me that parents invest so much in their childrens' physical and material health, with so little regard to their spiritual health. With all the money that Jewish donors give to art museums and other vanity causes, there should certainly be enough money to make high-quality yeshiva and day school education affordable and accessible to all Jewish children.

In my daughters class there were at least 2 out of 16 kids who were not Halachically Jewish, and 3 or 4 more who had non-Jewish fathers. The school parent council tends to be run by the not committed to Jewish element.

v good

The Orthodox Talmud Torah after school taught the alef-bais and beginning Hebrew reading. The refuge was its Sukkah and Shabbos children's services for which we earned Hershey bars and prizes for attending. I was the only girl in the class (circa 1959); biggest shock: the rabbi told me not to come back in the fall "since I wasn't going to be a bar mitzvah!! (I had a Hadassah bat mitzvah in 1999.)

I found Hebrew school a very positive & rewarding experience. It may have been different when I went almost 40 years ago, but it helped me a great deal to develop a tremendous interest in Judaism and to eventually become a Torah observant Jew. Even though it was a conservative Hebrew school, it gave me a great deal of information about Judaism which helped me develop my interest. When I started Hebrew school in the first grade, I had trouble learning how to read Hebrew. When I entered second grade, I had a wonderful teacher who took an interest in me & got me free tutoring with a Torah observant tutor. I became the best student in the whole school thanks to this teacher & the tutor. This teacher taught me for three years in a row. I received certificates of excellence all the time. This teacher's speciality was music & she discovered that I also was musically gifted. I would sing solo all the time. When I was Bar Mitzvahed, the congregation spoke about how wonderful I did for two months afterwards. Thank G-d, I became Torah observant thanks to this teacher & the school developing my interest in Judaism. As a Torah observant Jew, I taught a conservative Hebrew school myself & helped the children develop an interest in Judaism like this teacher helped me. The children loved me. I now reside in Israel & speak & read Hebrew fluently thanks to the efforts of this wonderful teacher & tutor meaning that the basis for my knowledge in Hebrew started with this school even though I developed it myself over the years.

I have been involved in a once-a week Hebrew school for the last few years, and the biggest problem is that the parents have taught the kids through various comments that they have to go because they had to go, and that *everything* else is more important. Kids are regularly pulled out for family trips, school events, or because Mom/Dad didn't want to get up early that morning. My son recently celebrated his Bar Mitzvah, and refused to continue Hebrew school because he was only going every other week (his father wouldn't bring him) and he said he wasn't learning anything anyway. Very little is about how yiddishkeit applies to daily life. Over and over teaching (6th and 7th graders) we'd talk about how to apply the Torah portion to our lives. I was the first teacher to hand them a Chumash to read from rather than reading storybook versions, and no one had ever talked to them about how to study Torah, much less the rest of Tanach, or why we do the things we do. My son is currently studying the prayerbook because despite having learned to lead services, as required by our shul, he has no understanding of what anything means, or why we say it. Rote learning is no help- and Bar Mitzvah is not supposed to be graduation.

I attended Hebrew School during the late1940s and early 1950s at Temple Beth El (Conservative) in Brooklyn. It provided just enough to keep me in the Jewish fold, give me a rudimentary knowledge of the Hebrew Language, Jewish History , Jewish Customs and Jewish Identity. It also helped me form a close identification with Israel and Zionism. Thereafter, I did not set foot in a Jewish House of worship until my wedding, and later, until my children were old enough to attend Hebrew School. Hebrew School was a major failure for my children, as two of them married non-Jews. However, my third does strongly identifiy with our people. When my children were attending Hebrew school, I was determined not to use the Synagogue as a Bar Mitzvah factory, and so I became a "regular" for many years. I'm not wedded to any particular branch of Judaism, but I will not be overwhelmed by massive rituals, and I'm very glad that I did not attend a Yeshiva. I am a Zionist Revisionist, and my heroes are Zev Jabotinsky and the fighters of the Irgun and Lehi. Richard L.Newman, PE, PhD

Have you talked to anyone who loved going to Hebrew School? Gather together in a Hebrew school room, 25 adult Jewish mothers and fathers who had to attend Hebrew School, and ask what they took away with them in Torah learning. Ask what they remembered most fondly about school, what they felt was most discouraging about learning. Let them talk together and brainstorm some ideas that will be revelant to kids that same age today. (keep all this in mind) Then ask the kids attending school. You will be amazed how perceptive kids are. They are pretty bright and might have some answers to the problems. I agree that making your kids take part in something they don't want to do can be an (adult) peer thing.

where is G-d in all of this? my granddaughter is attending hebrew school 2x a week and it's more a socializing thing than really learning about our creator. She is learning the alef bet and how to read the hebrew words without knowing what they mean.Meaning is very important, I don't want her to be a talking bird repeating words she has no idea the meaning of. I really want her to know that G-d is real and that the Torah is life to those who take hold of it and really strife to obey the commands of Hashem. Thank you ניבאה

Not having attended Hebrew school as a child (girls were not sent way back when), I began attending an adult Torah class three years ago and consider it a joy. I know so little, but the instructor (a rabbi) considers all input valuable. This is not rote learning, but rather an exercise in the inquisitiveness that is encouraged by Judaism (which, ironically, is discouraged in Hebrew school). Rather than just lecturing to kids (my daughter hated that) perhaps Hebrew school could serve as a place of ideas.

I have been a Hebrew school teacher and Principal for over 25 years. I have seen it all. I can say without a doubt, that the students who got the most out of Hebrew School were those with parents who showed the most interest in carrying through at home what was taught at school. Those families also tended to come to services more often. The parents who really made the effort because they cared or because they themselves wanted to learn, had children who took Hebrew school more seriously. Getting an Aleph in Tefillah was just as important as geeting an A in Math. I'll never forget the time that a parent became a soccer league director to enable her to set the soccer game schedule so that her children never had a game before 1:00 PM on Saturday. Not perfect, but I had to admire the extent to which she took took Saturday Junior Congregation seriously enough, that her kids never missed any Jewish learning because of sports. I always said that if I had enough money, I would establish a network of Hebrew schools that did not charge tuition. The only form of payment would be that at least one parent had to be in class with their student at all times, and the family had to attend synagogue services, at least twice per month. I called it "Suzuki" type Hebrew school, after the violin learning method where parent and child learned together. Keeping track of compliance at services could prove tricky, but I figured parents would consider it a small price to pay for a quality Torah education, or they just wouldn't choose that path. I was interested in quality not quantity. My theory was that if the concept caught on, it would be successful, like the baseball field analogy in the movie Field of Dreams....If you build it they will come.

The exposure to the content, teachers and fellow students lead me to choose the Torah life I lead today!

I am Orthodox and received an Orthodox Hebrew Day School education through high school. Twenty years ago, to earn extra money, I took a job as an assistant teacher at a Reform Sunday Hebrew school. It was quite an eye opener.The teacher had no Jewish education at all. There was not much of Jewish significance or content that she could transmit to the children, even though she was a good teacher. When I took over the classroom, the parents told me it was the first time their children actually learned something of Jewish value. However, out of eleven students in the class, only THREE had Jewish mothers. Twenty years ago already, this was the harbinger of things to come in the American Jewish community.In terms of numbers, it may be too late. Jerusalem, Israel

I am observant today because of a wonderful teacher in Hebrew School. When she taught to say Sh'ma before retiring for the night and she showed us the words Henay Lo Yanum v.lo Yishan Shomer Yisrael and the explained "He never sleeps or slumbers the watcher of the Jewish people". This occurred approximately 45 years ago and I can still feel the awesomeness of that revelation. Thank you Morah Mandelbaum for that lesson.

Harsh discipline coupled with fables and rules do not a good Hebrew school make! The Torah should be taught from the standpoint of "learning the heart of G-d" ! No silly filling of time. Children KNOW what is really of G-d and what is not. They are drawn to HIS reality.

Being an attendee and a former Hebrew School teacher are two seperate experiences. For me as a child I felt it was the worst experience. Learning to read Hebrew etc. My issue with teaching it is the mateterials given to educators to teach with. I was a Hebrew school for both the reform & conservative movements of Jewish learning. I felt it was a complete waste of the child's time to be in a classroom. Where were those skills and learning going to take that child outside the classroom? How was I to teach them in a way to inspire further Jewish thought and action of the Jewish faith? I turned into a teacher....maybe it has touched few other children as well. I hope so. My finace an I met at a Chabad dinner and have continued our learning together, through men and women study groups. I do feel we having known the direction our relationship started is determining how we will choose to share future learning outside the walls of a "hebrew school".

I didn't actually attend Hebrew school except for pre-Bar Mitzvah (part-time, around the 8th grade). While initially, I would describe it as a failure (I did not pursue Hebrew studies again until much later), it did impart some values to me, such as tefillot and tzeduca, which I practice to this day. My question: Did traditional orthodoxy, and I thinking specifically of chabad (if you ask them, they think they're the aleph-bet of Jewish education) fair for me much better? While I attend chabad on a regular basis, when it came to "roping me in" the first time around, it was equally a dismal failure. Albeit, I put on tefillan today, when I went to hear the rebbe (obm) give a fabrengen back in '75, he spoke in Yiddish (exclusively). G-sd bless the rebbe, obm, but if the idea was to rope me in, that was sure a bust! Don't get me wrong. I like chabad, in general. But my prayer is that someday, hashem willing, I would like to attend Aish (in the flesh, so to speak). Though I never had the joy of meeting Rabbi Weinberg, obm, I honor his contribution to Jewish education and balei tshuvahs everywhere. Moreover, whenever I read the words lo sosuru, I think of Rabbi Weinberg's teachings on this subject.

I started attending Hebrew School in Kindergarten (along with Hebrew day school), and exited the system when I was confirmed. What did I take away with me. I could read Hebrew and pray in Hebrew. But did I know what it meant to be a Jew? I have been a Hebrew School teacher now in my 21st year. How do we teach Judaism now? Through experience. Through knowing what it meant to surivive the Inquisition, to know what Israel is like, to know the archeological past of Israel, to know what the prayers we call out in mean. We are a very hands on school and still we strive to give the best experience to our students. I find that it must be taught or bred in the heart of the student to love their Jewish identity so they will want to hold on to their ethnic past and continue teaching it where we leave off.

My elementary school experience was less than satisfactory on a social level. This included exclusion, bullying, snobbery and in general a sense that you had to really be someone to be accepted, let alone liked. The academic part was actually very good considering I am in a smaller jewish center and I was taught some very good values. Unfortunately, not all of what I was taught was seen being put into practise.

I went to Hebrew school at the Eastside Jewish Community Center in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, in the mid 1950s. This was five days per week after public school. I would walk from public school to the Center, play handball for a while, and then go to the Hebrew school in the basement. The primary purpose of the school was to teach us to read Hebrew, but without rules of grammar or understanding what we were reading or translating it into English. Every day we would start by reciting the aleph-bet as well as the vowels. Very little was taught about Judaism and ethics. Sometimes the classrooms would smell of urine. I remember one teacher told us that he would tell us an English word that we would not hear about in public school for a long while. That word was Democracy. (He was right; I never heard that word before!) Now I am studying Biblical Hebrew from HebrewonLine from Israel. Reading Hebrew was a cinch, but the grammar was completely new to me! Later, I studied for my Bar Mitzvah at the Westside Jewish Community Center and my grandfather was the teacher. I was mortified by the adolescent behavior of these middle class boys (giving my grandfather the finger when his back was turned to them as he wrote on the board, for example). I can still chant most of the prayers after 54 years. Today I can claim my heritage from many sources on the internet. I don't know the answer for improving Hebrew schools today, however. My temple recently shut down its Sunday school for lack of students. In my Kol Nidre speech I urged the congregation to go home and procreate so we can rebuild our Sunday school. I don't think they will, however, because almost all of our congregation are retired people!

I am very interested in your comment..."Today I can claim my heritage from many sources on the internet." What online sources inspire you? What online sources do you go to learn the tradition? Your response in appreciated!!

As a Hebrew School teacher, I often find myself trying think of ways to teach my students in a way they find to be interesting. I try focusing on character development and when teaching Parsha, etc. to make it relevant with applicable lessons. Even so, it's really a challenge. Hebrew School = more school time, so it's really important to make it really exciting. One thing that I find really important, as a previous commenter has mentioned, is to show the kids you care. I like to try to call them on their birrthday to wish them well...While that doesn't answer how and what to teach, I feel it's an important way to get through to the students.

The JECSFL- Jewish Education Center of South Florida has been commended by both Torah Umesorah and AJOP for its' unique Family Style Sunday School. Classes for both parents and their children are run simultaneously. The whole family becomes involved in the Torah Learning experience. I wonder my more places don't follow this model. Someone suggested to me that the problem is that most parents don't care enough, they want a "dry-cleaners" approach. Drop the kids off and pick them up when it is over. Well, of course it won't have any lasting impact then.....

I think teachers have to be an exampe. I make sure my kids see me giving tzedakah, too and I reward the class everytime they reach a tzedakah goal (last year my 14 students collected over $600!) We activily talk about Mitzvah Heroes and Jewish Values, going back to the Text (i.e. Torah and Tanach). We talk about what those values mean to each of us today and how to embody them. I seek out mitzvah projects for us to do as a class/school. My director recently started chuggim in our school and I got 12 students who chose Tzedakah Club as their first choice - second only to art with 15 students. You can't assume the students will learn compassion by osmosis. You teach it by who you are and in everything you do. If the organization doesn't behave in a menchlekite manner (don't get me started there - I have left a number of synogogues becuase of the manner in which I have seen the administration treat their employees!!!), how do you expect the members and the children to exemplify high values?

Looking back on Hebrew School some 30 years agoI see that Limudei Kodesh was just a history lesson and academic with no connection with the practise of yiddishkeit. The school was not in a town inhabitied by religious jews and the manner in which the school was run would not foster any proper Jewish practice. The practical side came if one was lucky enough to be brought up in a frum home. The school had no influence whatsoever on pupil's jewish life. In fact many years on I note that a large percentage of the pupils married out the result being that this generation have nurtured children that are apart. The school must be an institute of living judaism encouraging practice well-integrated with learning the basic stories for \\jewish life to be nurtured and grow.

One of the biggest problems that I've seen with my kids' Hebrew School education is that the curriculum is designed to be "relevant." "Jewish pride" is advanced by naming greats from the secular world like Hank Greenberg or Sandy Koufax, enough Hebrew is taught so that the kids can lead services, and so forth. In other cases, though, with a good teacher, the kids WILL learn Torah, they will learn not only how to mouth the words in the siddur but what's actually in there (my daughter knows the connection between yotzer or and ma'ariv ha ravim). So, the problem isn't in Hebrew School. The problem is in the teachers who are allowed to teach therein, and the parents who need to lead a more Jewishly engaged life.

The most telling piece of data you mentioned is ONLY 15% of Jewish money going to Jewish "causes". Most of the people I talk to about sending their children to DAY schools site what they view as high cost as the main reason they don't. Followed by the perception that the education is inferior. If people are paying thousands of dollars in taxes - some of it for schools - they are loathe to pay thousands more for school. Six years ago, at its end, there were only 3 families paying full tuition at a since closed day school here in Chicago. At our current school, more than 20% of my tuition dollars go to provide scholarships. If another 10% of the Jewish money were allocated to Jewish education so that day schools were better funded, then either the cost would be lower so that more families would feel they could “afford” it and/or the curriculum would be more robust so that more families would trust the education. My girls are now in the school from 8:30 - 4:00 daily, boys start earlier and have a half day of classes on Sunday as well. I don’t think they can go to school more than that. Even though we in Chicago are blessed with a significant number of day school options, those confronted by cost/quality concerns, but still seeking some Jewish education (G-d bless them for trying), send their children to Public & Hebrew school. What is wrong with Hebrew school? There are as I view it a number of organizational issues: No unified goal, No common curriculum, No teacher training/certification, No modeling of why a Jewish education has value. Almost every Jewish family creates an expectation the children will go to college or the equivalent; but far too few also create the expectation the children will marry Jewish and be Jewishly knowledgeable. Those are the changes that need to happen.

Jewish Summer Camp and trips to Israel were the keys to my grown children having a positive Jewish identity and becoming involved. I got much more for my money than with Hebrew School My prayer is that my sons marry Jewish women and raise my grandchildren to be committed Jews. I hope our country fixes the Hebrew school problem. It does more harm than good. It needs to be made relevant, interesting, and soul-filling. G-d and Torah need to be emphasized.

I love your comment..."[Religious School] needs to be made relevant, interesting, and soul-filling. What would that look like for you? what are some of the ways to make Judaism more relevant and interesting? What are the ways that our religion can be more soul-filling? Thanks!

My experience was similar to Shellie's. We were the only Jewish family in town. I went in 1st & 2nd grade, 3X per week, to a town 45 minutes away. It was boring and irrelevant to me, and expensive for my folks.. When my parents gave me a choice whether to continue, I was very happy to say "no more". Reform & Conservative "temples" seem to be "bar mitzvah" factories. Most kids never return and are glad to get it over with. It's ridiculous that these kids learn to read sounds, but have no clue what they are reading. I was so far removed from Judaism as I grew up. I married a Catholic, became a born-again Christian, and was raising my children in that religion. Thanks to Chabad and "Jews for Judaism", my children and I returned and we are now devoted Jews. We do need to change the system so our people don't intermarry, give up on helping our people, or try to find G-d in other religions.

Just to give you an idea of my hebrew school experience, i became frum in public school, so that kind of tells you a bit of how my hebrew school experience was. Also a way to fix the hebrew school problem, in a sense, is to have more of a religious hand in these schools. There could be more Judaic studies courses because that is the point of these schools, I would hope, after all.

In answer to the decline in Hebrew schools. Of course it starts with the rest of your comments about the increase in Jewry assimilation and decline in religious observance, and intermarriage. It continues with the socialization of children, meaning a better opportunity in a bigger, higher registration in non- Hebrew schools. It continues further with the parent wanting some control over their child, not wanting to change their own religious views with the views that the child will learn at Hebrew school and ask why the parents are not following the practices taught at school. Just as important, the program has to have obvious merit over the non-Hebrew school. Furthermore the teachers must be of a higher calibre than the non- Hebrew school. Last but not least, the parents must not be so status oriented/cliquish as they always are. This is a lot to set before you. I have 4 children. They all went to Hebrew school until their bar/bat mitzvah. They wanted a better education/teachers/programs than what the Hebrew school was offering, based on all of the detriments stated above. My three daughters went to all girls private school. My son went into public school. He then changed schools three times and found a Catholic school that offered him the best education for his last two years. The only religious practice wa saying the Lord's prayer in the morning. My son liked the structure, teachers and students, and wore the tie and white shirt that was part of the program. I will say that my son may not be the norm. But he is very bright , and honest. He searched for better programs and teachers. On graduation his Catholic friends gave him a beautiful Star of David. They remain close friends. There were about a half dozen other Jewish kids in the school. So there you have my experience. It may be unique and therefore of little help to your question on how to improve Hebrew school enrollment.

One of the most meaningful ways to improve oneself, a group, or a process is to find one, or, if one is lucky, several, successfully working individuals or groups as a model or mentor. Most individuals or groups, if prevailed upon for this purpose, are flattered that they can be an example to others, and, when the goal is so all-encompassing, as is that of Jewish education and continuity, they can even look at it as kiruv. My sons attend the fabulous Modern Orthodox Robert M. Beren Academy in Houston,TX. I believe that Jewish educators in once or twice-per-week Jewish educational programs in the city create some sort of mentoring system to be pair themselves with our best RMBA educators, and glean the best kernels to be taken back and used within their after school or Sunday programs. Obviously, the students will not get the exact same benefit as my sons and their peers do, but I see no reason why any of this information and Jewish learning is proprietary! It was meant to be shared and loved (see the Shema for details!) People learn best by the models set before them (I know this from parenting as well as my educational background), so mentoring Jewish educators is the perfect venue to exercise an obvious resource to upgrade part-time religious school programs. The truth? The best Jewish day schools, as part of their missions, place students in an environment that fosters daily habits of intermingling both Jewish and general studies, loudly proclaiming : you can have it all! Parents need to value this immersion process, however, in order for the benefits to be felt. What we are willing to put in as parents speaks the loudest regarding what we value. All I can say, as a parent who did not have this kind of sweeping Jewish educational background, is that it has made all the difference in the world for our boys to have been educated in this way. I would be hard pressed to recommend anything else as highly to my fellow Jewish parents.

When I attended Hebrew School way back when the emphasis was on Bar/Bat Mitzvah. It was 2 hours a week which is not enough to learn much. I attended a Conservative synagogue. I now am religious and attend an orthodox synagogue and my children went to day school. Having taught in day schools I have to say that the more religious schools do a good job, and the conservative schools are OK but do not teach the Torah in depth. We also have the problem of the cost of days schools. This week I read an article from a Rabbi I used to know. He addressed this problem but where are the answers? I know that tuition has become a discussiion across the country. We have to pay our teachers but we also have to keep tuition reasonable for parents to pay. a

I attended an orthodox Hebrew School and graduated from their school. I grew up in traditional Jewish Home but not an orthodox one. I always had a desire to attend Yeshiva and finally got the chance to attend a Baal Teshuva Yeshiva after I finished college. I now have have 6 children all of which are Bnai and Bnos Torah and 4 grandchildren. There was quite a percentage in the Hebrew School who are also orthodox today and living Torah lives. Yaakov Serle

Although both my parents are Jewish, I was never sent to Hebrew school as a child, because my father found his own Hebrew school experience so tedious. He completely rejected religion completely, so now, as an adult, I'm finding my own way. I send my own young child (and will start my other child next fall) to a Conservative Hebrew school, and I'm pleased so far. One of the most important things has been making what my kids learn accessible to *me,* as an adult who was not brought up with Jewish learning. I hear from a lot of my friends that they choose not to send their kids to Hebrew school because they feel too judged for their own lack of knowledge. Also, it's hard to embrace what your kids are learning when you don't know what's being taught. I think part of the problem with many Hebrew schools is that the entire family is not addressed--for a lot of us, it's something that we simply don't know enough about.

Although I attended Yeshivah (almost 50 years ago) I have been a keen observer of Herbrew education and the deterioration of Jewish core values in my children's and grandchildren's generations. It seems obvious to me that the oroblems lie primarily with the lack of parents' education and devotion to Jewish ideals, traditions and practices, which is then passed on to their children. Additionally, as noted by some of the other commentators here, the teachers in many Hebrew schools lack the essential love of what they are being asked to accomplish - educate our children/grandchildren. Being a teacher is not a job - it is a proud but extrmeley important undertaking laden with responsibilities and capable of gratifying rewards to both student and teacher.I believe that we should redirect a lot of our efforts into serious outreach programs for the parents of our soon to be school-age children. Teach them love of Judaism, love of Israel, the importance of traditions and halacha. Finally, even as with secular schools, if parents do not recognize the special status of the teachers, and respect them for what they are being entrusted to accomplish, how can their children take their teachers seriously?.

I went to a conservative hebrew school for a number of years. In the beginnning, It was fun, learning songs and the basics of each jewish holiday. As I got older, the curriculum moved to conversational hebrew and holocaust studies, with some jewish history thrown in from time to time. There was no real meaning, in any of it. While Its important to know about the Holocaust, I felt like that was the core of Judaism. There only thing I really learne about Shabbat was you light some candles, say a blessing, say another blessing, drink some wine, say yet another blessing and have some challah. It wasn't till I was 31 that I learned about the beauty Shabbos, Torah parashas and what all those songs (I was taught in hebrew school ages ago) meant. For example the Shema, it took me till my early 30's to know what I was actually saying. Thats pretty sad in my opinion. Now, being a parent myself, I want to give my daughter a meaningful jewish education. My hope is that she not only finds learning about Judiasm a joy, but also learns how to be jewish and forms a close relationship with Hashem.

I am a ba'av tshuva for over 20 years now. I went to after school Hebrew School. Guys sat in the back trading baseball cards and throwing spitballs at the girls in the front who were the teachers' pets. Teachers gave prizes (stuffed animals, treats, etc.) for the fastest readers of everyday prayers - speed was emphasized, not content or meaning, and we did not want to be in class after school - we wanted to be playing ball with our friends at the park. Teachers would take our candy away and then eat it themselves. Certainly we were immature about it but the love of Yiddishkeit was not there because it was given over by the teachers and was not practiced in the homes of the kids - so it was twice a year to shul (not on Purim or SImachas Torah). Joy of being and doing Jewish things was missing and even if it was presented better - including Jewish values, it is not clea to me, given that Yiddihskeit was minimal/nonexistent in the home, that it was have made a lasting impact. What ultimately did for me and my wife (who grew up conservative) was the marriage of both of our only siblings to non-Jews.Then we needed what we thought would be a better "insurance" policy for intermarriage - raising the children with true Yiddishkeit and a day school education.

Culture vs. theology. That is one of the biggest challenges a Hebrew school teacher faces. I taught Hebrew school for close to 20 yrs. I am Orthodox but chose to teach at Reform and Conservative temples. We were always instructed that we needed to be careful how and what we taught so that we didn't offend. If a child came from a a mixed marriage, which is very common, you're dealing with a very fine line. So, as a result, Judaism is taught as a culture something one can chose to participate in, as opposed to a way of life. Today's kids are so busy that they don't have time for Hebrew school and the parents no longer encourage them to go. I've had parents complain that their children can't read Hebrew in time for their bar/bat-mitzva and wonder why. I once asked my students if they knew how to play an instrument. I then asked them if they would dare to perform at their recital without having practiced. When I explained how a bar/bat mitzvah is a recital, they got the message and so did their parents. I have always enjoyed teaching Hebrew school. I've always taught middle school age because they keep you on your toes. It's important that a Hebrew school teacher "speak their language" because you are their only connection to Judaism. I have gone on class trips and invited them to my home for Sukkot, Shabbat, etc.. I have seen some go on to yeshiva day schools and one proudly wear his tefillin for the first time. Some, sadly, lose their way but I hope that at least they know they had a positive experience in Hebrew school.

hi. i am a member of the orthodox community who taught in conservative hebrew schools until 2 years ago. I loved what i did, knew it was a gift from hashem, and it was so well received by all.I did mekarev as much as i could. Much of the staff was frum-so the students were lucky enough to have real yiddishkeit (due to a very wise principal). unfortunately, the new principal was to the left of judaism, and removed that feeling from her school. when u have teachers teaching with minimal knowledge and love, of what our religion is all about..the students mimic that behavior and cannot achieve. with orthodoxy involved the real love, knowledge, and practice takes place. that is the only way to save the drowning hebrew school environment.

I attended Hebrew School in a Conservative synagogue back in the 60's. My first 2 years were quite boring. But, then in my 3rd year, the synagogue hired a young Rabbinical student from YU. He made the experience so enticing that it led me to pay attention in class and to attend Shabbat services regularly. Today, it is difficult for synagogues to find teachers like I had. The teachers they do hire don't generate excitement in their classes. Plus, with a lot of competition for a child's free time, parents have lowered the priority to send children to Hebrew School. A possible radical solution might be to close the Hebrew School and encourage parents to send their children to the Jewish Day Schools instead.

I attended Reform Hebrew School once per week. Although I learned to "read" Hebrew phonetically, my vocabulary is still only about 15 "prayer" words. The biggest obstacles to my learning were the wildly disruptive behavior of my classmates and the ill-preparedness of our teachers. Our teachers were temple volunteers with no formal Jewish education or teaching experience. Their presence in the classroom was a bad situation for all involved. They were overwhelmed by classroom discipline issues, let alone having trouble making the material come alive. Possible improvements: 1) Divide the classes by gender. As a female in a class with boys who were literally throwing objects in class at times, shouting out answers, and hurling punches and insults at one another I felt physically unsafe at times and this made it really difficult to learn. 2) Set high expectations of behavior and learning and your school will develop a reputation that will attract the dedicated pupils rather than always teaching to the lowest interest level. 3) If need be, track students by ability/learning level to aid teaching environment as they do in public schools. There are some students who may not learn best in a didactic envt. but there are others, like me, who were SO eager to learn and never given the chance. 4) Like a public school, education standards should be met before a student is permitted to graduate to the next level. It is not good for the student, their peers or the next teacher if a student is merely passed from one year to the next. They will act out in frustration. 5) Curricula should be cummulative and build upon knowledge acquired the year before. At my temple, we were taught the same things over and over and it was assumed we hadn't absorbed what had been taught before, or it simply wasn't known what had been taught. Overall, I think we should strive to learn from those who have had positive experiences about what WORKED, and try to recreate those models.

Growing up I attended two Hebrew schools. The first was an orthodox cheder with about 5 buys that imploded because the rabbi verablly abused us the whole time. I then attended a Conservative Bar/Bat Mitzvah mill which I loathed and swore off the day after my own Bar Mitzvah. I assure you, Hebrew school nothing to do with me becoming religious later in life.

Growing up, my brother and I were not given any Jewish education. As adults (as a correcttive) we each joined a Reform congregation and sent our respective children to Hebrew School/Sunday School. All were bar/bat mitzvahed. Today not one of the five adult cousins is involved with any Jewish organization, congregation, charity, etc. One of them has been heard to say "I don't have to do anything. I'm Reform." Ouch and oy!

As a single mom with three kids, I have not been able to send my kids to Hebrew school. why? 1) Cost Join the temple and THEN pay hundreds per child? Not an option. Even Chabad wanted $800 per child per year...when you are counting pennies to pay for groceries, NOT an option. 2) Time. Hebrew school at our synagogue starts at 4 pm on weekdays. Like most adults, I am at work until after 5, my kids are in aftercare until almost 6. Nice if you have a 2 parent home with someone at home, but I know of fewer and fewer of those. 3) Content .. No words for that. Silly, irrelevant, pedantic or gender-biased and narrow-minded...two ends of the spectrum, and neither is attractive.

I started my Jewish education at an orthodox temple in Queens and then continued at a conservative temple on Long Island in the late 1960's. The goal from day one was to get us to read the pray in Hebrew. Understanding wasn't important, just reading. While history, culture and practice were also reviewed, very little was integrated one into another so that everything was one smooth story. I loved reading and history (even as a kid) and so many times I found that questions I asked couldn't be answered by teachers who while trying very hard, weren't all that familiar with answering the "why" question. I'll also say that after Bar Mitzvah, I continued my education until I ran out of history and ritual classes to take. To this day I'm a very poor reader and have no idea what the words mean. We'd do much better to actually teach conversational Hebrew and history then move on to ritual. One of the worst things you can do to someone is say "just do this" and that was what I experience both myself and for my children when I sent them. You are right to say that the curriculum needs to be reevaluated, but you may need to think about what you really want to teach and start with a fresh piece of paper.

I loved Hebrew School. All the really funny smart jewish kids went back then. Our teachers taught us how to read hebrew, how to daven, we learned about the holidays and we learned stories about Rabbi Akiva. Hebrew school met 3x aweek. The synagogue my family belongs to now has whittled hebrew school down to less than 2x a week. My youngest goes to a jewish day school. But my older 2 children did go to a hebrew school but they didn't learn to read hebrew well or how to daven. They did not like hebrew school but they went.

While Hebrew school may not (necessarily) be the answer to Jewish learning, it should be a lot more imperative that Jewish students actually visit Israel more than learn about Israel and Jewish customs in a classroom in the US or somewhere in exile. Any wonder why many Jewish students quit Hebrew school after their bar/bat-mitzvahs? Unfortunately, not only is Hebrew school failing our non-orthodox Jewish children, but mainstream education as well since drop out rates are on the rise and graduation rates are declining. To receive a more than adequate education in Hebrew school, there ought to be less emphasis on grades and more interactions and interesting discussions on Jewish values. When I was in Hebrew school, it wasn't really a decent place to learn, but fortunately, years later, I found my Jewish calling when I got involved with the Hillel in my college, which accommodated me with 2 trips to Israel for Birthright and a social justice mission. Furthermore, I have found reason why not to intermarry, despite being tempted in one relationship by a non-Jew thinking we were unseparable and that she'll always be there for me, but I was not so attracted to her to begin with, and I stopped seeing her before I decided that I shouldn't intermarry or interdate. On my first trip to Israel and what I learned in some classes at Hillel, I have seen the importance of why to marry Jewish. And now, I may have found someone on JDate who may share very similar Jewish values as I do. My calling to marry Jewish probably had very little to do with Hebrew school, even though it was almost never a very good environment to learn about Judaism and Jewish identity leading me to not pay full attention. Now, if only Hebrew schools were more engaging with less emphasis on a grading scale, more interaction, as well as a more hospitable environment however that can be done. Perhaps it could cost less than a Catholic school education, and of course less drama unlike in a public education.

Undoubtedly the biggest problem with the current system is that we thrown a few stories (i.e. parahsas) out of context, and made to believe that this is simply a glorified version of "storybook time" in secular school - nice to talk about, but not really of any use. Hebrew schools need to wake up, and start looking at the people they are teaching, not as simply numbers to throw information at, but people, human beings, fellow jews (most importantly) that they actually care about! Hebrew schools should show us how to deal with difficult ethical problems we face today, what to do about very real problems out there (i.e. how to discern different values from wrong values), and most of all, just to do it with compassion, and caring for everybodys personal growth!!! Children should in my opinion, be split into 'reading level' groups, just like in secular school, so that the kids who find that the beginner level stuff is not challenging enough and is boring them to tears, can move 'up' and learn more advanced jewish philosophy - dont make a kid perform below his/her abilities, its the worst thing you can do! (even though it may not be politically correct to divide into beginner/advanced groups)... I know I keep on saying it, but I can't stress it enough. Bring in people that kids can look up to as role models (i.e. different speakers every week), and make sure that each child is actually cared about as a fellow jew! As soon as somebody knows that someone legitimately cares about their growth and development, they react with zreisus (motivation, a spark for living) that cannot be understated!!! Finally, make them proud to be Jewish, and make sure that you connect the dots between the great values of modern/western-civilized life that our ancestors were responsible for, and their own inherent ability to effect change in this world! Good luck!

When I read Mr. Steinhardt's words a few days ago it did make an impression on me and left me thinking. At the end of the article they quoted him: "While the religion of Judaism is so deeply disappointing – its practice, its verbiage, its inability to reflect realistically upon our lives; I could forgive almost anything vis-à-vis Israel. Israel was and still is my Jewish miracle!” If the system and teachers in the system have this attitude why should their students be committed to a religion that is "deeply disappointing?" Why should it get in the way of a deep relationship, a potential lifelong partner, dinner and everything in-between? Not because "its inability to reflect realistically upon our lives." For the Talmud TORAH system to work teachers must not be apologetic of Torah (what does TALMUD TORAH literally mean?). They must love it, be proud of it and happy with it. Additionally, for Talmud Torah to be effective and meaningful the parents should share this same positive attitude. Otherwise who can blame the kids?

I taught a Hebrew School class in an Aish shul for 2 years. In my limited experience, I found that some parents only sent their children because their peers were sending theirs.These children surely benefitted from being in an Orthodox Hebrew School, despite their parents complete lack of interest in what they were learning. However, the parents who show that a Jewish education is important, are aware of what their children are learning, and even discuss the lessons with them, are definitely setting their kids on the correct road towards maintaining a Jewish identity.

Allow me to suggest my blog: SAVINGSCHOOLS.org . I am collecting ideas for improving schools, in general on this page. This blog is bases on Rabbi Weinberg's 48 Ways to Wisdom blog. Though my blog is general, there are some references to Jewish tradition. Thank You. Harry in Rochester NY

I went to hebrew school 2x a week at our Reform Temple after my regular school. I hated every second. I resented being there while my other friends took /did interesting things. I found the teachers were totally uneducated and uninterested in teaching. I never learned about G-d - He was totally missing from the equation. A lot of time was spent with 'filler' - coloring, singing, but really no important or relevant learning. I knew nothing about the 10 commandments, nothing about the relevance of Torah (only some very basic stories) nothing about our Torah giants, nothing about Halacha (the word was never mentioned). I begged my parents to allow me to stop and in the middle of grade 6, the 'torture' ended. I was so happy. I really had nothing to do with Judaism from age 12 until I was 29 and got involved with Aish HaTorah. I am now Torah observant and living in Israel with my husband and 5 children (thank you Aish!)