Professor Levine contrasts his grandsons with recent graduates of prominent American high schools, concluding that the fact that, "The time that was devoted to Limudei Kodesh during their days in this yeshiva far outweighed the time spent on secular studies," was the critical factor the determined whether students would receive a satisfactory religious education.
But he neglected to account for another fact that he mentioned: "The parents who send their children to this yeshiva are primarily concerned with Limudei Kodesh achievement. They are not so concerned with secular education, but almost all do feel that it is of value when it comes to being able to earn a living." What would be the description of the parents of the students he described at the opening of his email? Would they be described as parents who care deeply about their children's ability to independently read Jewish texts? Or, did they place greater emphasis on secular scholastic achievements, so that, "Their SAT scores are well above average" and "Several have scholarships to college or university."?
To my mind, there lies the difference. Clearly, the more time one spends studying a subject, the greater the academic achievement. But I flatly reject Prof. Levine's suggestion that excellence in Judaics and excellence in secular studies are mutually exclusive, for a number of reasons:
1. The high school that I attended emphasized both, and many of its graduates are stellar examples of individuals (both men and women) who combine deep Torah knowledge with great secular achievements
2. Many students are achieving just that combination as we speak. YU, Ner Yisrael, Bar Ilan, and schools across Israel including Orot are full of such students, armed with a strong set of basic skills both in secular and religious area. Of course there are too many kids coming out of yeshiva day school who can't read a perek of chumash with rashi. But there are a good number who can, and spend their years in Israel expanding on that education and growing at an amazing rate. Have we taken a good look at those kids and asked, "What did we do right? How come those children really benefited from the Jewish Education System?"
The answer, I believe, more often than not, leads right back to the parents. Given proper motivation and parental encouragement, many if not most day schools have the tools, the staff and the knowledge to create wonderful B'nei Torah. But they cannot motivate these students on their own.
Is there room for improvement? Of course there is - there always is. But it's time we stop blaming schools - or the entire system of Jewish/secular education for problems it did not create and wasn't designed to solve.
Reuven Spolter
Orot Israel College
Elkana, Israel
