I have often been criticized even by those that agree with me that I should stop wasting my time criticizing those that do not. To just forget about this ‘impossible task’ of changing hearts and minds on issues that matter to me. And instead focus on my own community.
But, it isn't just about what matters to me. It’s about what matters to all of us - the Jewish people. I care about those ‘outside’ of my community because they are not really outside of my community at all. No matter how far to the right they have gone – they are Jews. Part of the same chosen people by God to do what’s right in His eyes and the eyes of the world. It is a Torah obligation to care for one’s fellow Jew. Kol Yisroel Areivim Zeh BaZeh. We are each responsible for the welfare of each other. This is why I cannot let go of the educational issues facing a huge portion of Klal Yisroel.
It is why I keep talking about the tragedy of some of the more extreme elements among us trying to keep some of our young ignorant of a general education. It is why I am relentless in arguing for change to make it happen. And why I am so upset at Agudah (and PEARLS) in this regard. As noted in the Forward, they are actually fighting it under the banner of parental rights and religious freedom.
Agudath Israel of America, which represents Haredi Orthodox Jews, is urging its members to make their opposition to the proposed oversight known to state officials. “We cannot allow the government to come in and unreasonably control how and what we should be teaching our children,” Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Agudah’s executive vice president, said in a statement.
Another group opposed to the guidelines, Parents for Educational and Religious Liberty in Schools — or PEARLS — has launched its own campaign, asking parents and yeshiva graduates to write to state education officials. According to its website, it has directed more than 64,000 comments to the education department.
They have been on a tear to get as many people as possible to sign an online letter of protest to the implementation of the new ‘public school equivalency’ guidelines by NYSED (New York State Education Department).
I am not going to rehash all the reasons why a stand alone secular studies curriculum is important - other than to counter the argument that NYSED should assign value to religious studies towards that end.
Although there is merit to that argument, it should not be considered fulfillment of any equivalency requirements any more than what responsible parents might teach their children at home should be. In either case, no matter how valuable such guidance might be, there is no way to quantify it. In both cases any benefits learned outside the classroom should be treated as just that: benefits. (Kind of like extra credit.)
For arguments sake, let us even concede that Agudah is
right. That this is undue government interference in the rights of parents to
determine what kind of education their children should get - as ell as an
infringement of their religious rights (neither of which I actually concede). I
would still be upset at the Agudah for refusing to admit or recognize the harm
caused by the lack of such an education to fellow Jews. They are not doing anything about it. As though it doesn’t matter how igorant some of our fellow Jews are - as long as this is what they want.
They might argue that this segment of Jewry does quite well financially without such an education. And that in any case even if they cannot do as well financially as those who are better educated, they are generally happy with their lot. Agudah might say that one can be a Jew in good standing without such an education.
But I could not disagree more. One can be a good Jew even if he doesn’t know how to read Alef Beis (the Hebrew alphabet). Furthermore I think that maybe deep down in their heart of hearts, Agudah’s leadership might even agree that they would be better off in schools that have an independent secular studies curriculum since they attended schools like that and probably sent their own children to schools like that.
I have had private conversions with some Agudah officials that say they would never educate their own children that way. If they feel a secular education is beneficial to their own children why don’t they feel the same about all Jewish children? It’s almost as if they don’t really care about them. ‘Let them live as they choose!’ ‘It is their right and besides no one else is being forced to live that way.’
Do they feel the same way about the homeless? For a variety of reasons (including but not exclusively serious mental health issues) some of them choose to live that way. Should we just allow them to live that way because that is what they choose?
This is why I am so upset at Agudah’s current campaign for signatures in opposition to NYSED’s new guidelines. As I said, even granting that they are right about parental and religious rights, why is there no parallel campaign to rectify the poor educational situation in those schools? I do not agree with the idea that one can believe an education is vital for one’s own children and not worth fighting for it for the children of others.
As I said, I care about them. I do not want them to live a life of ignorance just because they have been indocrtrinated to do so. This is not about live and let live. They can live anyway they choose with any customs they choose. But living in ignorance is not a custom. It is what it is. Just plain ignorance. As a fellow Jew, I to have an obligation to try and eliminate ignorance among us to whatever extent I can. It won’t solve every problem. But it sure will help. If Agudah was pushing as hard for that as they are in opposition to NYSED, I would have an entirely different attitude about this. But at the end of the day Agudah fighting for the right for Jews to remain ignorant if they so choose.
One thing that really gets to me is how they characterize this is the only Torah True approach. As does their triumphalist attitude about the record breaking over 250,000 signatures from people from all walks of life expressing disapproval of NYSED’s new guidelines. Implying that those that signed on are from all segments of Orthodoxy. Well I was not one of them. I suspect that there might be more than few Orthodox Jews that feel the way I do. Some of them might even be parents in those schools
