Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Usario is correct about the pressure. The only two options to Orthodox Jews is to put your kids in an Orthodox day school, or to home school your kids. Putting your kids in public school (the one in my neighborhood is award winning with hundreds of non religious Jews) is akin to declaring to the world that you prioritize ruchnius (the spiritual) below gashmius (worldly, physical items).
My kids tuition is roughly three times my mortgage. My wife and I drive beat up clunkers of cars and have not taken a proper vacation, well, ever.
It's a choice. No regrets.
On a side note, I was invited as the token Jew on an interview with a bunch of doctors who were considering a Jewish applicant, since they wanted to show him there were Jewish people in the area? I don't know. Anyway, we talked, and he asked me about Jewish day schools. His wife works out of the household, also. There are none in the area. I liked him but I knew he would not accept the job. He didn't.
Growing up without a strong Jewish education is like calling the preacher and asking for the kids to be baptized, in this area. IMHO.
I claim no religious affiliation whatsoever, and I do not have a religious upbringing. Yet, I like listening to people talk about their cultural backgrounds. It's cool.
I know a little about Judaism. One time, I took a physiology class, and a couple of young adults said they went to Hebrew school and learned Hebrew prayer. They said they graduated from Hebrew school. I suppose it's a type of school where Jews send their children to learn the Hebrew language and Jewish culture and religion; I once had a couple of elementary schoolmates that were Greek and went to Greek school, while I and other Chinese kids went to Chinese school.
OK. Be prepared for my whopping list of questions. (Note they are related, so you don't really have to answer each one. You can just write a paragraph or so detailing your experiences in Hebrew school from the beginning to the graduation.)
1. How old were you when you enrolled into Hebrew school?
2. Was the Hebrew school publicly funded (that is, by the state/government) or privately funded (by a religious institution)?
3. How many grade levels were there in Hebrew school?
4. How many students were there in your class?
5. Were you a good student (A), a fair student (B), a mediocre student (C), or a poor student (D or below)?
6. What's the significance of graduation?
7. How did your bar/bat mitzvah coincide with Hebrew school? That is, did you learn about bar/bat mitzvah at around the same time of your own bar/bat mitzvah?
8. Did you ever recite the Torah at all?
9. What were the academic subjects in Hebrew school?
10. How long was a typical Hebrew school day?
11. On which day(s) was Hebrew school open?
12. What type of "Jew" are you? (Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Kaifeng, Mizrahim, Teimanim, Bukharan, etc.)
13. Are you a practicing or non-practicing Jew?
14. Are you in rabbinical Judaism or non-rabbinical Judaism?
Since many have posted in this thread, why has everyone skirted the query of the poster and not posted anything pertinent to this 14 questions??
Since many have posted in this thread, why has everyone skirted the query of the poster and not posted anything pertinent to this 14 questions??
I think we all just summarized some thoughts on the original topic in well-framed and concise manner. But I think it's admirable that you took the time to give the OP detailed answers.
1. How old were you when you enrolled into Hebrew school?
Too young to remember. Seems like it must've been 1st-grade-ish. 2. Was the Hebrew school publicly funded (that is, by the state/government) or privately funded (by a religious institution)?
Privately, it was funded by the membership fees of our congregation (Reform congregation at the time). 3. How many grade levels were there in Hebrew school? From kindergarten or Pre-K (not sure) to 5th or 6th grade. It ended by a child's bar/bat-mitzvah age. 4. How many students were there in your class? 8 to 10 students...Only one class per grade. So, 8 to 10 students in my whole grade. 5. Were you a good student (A), a fair student (B), a mediocre student (C), or a poor student (D or below)? Things were not graded like public secular school (I was also enrolled in a normal public school, as well), but I was a well-behaved kid, for sure. 6. What's the significance of graduation? Don't know, my family switched congregations after 5th grade, and this new one was too small for a Hebrew school. 7. How did your bar/bat mitzvah coincide with Hebrew school? That is, did you learn about bar/bat mitzvah at around the same time of your own bar/bat mitzvah? My parents didn't like the Reform congregation, and were switching us to a Conservative-Reform-ish one, where they met a well-learned Dutch Jew who agreed to be my private tutor for my bar-mitzvah. So he would come over to our house every Sunday and hear me read my Torah portion, and give me tips and guidance on that. I think he did it all for free. That was in about the year and a half prior to and until my bar-mitzvah. 8. Did you ever recite the Torah at all? In Hebrew school, no. We would read the stories from the Torah and Tanakh (Prophets, etc), but not chant it in Hebrew. We did learn the songs of the siddur (liturgy) early on, like in 1st and 2nd grade, though. I chanted Torah at my bar-mitzvah, yes. 9. What were the academic subjects in Hebrew school? See #10 10. How long was a typical Hebrew school day? Don't remember, maybe two hours? Just a reading of a Biblical story, maybe a drawing/project based on it, and then some services all together with all ages afterwards. 11. On which day(s) was Hebrew school open? Just a Sunday morning thing. 12. What type of "Jew" are you? (Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Kaifeng, Mizrahim, Teimanim, Bukharan, etc.) The answer to this question for most American Jews (about 90% I think) is "Ashkenazi" by default. That's what tradition I've been brought up in, though by ancestry I'd be half Ashkenazi and half Sephardic. If you meant denominations...this was a Reform congregation, but my Mom thought it was too liberal for her liking. However, it was the only synagogue within distance, really. I now consider myself Conservative-ish, am part of a Conservative congregation, etc. 13. Are you a practicing or non-practicing Jew? After my bar-mitzvah, and especially by college, I became non-practicing, but after some self-searching I've picked up the practice again about a year ago. 14. Are you in rabbinical Judaism or non-rabbinical Judaism? By default, most Jews follow rabbinical Judaism whether they know it or not, to the extent that they follow any traditions or customs at all... Right now, I'm kind of in a "rabbinical-optional" phase, I guess to see how many of the mitzvot and rabbinical rulings I can take upon myself to do, but not sure where I will go from here. I have considered non-rabbinical Judaism as well, but it's still an internal debate in my head/heart/wherever. Personally, I think there's something to the idea that a "sola scriptura" (non-rabbinic) approach to Judaism sounds a little too much like the Protestant Christianity that I grew up around, and I think it had a subconscious influence in my development of understanding what "the Bible" is. Which is fine for Protestant Christians, but Judaism is quite different in its view on how these things all come together... Again, right now, there's still some mixing-and-matching on my part.
it's makes me happy there are forums about Judaism out of my country
Moderator cut: The Terms of Service which you agreed to state: "English is the only language to be used this board, use translation software if needed."
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 03-28-2014 at 08:03 AM..
Thought i pop in after finding this thread to add something, we call Sunday school for kids TALMUD TORAH, normally for members of a comunity/shull, the kids can start around 8-9 until they reach the age of their bar mitzvah, then after that its up to them to join in a yeshiva or depending on their Minhag (if they observe at all) as reforms.
Thought i pop in after finding this thread to add something, we call Sunday school for kids TALMUD TORAH, normally for members of a comunity/shull, the kids can start around 8-9 until they reach the age of their bar mitzvah, then after that its up to them to join in a yeshiva or depending on their Minhag (if they observe at all) as reforms.
That's interesting and similar to my Reform upbringing. Once I was a Bar Mitzvah, it was considered as if I had graduated from my responsibility to Judaism and I was now free to assimilate into goyisha culture. That's exactly what I did. That's what every Jew I knew who attended that reform shul did. Nearly all of them ended up marrying non Jews, and many have attended their children's Baptism.
1. How old were you when you enrolled into Hebrew school?
Too young to remember. Seems like it must've been 1st-grade-ish. 2. Was the Hebrew school publicly funded (that is, by the state/government) or privately funded (by a religious institution)?
Privately, it was funded by the membership fees of our congregation (Reform congregation at the time). 3. How many grade levels were there in Hebrew school? From kindergarten or Pre-K (not sure) to 5th or 6th grade. It ended by a child's bar/bat-mitzvah age. 4. How many students were there in your class? 8 to 10 students...Only one class per grade. So, 8 to 10 students in my whole grade. 5. Were you a good student (A), a fair student (B), a mediocre student (C), or a poor student (D or below)? Things were not graded like public secular school (I was also enrolled in a normal public school, as well), but I was a well-behaved kid, for sure. 6. What's the significance of graduation? Don't know, my family switched congregations after 5th grade, and this new one was too small for a Hebrew school. 7. How did your bar/bat mitzvah coincide with Hebrew school? That is, did you learn about bar/bat mitzvah at around the same time of your own bar/bat mitzvah? My parents didn't like the Reform congregation, and were switching us to a Conservative-Reform-ish one, where they met a well-learned Dutch Jew who agreed to be my private tutor for my bar-mitzvah. So he would come over to our house every Sunday and hear me read my Torah portion, and give me tips and guidance on that. I think he did it all for free. That was in about the year and a half prior to and until my bar-mitzvah. 8. Did you ever recite the Torah at all? In Hebrew school, no. We would read the stories from the Torah and Tanakh (Prophets, etc), but not chant it in Hebrew. We did learn the songs of the siddur (liturgy) early on, like in 1st and 2nd grade, though. I chanted Torah at my bar-mitzvah, yes. 9. What were the academic subjects in Hebrew school? See #10 10. How long was a typical Hebrew school day? Don't remember, maybe two hours? Just a reading of a Biblical story, maybe a drawing/project based on it, and then some services all together with all ages afterwards. 11. On which day(s) was Hebrew school open? Just a Sunday morning thing. 12. What type of "Jew" are you? (Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Kaifeng, Mizrahim, Teimanim, Bukharan, etc.) The answer to this question for most American Jews (about 90% I think) is "Ashkenazi" by default. That's what tradition I've been brought up in, though by ancestry I'd be half Ashkenazi and half Sephardic. If you meant denominations...this was a Reform congregation, but my Mom thought it was too liberal for her liking. However, it was the only synagogue within distance, really. I now consider myself Conservative-ish, am part of a Conservative congregation, etc. 13. Are you a practicing or non-practicing Jew? After my bar-mitzvah, and especially by college, I became non-practicing, but after some self-searching I've picked up the practice again about a year ago. 14. Are you in rabbinical Judaism or non-rabbinical Judaism? By default, most Jews follow rabbinical Judaism whether they know it or not, to the extent that they follow any traditions or customs at all... Right now, I'm kind of in a "rabbinical-optional" phase, I guess to see how many of the mitzvot and rabbinical rulings I can take upon myself to do, but not sure where I will go from here. I have considered non-rabbinical Judaism as well, but it's still an internal debate in my head/heart/wherever. Personally, I think there's something to the idea that a "sola scriptura" (non-rabbinic) approach to Judaism sounds a little too much like the Protestant Christianity that I grew up around, and I think it had a subconscious influence in my development of understanding what "the Bible" is. Which is fine for Protestant Christians, but Judaism is quite different in its view on how these things all come together... Again, right now, there's still some mixing-and-matching on my part.
Addressing #14...What's the point in believing in HaShem at all if we go around doing as we please and believing what makes us feel good instead of what HaShem wants?...
Addressing #14...What's the point in believing in HaShem at all if we go around doing as we please and believing what makes us feel good instead of what HaShem wants?...
Wow. For a non Jew, I'm amazed at how dead-on your Jewish outlook is. Well said.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
