Q&A: Torah Study or State Religious School
Torah Study or State Religious School
Question
What is the Rabbi’s view about sending elementary-school children to a “Talmud Torah” school? We liked the institution, but they teach very little secular studies (math at a reasonable level; English can be made up externally).
Does this create a significant gap and close off options for the child’s future, or are the knowledge and skills acquired in secular studies at this age not really as critical as people claim and as the “core curriculum” advocates say, and if one wants to later, can the gap be bridged?
Of course it depends on the child, on the specific class, on a place that will look after the child and not put too much pressure on him, etc. But I’m asking for the Rabbi’s opinion about the weight of this consideration (it seems to me that on the one hand the Rabbi is an open person who appreciates wisdom, and on the other hand his educational background is in a more closed educational framework).
Answer
I don’t have a general answer. For most children this will be a deficiency later on. Also for technical reasons, since at an older age it is harder to devote time to making up what was missed. On the other hand, most of the time in school is wasted. In my opinion, the main problem with Haredi education is not that it doesn’t provide a core curriculum, but that it gives a warped education.
Discussion on Answer
It’s hard for me to say, because there is no general answer.
As for your formulation, I think there is no necessity to identify the character of the educational track with the overall value system. Even if Torah is supposed to be primary and occupy the center of life (and that is not true for most people), that does not mean the education also has to look that way. Maybe in education one should provide tools in a different proportion, because that is the stage of life when that is done. Afterward, devote most of your life to Torah if you want. Moreover, since for most people it is not true that Torah should occupy most of their lives, the education given to everyone (because we still don’t know who is suited to what) should not look that way.
That is only regarding the consideration you raised. I actually tend to think there is logic in focusing on Torah at those ages, because most of the rest is wasted time. But I would give up the Haredi package deal (which includes, beyond the focus on Torah, approaches and outlooks and the rejection of everything else, and also an all-consuming sacredness without English, etc.).
Rabbi Michi,
Something isn’t clear to me. In your opinion, should a person who is not drawn to Torah study but is drawn to academic study force himself to study Torah at the expense of academic study, or should he follow the inclination of his heart and invest in secular studies? I hear important rabbis say that Torah study is the most important value-laden activity, and from that it would seem to follow that one should devote one’s life to it and not to other subjects.
As a rule of thumb, I’m in favor of a person focusing on what his heart inclines him toward, certainly when it is something of value. Even if Torah study is the most important thing, that does not mean every person must focus specifically on it. Just as not everyone has to be a doctor. It’s permissible to be a store clerk or a researcher of Chinese culture. And just as not the entire budget has to go to hospitals. It is permissible to allocate budget to culture and sports. Alongside one’s main occupation, it is fitting that everyone study as much as possible, but the main part of a person’s life should be devoted to what his heart inclines toward, and not necessarily to the most important thing. In the capitalist view (to which I am inclined), if people do this the world will look its best (the invisible hand).
From another angle: my claim is that the task of improving the world is incumbent on society, not on the individual person. The improvement of the world as a whole will happen best if each person does what is right for him and suits him (again, capitalism).
And in general, a person who forces himself to focus on study when he wants and is inclined toward something else usually will not study properly, and then he loses out on both sides. He neither excels in study nor engages in what he wants and contributes to the world in the field toward which he is inclined and gifted. A person can force himself to do important things part-time, but not for his whole life and not as the main focus of his life. That is not right on the practical plane, and perhaps not on the principled plane either.
As a continuation of Yitzhak’s question:
Do you think there is an advantage to one of the two types of education, the state religious school or the Haredi one?
I’ll explain my dilemma:
It is commonly said (at least in the educational world I grew up in) that life should be devoted as much as possible to Torah study, and one’s profession should occupy a less important place in life. According to that, it would seem appropriate to send children to study in a Talmud Torah and not in a state religious school, because in the state religious school the studies are geared toward a profession, whereas in the Talmud Torah they are geared toward involvement with Torah.
What do you think about this?