editorials
Secular Education in Chasidic Schools
T he recent, highly anticipated New York Times
“exposé” of Chasidic yeshiva education in New
York State did not disappoint.

The lengthy, front-page article painted a disturbing
picture of a deliberately defi cient secular education
program in Chasidic schools, fraudulent misdirection
of government funding for school programs and
services, widespread corporal punishment within
the schools and a growing problem of drug abuse
and homelessness for those seeking to escape the
oppressive strictures of their Chasidic upbringing.

So, it came as no surprise that a few days later,
New York’s Board of Regents voted overwhelm-
ingly to impose a system for review of non-pub-
lic education providers within the state and the
enforcement of a secular curriculum in all schools.

Reaction to the article and the regulatory move
was predictable.

Those on the left focus on the Chasidic boys’
high schools’ refusal to provide basic English and
mathematics instruction for their students; the stu-
dents’ resulting abysmal test score failures; and the
impropriety of these schools taking government
funding for what is essentially an entirely religious
education program.

Those on the right challenge the bias and con-
descension of the report and those who promoted
it; criticize the lack of understanding or apprecia-
tion of the Chasidic community’s commitment to
education — which doesn’t defi ne success as the
achievement of secular literacy; and emphasize
the remarkable success of the intentionally insular
Chasidic community, which has cultivated a thriv-
ing and growing community committed to religious
values, volunteerism and charitable giving. And,
of course, they defend the Chasidic community’s
right to decide what is right for their own children
— no less so than the Amish community, which the
U.S. Supreme Court exempted from high school
instruction a half-century ago.

As is often the case in these kinds of debates,
those presenting the arguments often talk past one
another. Each side is so focused on its own talking
points that they ignore some of the fundamental
issues that create the problem.

For example, very little of the commentary
focuses on the meaning or the proper measure of
the regulatory requirement of “substantial equiv-
alency” in connection with education provided in
non-public schools. Nor do the warring advocates
explore whether possible means can be devel-
oped to address the targeted schools’ perfor-
mance problems without unnecessarily impinging
on their religious concerns.

In this regard, the Regents’ regulatory approach,
which imposes teaching requirements rather than
establishing performance measures seems partic-
ularly problematic. If the intention is to improve the
lives of children enrolled in Chasidic schools, and
regulators are willing to respect religious concerns of
the institutions, why mandate instruction standards
or hours of commitment? Instead, why not consider
an outcome-based standard — equally applicable to
public, private and home-schooled children? All of
the schools would be judged by the same standard
and would be subject to the same consequences.

Such an approach would, of course, require
the State Education Department to engage with
the Chasidic schools — to understand their edu-
cation and religious concerns and to help work
through them. The alternative of imposing instruc-
tion requirements makes little sense, as it almost
guarantees interminable litigation and further delay
of the very educational goal the state claims to be
pursuing. JE
T he long, complicated and tragic relationship
between Jews and Germany was front and
center last week. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid
made a brief but intense 24-hour visit to Germany
as part of an eff ort to present Israel’s case against a
renewed nuclear deal with Iran.

But it was the symbolic messages baked into
the visit that attracted the most attention and
shined a light on just how complicated today’s
Germany-Israel relationship is nearly 80 years
after the Holocaust.

Lapid’s connection to the Holocaust is per-
sonal. His paternal grandfather, Bela Lampel, was
murdered by the Nazis in the Austrian camp of
Mauthausen in April 1945. Lapid’s grandmother
and his father witnessed the abduction from their
home in March 1944, and were later saved by
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. So, this visit
by Lapid as prime minister of Israel was particu-
larly poignant for him. And he brought reinforce-
ments — he was accompanied by fi ve Holocaust
survivors and their families who joined his dele-
gation, and he pointedly elevated the survivors to
prominence during the visit. Indeed, as he exited
his plane upon arrival, he walked arm-in-arm
with Shoshana Trister, one of the survivors, who
froze at the sight of the German military honor
guard. “I said to the prime minister, ‘Look at their
14 SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
On Sept. 12, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid visited
German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in
Berlin. hats,’” Trister reported. She then relayed Lapid’s
response: “And he said to me, ‘I’m holding you.

You will go down with me. You are not alone.’”
That’s powerful stuff .

Lapid met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
and other senior offi cials in an eff ort to coordinate
a common position on Iran. He also signed a
Germany-Israel security, strategic and coopera-
tion agreement, in which Germany committed to
Israel’s security and Israel committed to play a
role in building Germany’s new air defense force.

The agreement also comes with economic and
security benefi ts.

Lapid and his delegation visited Wannsee Villa,
just outside Berlin, where Nazi leaders met in
1942 to adopt the “Final Solution,” and they held
meetings in Munich. At each stop, Lapid’s theme
was consistent: He repeatedly touched upon the
impact of Holocaust deaths while noting that time
can heal some wounds, and asserted that the
deep ties between Germany and Israel “are proof
that humanity always has a choice. Evil can be
replaced by friendship.”
Later that day, Lapid met with German President
Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He thanked the German
leader for supporting Israel in the battle against
antisemitism and for his eff orts to negotiate a
compensation agreement for the families of the
1972 Olympics victims. This was particularly timely
since the 50th anniversary of the Munich mas-
sacre, where six Israeli coaches and fi ve Israeli
athletes were murdered by the Palestinian Black
September terrorists, was observed just days
earlier. The message from Lapid’s visit was clear: While
we dare not forget the past, we can learn from it
and make ourselves better. And without apology
for his cautionary reminders, he acknowledged
Germany’s outstretched hand. JE
Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/picture-alliance/Newscom
Lapid’s Triumph in Germany



opinion
Respect (and Make Good
Use of) Your Elders
BY RABBI RICHARD F. ADDRESS
coldsnowstorm / E+ / gettyimages
T he statistics for Jewish elders should startle you.

According to the 2020 Pew study of the
American Jewish community, close to 50% of
our community is over 50. In the USA alone, the
Census Bureau tells us that by 2035 the number
of people over 65 will be greater than the number
under 18.

In truth, thanks to advances in public health and
medical technology, we are living longer and bet-
ter than any other Jewish cohort of elders. Yet, in
many instances, the institutional Jewish commu-
nity has been myopic in its approach to us.

We still have a huge and successful communal
network for illness, housing and social service
support. Outside of this network, though, in many con-
gregations the cohort of well and active elders is
often overlooked, save for being seen as a poten-
tial economic resource. The challenge is to har-
ness the huge reservoir of “spiritual capital” that
exists in our community of people in their 50s,
60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond, most of whom
are active, alert and seeking a renewed sense of
meaning and purpose.

Thus, as a new year dawns, I suggest a renewed
emphasis on our cohort of z’keinim elders: It is
time for a year of celebration of Jewish elders.

There is much that can be done to meet the
needs of this growing multigenerational cohort.

Yes, this is a multigenerational cohort, for the
needs of a 55-year-old may be different than
those of an 85-year-old. Yet they also face similar
issues as family dynamics change and the pas-
sage of time becomes more relevant. To this end,
here are some thoughts on how a congregation or
organization can begin to actualize this often-un-
tapped reservoir of life experience.

There is a ritual to celebrate wisdom and aging
within our tradition called simchat chochmah. This
is a prayer, often recited in public at a service,
that has an individual — often around a significant
birthday — acknowledging the gift of life, the
acquisition of wisdom and the lessons learned
from life experience.

It is a wonderful way of keeping the idea of
creative prayer as a living and evolving aspect of
Jewish life, as well as a practical way of continu-
ing to engage older members. This is part of an
explosion of creative rituals being developed that
speak to new life stages and reflect this cohort’s
desire for a Judaism that speaks to them in an
adult and mature manner.

As a new year dawns, I suggest a renewed
emphasis on our cohort of z’keinim elders:
It is time for a year of celebration of Jewish elders.

The spiritual reservoir of life experience rep-
resented by this multigenerational cohort needs
to be elevated. Why not, as some congregations
have done, create mentoring programs that make
use of the life experience of elders in teaching
their life skills in religious school?
For example: Have that retired engineer help
in the lesson on building the Temple, or the doc-
tor discuss the ethics involved in end-of-life or
medical rationing or that retired lawyer as part of
a conversation on linkages between secular law
and parallels in Jewish law?
Likewise, make use of the growing cohort of
Jewish grandparents that “grand-parent” in many
ways differently than previous generations.

How many congregations have begun to discuss
the impact of interfaith marriage and multifaith
households on this generation of grandparents?
Social justice issues are also possibilities for
programming. Issues such as Jewish views on
health care, equity in access, mental and physical
health are fertile grounds for discussion as they
have Jewish textual foundations.

These discussions all lead to basic conversa-
tions that need to be had from a Jewish tradi-
tional and textual foundation — conversations that
speak to the desire on the part of our cohort for
a mature Jewish spirituality and a Judaism that
speaks to the new life stages that longevity has
granted us. JE
Rabbi Richard F. Address is the founder and direc-
tor of jewishsacredaging.com.

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