Religious Purposefulness

This issue represents something of a departure for us from our normal examination of the basics of Jewish education—the structures, challenges and curricular issues with which we all must deal. Instead, it presents us with a philosophical framework for our work, an examination of the day school movement in the context of the state of Judaism in the 21st century in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in the Jewish communities of Canada, Europe, and around the globe.

The Arts in Jewish Education

Judaism and the arts have always had a complicated relationship. Whether it be an avoidance of drama because of ecclesiastical connotations, a rejection of vocal music if it included kol isha, the voice of a woman, or the absence of figurative representations in art due to the prohibition of graven images, the arts have historically received shorter shrift in Jewish pedagogy than other subjects.
As Jewish culture has evolved, however, the arts have increasingly come into play as vital expressions of Jewish thought and spirituality. In our schools also, there has been a renaissance of creative Jewish exploration of the visual and performing arts, as well as new media, as a means of increasing students' understanding of the roots of our faith and the many ways in which this faith can be expressed.

Making the Case for Jewish Day School

This Passover issue of HaYidion addresses the questions of school choice. It provides a variety of articles on the topic of "making the case" for a Jewish community day school. When Jewish parents select an institution to provide the formative educational experiences of their children's lives, they are in fact confronting the issue of whether to make Judaism a priority in their lives. While all of us engaged in Jewish community day school education know that the "product" we offer is of superior quality, proven excellence, and demonstrated effectiveness and is one of the major factors in determining whether there will be a Jewish future, how do we communicate this to our "customers"?

Board Leadership

The topic of Jewish communal leadership reveals even more challenges. As Hal Lewis, author of From Sanctuary to Boardroom: A Jewish Approach to Leadership, writes "Mirroring trends that reach across America, today's Jews are far more comfortable with episodic and intermittent linkages than with traditional forms of affiliation...Today, Judaism has become a leisure time activity, one of the many things American Jews do if they have the time and are so inclined. And even then, only on occasions that suit their needs, temperaments and value systems."
While this issue of HaYidion cannot address all of the multiple facets of the governance discussion, it clearly touches on many of the hot-button topics which are relevant to Jewish education today.

Diversity

A famous Mishnah states, "When a human being makes many coins from the same mint, they are all the same. G-d makes everyone in the same image - His image - yet none is the same as another." (Sanhedrin 4:5) This issue of HaYidion examines the subject of diversity as it applies to the Jewish community day school. The ever-increasing heterogeneity of our schools poses both challenges and opportunities for day school leaders. The articles that appear in this issue are designed to provide both theoretical and pragmatic frameworks within which community day school leaders can approach the range of questions that arise from the growing diversity within our school populations.

Too Jewish? Not Jewish Enough?

Day school culture is the subject of this Shavuot issue of HaYidion. All of us struggle with the issues of school culture - of being "too Jewish" or "not Jewish enough." As one head of school humorously commented at our January conference, "I have people on the left mad at me and I have people on the right mad at me. I figure I must be doing something correctly." Levity aside, the articles in this issue deal with the theme of how our schools "feel" to their constituent communities.

More past issues available online:

• Technology and Jewish Education
• Marketing Across the Spectrum
• Educating and Sustaining a Board of Directors
• Teaching Hebrew
• Educational Travel & Student Exchange: Israel and Beyond
• Special Education in Jewish Community Day Schools
• Measuring the Success of a School’s “Jewish Mission”