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| Satmar Yeshiva (Wikipedia) |
We write on behalf of the yeshiva community of this State and its diverse educational institutions.
As religious Jews, we seek above all else to raise our families in the traditions of our faith. We all stand as one! Our people have sacrificed so much over the millennia to preserve the institution of the yeshiva – the foundation of our faith.
We cannot relinquish control of the yeshivas that are the essence of our people. We cannot surrender control of our curricula. We cannot abandon to others the selection of our teaching staff.
Our religious requirements have not been adequately addressed. Our rabbinic leadership has not been properly heard. Our 300,000 pleas of our communities have not been given the attention they deserve.
Our people simply cannot abandon our religious values. With the help of G-d we will not permit it to happen.
I’m not challenging their views. I’m just perplexed by them. What they seem to be seeking is not anything that is being taken away from us. Yes, we do seek to educate our families in the traditions of our faith. And we have sacrificed a lot over the millennia in pursuit of that.
But following NYSED’s (New York State Education Department) new regulations about teaching core secular subjects does not deny us that goal. If it did the majority of Orthodox day schools and high schools that follow – and have always followed those guidelines would be in violation of that goal, too. Obviously they do not. The fact is that many Moetzes members of the ;past and even the present have studied those subjects in their respective religious schools.
The idea that by following these new guidelines we ‘surrender control of our curricula’ is simply not true. All it does is assure that the requirements that have always been required will be adhered to. Which will now include oversight that was heretofore ignored.
What exactly do they mean when they say ‘Our religious requirements have not been adequately addressed. Our rabbinic leadership has not been properly heard.’ What is it exactly that they feel is being denied us?
To me the answer to that seems clear. Their comments apply only to a specific segment of Orthodoxy. It is they who believe they will be surrendering control of their curricula. It is that segment Agudah is trying to defend. Which they are certainly entitled to do. (Even though I disagree with them.)
But to say or imply that these rules interfere in a general way with our ability to transmit our values and tradition to our families is misleading at best. Had they limited that comment to Satmar and like minded Chasidic communities, they would have had a point. But their comments clearly implied that by being force to teach core secular subjects - we are all surrendering control. Are we? I don’t think so.
We are NOT surrendering control. And we certainly are not abandoning our religious values. I would even argue that we are enhancing them by assuring that all of our youth be educated in those subjects. Because it will surely enhance their lives materially and their reputations as a wise and knowledgeable people. Isn’t fighting to preserve the current Satmar et al paradigm of ignorance itself a failing in our own responsibility in that area?
To be absolutely clear about this, had the original proposal by NYSED been caredi out, I would have joined the Moetzes in strongly objecting to it.. That’s because of the time requirement allocated to teah each subejct would have left an extrodiaanrily inadequate amount of timem to teach religious studies. but the new guidleins don’t do that. From the New York Times:
The New York State Board of Regents on Tuesday voted for the first time to require private schools to prove they are teaching English, math and other basic subjects or risk losing government funding...
Unlike previous versions of the rules, the regulations passed Tuesday do not impose minimum requirements for amounts of instruction time in secular subjects. And they lay out no clear timeline for schools not providing basic education for coming into compliance with the education requirements.
Instead, they allow the schools to operate with no penalty so long as education officials believe the school is making a good-faith effort to improve. (Emphasis added)
This is exactly what is needed. I do not see how requiring subjects taught by the vast majority of Orthodox day schools and high schools takes away control over what we teach. It makes absolutely no sense to me.
That the Agudah Moetzes and Torah U’Mesorah say that is perplexing in the extreme. It only applies to the few Chasidic schools that refuse to do what the vast majority of other Orthodox schools do. If they are to be defended, it has to be done in ways that do not imply that their values are the values of all of Orthodoxy.