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- The Education of Children and Students
Yet there are many positive signs to the growth of Jewish education the world over. Hose children who attend a Jewish school in America are far more likely not to intermarry, and to support Israel and have a proud attitude towards their faith and people. And attendance at Jewish schools has been constantly rising in the past decades. High tuitions have served as a brake on even greater enrollments in Jewish schools and the effects of the current severe economic downturn on attendance at Jewish schools in the United States has yet to be measured. In Israel the numbers of children receiving a Jewishly traditional education have also increased. The Minister of Education promises to install a program of Jewish education even in the secular school system. Such a program if properly developed and taught will help minimize the religious-secular divide that exits in Israel. The problem of religion in secular Jewry is no longer antagonism toward Jewish tradition and Torah knowledge as much as it is complete ignorance of that knowledge, tradition and its value system. Judaism can agree with the famous slogan of one of America’s premier merchandiser that "an educated consumer is our best customer." The primacy of Jewish education remains the key to Jewish life and its survival and growth.
The charedi schools system is also bound to change, albeit without ever admitting that it is doing so. An elitist education served up to the masses leads to many children at risk and defections from the religious world. Not giving children the basic tools to earn their living later in life, especially in a competitive and highly skilled work place atmosphere is a disservice to those students. Much is made of the opinions of great rabbis of Eastern Europe and Old City Jerusalem of the 1800’s regarding the place of some secular studies in the context of Jewish education. I have often wondered what the opinion of those great men would be in twenty-first century society today. Torah and halachic norms are unchanging but Jewish societies and conditions of life have changed considerably over the last three hundred years. Children are entitled to be educated according to the realities of our present world and not according to imagined circumstances of different centuries and locales. There is a famous Hebrew statement that what wisdom fails to achieve the passage of time will achieve. The Jewish world, now as ever, requires full-time Torah scholars. But not everyone is cut out to be that full-time Torah scholar and thus changes in education will have to be made in order to produce a society that is able to function and be influential in today’s society. The first day of school is a challenge not only to the students, teachers and administrators of our schools but to the society as well. How well we meet that challenge determines our future.
The Education of Children and Students The Heavy Price Paid by Rabbis, Leaders & Their Children
Ein Aya, Shabbat 2, 240
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
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P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Realtor’s Fee on Large Commercial Building – part I
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 85031 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: The Goal of an Agricultural Yeshiva – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 263 (address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Yeshiva Chakla’it in Kfar Haroeh)
Re'e NEVER EXTREME EXCEPT ISRAEL
Parshat Re'eh
Judaism is against extremism, so how can we understand the seemingly extreme statements found in our sages in favor of living in the Land of Israel and against living in Chutz laAretz? The article deals with the seeming contradiction between the strength of Free-Will and the strength of being influenced by our surroundings.
Ekev DANCE FOR ISRAEL- FOR YOUR BENEFIT
Parshat Eikev
Description: The 7 Haftarot we read after Tisha B'Av ("Shiva D'Nichemta") surely get us excited that they're coming TRUE, and awaken us to yearn, dance & join the return to Zion! The short article also deals with the problems and solutions facing the American Jewish community as discussed at a recent panel, as well as the question why Jews come from America to Israel to help when we face problems, but Israelis don't come to aid Jews in America when they face anti-Semitism.
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Complaints about Contractor’s Work – part II
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
(based on ruling 83037.1 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Chemdat Yamim Moreshet Shaul: Twin Foundations
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 690
D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
