All throughout our history, the Jewish people have faced critical moments – from the destruction of the Temple to October 7. And yet, even when all odds are against us, we have flourished. Why?
In each instance, we have found a way; the creation of Rabbinical Judaism after the loss of Temple worship; the establishment of Israel as an answer to the Holocaust.
In my lifetime, I experienced the birth of the State of Israel, the release of Soviet Jewry and the rescue of Ethiopian Jewry. And now, in the blink of an eye, we are once again facing a pivotal moment. Unbelievably, the vicious attack on October 7 by Hamas did not result in sympathy for the horrors perpetrated against us but instead unleashed a worldwide spate of antisemitism.
Our own children, college students, were the first to feel it. They were totally unprepared for the onslaught of hatred they experienced on the university campuses.
My generation of American Jews experienced a golden period for Jews. The doors to universities, to professions, to business opportunities were opened to us and our reaction was to become part and parcel of American society. We threw off vestiges of the past. We became cultural and communal Jews. We felt Jewish to our core. What we didn’t realize was that we were so busy becoming secularly educated that we lost sight of being Jewishly educated. In fact, for most of us the words, Jewish Education, bespoke of dimly lit rooms with bearded black clothed men sitting around a table studying large tomes in Hebrew. It reminded us of dress and religious observances we felt were counter productive in this amazing America.
And here we are, assimilated, financially comfortable, sensitive to Jewish and secular causes. Totally unprepared, as were our children on the campuses. Once again being threatened.
Jewish education today is a far cry from the black bearded men around that table. Anyone that has visited our schools knows that well.
When we moved to Israel, in 1990, I felt comfortable in my Jewishness. That is until I came to learn that I was lacking even the most basic tenets of Judaism. I was shocked with what I didn’t know. I knew customs, rituals, holidays but what I realized is the essence of Judaism lies in the intellect, in philosophy. How does one relate to the higher power we call G-d; how does one relate to his fellow man; how has Judaism changed and developed throughout the years; what was the difference between the Torah, the Talmud, and the Mishna. I spent 25 years learning what I didn’t know. It was the most intense intellectual experience of my life, and the most rewarding.
When we returned to Nashville, it was booming. But Jewish education still stopped with Akiva graduation, age 12. I had been denied a Jewish education in my youth. I was dismayed that little had really changed. A city with the vitality of this new Nashville should certainly provide its youth with K-12 Jewish education. I spoke to rabbis and community leaders, all of whom told me that Nashville couldn’t sustain more advanced Jewish learning.
Despite, the negativity, a small group of community leaders sought out Rabbi Saul Strosberg, whose innovative thinking had created the middle school. We saw the potential and value of this small but vibrant school and lent our support and organizational expertise to it. With its success came Kehilla High School, now just three years old.
What couldn’t be done is being done. These schools are producing students steeped in Jewish knowledge values and strength in their Jewish identity. At the same they are getting an excellent academic college preparatory education.
Once again, the Jewish people are required to act. We must produce a generation that is knowledgeable, secure, strong and prepared.
To paraphrase an article I read recently, the strength or fragility of a Jewish community lies with its day schools. The Nashville I know has always stepped up, been a leader. Now is the time. We need Jewishly educated children to lead the way.
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