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From Israeli Dancing to Kosher Cooking, JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS Instill the Judaic Spirit in Students
By Diane Stopyra & Jacqueline Geaney

“It is always so beautiful,” says Phyllis Hurwitz, “to see little kids of all shapes, colors, and sizes singing in Hebrew together. There are many Asian, black, and white students all sharing in song… sharing a common experience. I like having my kids exposed to different people all within a common framework.” 

Hurwitz, a mother of two boys who attend the Robert J. Wild preschool and kindergarten at the Jewish Community Center in Wynnewood, Pa, knows that even at such a young age, day school education has been empowering for her sons, grounding them in the exploration of their faith while instilling in them an appreciation for diversity.

Certainly, understanding of and connection with one’s Jewish roots is of paramount importance for the Hurwitz boys and so many others, but the benefits of a Jewish education extend far beyond the individual. 

Abby Wiener, Dean of the Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley in Allentown, Pa., said “our religion is not just for ourselves; it’s about teaching children and adults that we have a great responsibility to each other and the world.” 

The sense of obligation to which Wiener refers is a concept that is incorporated throughout the school day. “It’s called Tikkun Olam,” she says, “repairing the world.”   

Wiener compares the moral code emphasized in day school to the blueprint for building a house, it’s a foundation for living well. Torah-based education, she says, is not simply about reading the literature of the faith. It’s about drawing from it very direct guidelines, including kindness to people, to the environment and to animals. “Without a day school education, for example” she says, “how would a child know that being kind to animals is not simply nice? It’s also Jewish.” 

Like all pursuits that are worthwhile, education is a process that takes time. Within the Jewish day school system, in particular, there is a focus on creating lifelong learners. Challenging students to ask questions is key to keeping the discussion open. “Jewish education,” Wiener says, “is the conversation that never ends.” 

Aaron Adler, a 23 year-old graduate of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, agrees. He said a class called Rabbinics he took in high school that involved reading and analyzing stories from the Talmud relating to Jewish ethics and history taught him to question things. “I’m fairly liberal,” he says, “so you can imagine there were plenty of things that came up in this class which made me question things. Looking back now, I think it was good of me to question…it has only made me a stronger person.” 

Jewish day school can be a strengthening force for the family unit as well. Family events, such as Shabbat dinners on Friday nights and holiday art projects, reinforce a community of faith within the home.

And on any particular day at Jewish day schools across the region you can see children chopping up food to learning how to cook kosher or even stepping in tune with other students, dancing Israeli style. Israeli Dancing is not unlike country western line dancing, as they have both a fixed and repeating choreography.

The success of Jewish Day Schools can really only be measured in terms of the students. With the students actively participating in recycling programs, community service activities such as the Food Bank and walks to fight Breast Cancer, they definitely grow to be well-rounded active citizens, just as the schools intend.

At the Kellman Brown Academy in Cherry Hill, N.J., the culmination of study at a Jewish day school is the eighth-grade trip to Israel. The trip is offered the year after the students celebrate their Bar and Bat Mitzvah and become adults in the Jewish faith. Selma Roffman, the Director of Education at the Kellman Brown Academy said the trip provides students with the opportunity to “connect to historical roots and to use Hebrew.”

Diane Stopyra and Jacqueline Geaney are freelance writers.