« “hear sirens, pray loud” First MT Plugin Installed »

“The Meaning of Pluralism for Jewish Education”

links | March 21, 2003

I’ve been referring to The Meaning of Pluralism for Jewish Education by Peter Geffen recently, whilst writing one of my application essays.

Our school was founded on the philosophy of the revered 20th century rabbi, theologian, and social activist Abraham Joshua Heschel. His writings reflect his strong belief in the value of religious pluralism, both within Judaism and in relationship to the other religions of the world. “I think it is the will of God that there should be religious pluralism. Jewish thinking and living can only be adequately understood in terms of a dialectical pattern, containing opposite or contrasted properties.”

It’s a good, short article from 2000 about the school I attended from 3rd through 8th grade. Their philosophy as of 2003.

The article continues:

The Heschel School is committed to the teaching of critical thinking skills and the appreciation of multiple perspectives. Our understanding of and commitment to curricular integration derives from the words “humaniz[ing] the sacred and...sanctify[ing] the secular,” which directs us toward the teaching of a Judaism that is itself integrated as well as interrelated to the worlds of history, literature, and social studies as well as the sciences and the arts.

We do not seek to use the teaching of general studies as a backdrop to Jewish events and personalities. Teaching interrelationships with both depth and appreciation enables the student to entertain the non–Jewish world free of fear of either intellectual or historical conquest. It goes to the core of enhancing the child’s sense of both personal and Jewish identity.

We want to help children to understand the Jewish experience as one in which Jews have formed their unique place and perspective through positive assimilation of vast elements of the majority cultures in which they lived. Our art, architecture, costumes, dance, folklore, and music, along with our liturgy, literature, and even our Hebrew language, have been formed in cooperation with the places where we have lived and with the people who lived there.

Keep reading The Meaning of Pluralism for Jewish Education.

Posted March 21, 2003 04:11 PM