By Jonah Kaplan, SJA Parent
I attended day school myself through 12th grade, and a major reason for choosing to come to Minneapolis, in addition to my new job, was knowing there was a day school here for my children. Rena just started kindergarten this year, and, God willing, Romi will be here soon. I’m ready to put down my deposit for Baby #3, who’s due in March.
We were all in Jewish day school before October 7, but I’ve never been as proud or as resolute in affirming that choice now, and I know I’m not alone.
There’s a national reckoning in this country about education — who should pay for it, who should teach it, what should they teach, what should they read, what should they say — or not say.
To those in that debate, I say, “Bless their hearts.”
Math, science, English literature, history — all important things — but our responsibility to our children is that the foundation to their existence is knowing who they are, who came before them, and why our model of living has sustained our people for thousands of years. Science may tell us how humans evolved, but not what it means or how it feels to be human and what it means or how it feels to be Jewish.
We are not protecting our kids from the outside world by bringing them to Heilicher — we are arming them with knowledge about Jewish subjects, the ability to read and speak the Jewish language, knowledge of classical Jewish sources and rituals, and knowledge of the land of Israel and the State of Israel.
American Jewish life can only become stronger when people enact their Jewishness by making affirmative Jewish choices, and that starts with Jewish learning.
In the words of the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, “If we truly wish to hand our legacy to our children, we must teach them to love it. The most important element of any education is not learning the facts or skills but learning what to love.”
Tonight, we’ll join together in celebrating what we love, and our shared priorities for securing a Jewish future for us here in the Twin Cities.