HaYidion, RAVSAK's highly-acclaimed journal of Jewish education, explores topics of critical interest to day school leaders, advocates, families and supporters. New to HaYidion? Click here to read more
Each quarterly issue focuses on an aspect of Jewish day school life, unpacking it from a wide variety of perspectives, offering both theoretical fשrameworks and pragmatic approaches.
HaYidion is read by heads of schools, Judaic directors, division principals, admissions and finance directors, development professionals, Federation and JCC directors, and lay leaders across North America and beyond. Members of RAVSAK receive a number of copies of each issue each quarter. Past issues are archived here at ravsak.org on a one-quarter delay.
To subscribe to HaYidion, please contact rfeldman@ravsak.org.
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Hebrew EducationIn a global and interconnected world, speaking more than one language is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Approximately one-fifth of Americans speak a language other than English (LOTE), and around the world it is estimated that almost two-thirds of children are bilingual. Thanks to the ubiquity of technology, LOL, IMHO, OMG and BBM are common linguistic currency, and people text and tweet...[ more]
Special NeedsArlene Kanter, director of the Disability Law and Policy Program at the College of Law at Syracuse University—and mother of two graduates from my day school—is currently in Israel on a Fulbright scholarship to help Tel Aviv University establish the country’s first academic program in disability studies. She was recently quoted as saying that what struck her most since arriving in Israel is how myths and misconceptions...[ more]
Nurturing FaithLike many heads of Jewish community day schools, I come to my position via a circuitous route, in my case a doctorate in Spanish literature. In my favorite book, Cervantes’ Don Quijote, the self-defined knight of the title makes himself a helmet out of pasteboard. He tests it by slashing it with his sword, destroying it in the process. He then rebuilds it, and rather than testing it, places it confidently....[ more]
Strengthening Community"Community” is the theme of this issue—but what does this word mean? Fifty years ago, sociologist George Hillery listed 94 elucidations of the term in his article “Definitions of Community: Areas of Agreement.” A similar listing in 5771 would be even longer and would arguably find fewer areas of agreement, as a search of the web turns up definitions as disparate as “community begins, but does not end, in our face to face relationships with the persons who are closest to us” and....[ more]
The Educated JewAs Jews, we have always had dreams, and as Jewish educators, we believe, as did Herzl, that אם תרצו אין זו אגדה—If you will it, it is no dream. Thus it is fitting that this Shavuot issue of HaYidion—which will reach you during commencement season—examines the “Vision of the Graduate,” and asks the question, What does it mean to be an educated Jew?....[ more]
iSchoolIn 1943, Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, said, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” In 1949, Popular Mechanics forecast “the relentless march of science” and predicted that “computers in the future may weigh no more than one and a half tons.” In 1968, an engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems division of IBM asked in regard to the microchip, “but what . . . is it good for?” And in 1977, the chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation stated unequivocally, “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” As the long-defunct cigarette commercial used to say, “We’ve come a long way, baby!”....[ more]
PluralismThe mission statement of RAVSAK, the network of Jewish community day schools throughout North America and abroad, speaks to the lofty goal of “fostering authentic Jewish pluralism.” But what exactly is pluralism? Diana Eck, writing an introduction for the Pluralism Project at Harvard University, posits four points that define the term. Pluralism, she writes, “is not diversity alone, but the energetic engagement with diversity....[ more]
ParentsThe headline in the Forward reads: “The Jewish Mother Revisited: Goodbye, Mrs. Portnoy, Hello, Bad Mommy.” A forthcoming book is entitled Hell is Other Parents and Other Tales of Maternal Combustion. An article in the New Jersey Jewish Standard promotes “Helping Kids Thrive With the Coach Approach to Parenting.” On the parenting shelf of the public library sits Straight Talk About Your Child’s Mental Health: What to Do When Something Seems Wrong. Parenting in the Age of Anxiety is extremely stressful....[ more]
Nurturing LeadershipIsrael was founded on hope. Hope was the theme of our recent presidential election. Hope and a belief in a brighter future sustain us all in our educational enterprises. This issue of HaYidion will help reinforce your optimism and your commitment to Israel, to our people and to our future as surely as spring follows winter...[ more]
Israel & Zionism EducationIsrael was founded on hope. Hope was the theme of our recent presidential election. Hope and a belief in a brighter future sustain us all in our educational enterprises. This issue of HaYidion will help reinforce your optimism and your commitment to Israel, to our people and to our future as surely as spring follows winter...[ more]
Teacher Retention and Development"U.S. chooses ‘change’” is the headline on my Internet homepage as I begin to write the introduction to this issue of HaYidion on the day after Election Day. Yet as we all know, change is scary. Nonetheless, change is the fundamental feature of education. The Latin root of the word “education” is “e-ducare” which means “to lead out.” Education always involves change, as we lead our learners out from the known to the unknown, from security to insecurity...[ more]
Religious PurposefulnessThis 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...[ more]
The Arts in Jewish EducationJudaism 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...[ more]
CAT, RAVSAK’s online, highly participatory middle school program in Jewish history, will have four new schools taking part in the fall:
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