As mothers, grandmothers, educators, and professionals, we resolved to create an organization that would, with God’s help, effect concrete and lasting change in our girls’ schools. The three of us, with the encouragement of many Rabbinic leaders, banded together to form Amatz. While the above story took place in a boys’ school, we have each witnessed other anecdotes that express the same discontent and disillusionment on the part of women and girls.
#Elyon seminary professional
The three of us, each in our own professional and personal lives, have been troubled by the seeming lack of commitment and connection to yiddishkeit on the part of many women and girls who are the products of our system. It must happen with thoughtful, deliberate, and conscious effort. They know the what, when, where, and how of yiddishkeit but don’t necessarily know why they should want to be Jewish! The organic transmission of our rich heritage and love for yiddishkeit, which was reliable in previous generations, can no longer be depended upon. Our generation of young adults, in the best families and in the best yeshivas and girls’ schools, are familiar with many of the commandments and practices of yiddishkeit but are often missing the foundational tenets of our beautiful Torah. How do we transmit our legacy of joy, passion, commitment, and pride-one which will serve our students for their entire lives, rather than a Judaism of burden, encumbrance, strain, and struggle, which we fear will just accelerate the abandonment of their religion? While our Jewish world seems to have succeeded in creating vibrant communities of Torah-observant families, in many instances we have apparently failed to transmit our core legacy. A class of students who grew up in religious families and were taught in our very own hinukh system for at least nine years questioned their most basic Jewish identity-as if their daily berakhah of shelo asani goy never registered itself in their consciousness. While this story is but a single anecdote, it gives us pause to ponder how this could be.
Undecided…….?” Eighteen out of the twenty students staked their claim that they would have chosen not to be Jewish, one was undecided, and only one chose to be a Jew! The rebbe then, spontaneously, handed out a piece of paper and asked the class to answer the following question: “If you woke up tomorrow morning and had a choice, would you choose to be: 1.
A student raised his hand and asked, “Why would anyone choose to be Jewish?” Shocked by the question, the rebbe looked up and saw 19 other heads nodding in agreement with the boy’s question. At the age of bar or bat mitzvah, the child is required to decide whether he or she chooses to be Jewish. While dreaming big is always a virtue, accepting the hard fact that most children do not feel this way, in many instances, is the first step in rectifying the painful reality of the challenges we face as parents, educators, and leaders.Ī few years ago, a rebbe in a strictly observant Orthodox boys’ school, was teaching the concept of ger katan, a child who is brought to convert, either due to adoption or as a child of a convert, born before their conversion. Imagine a world where Jewish children feel fortunate and blessed to be a privileged part of a nation which partners with the Creator of Heaven and earth. Imagine a world where every Jewish child is filled with the joy and purpose that comes from the knowledge that we are each a unique creation.
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