Ruchie Freier and Chasidic Education

New York Acting Supreme Court Justice Ruchie Freier (Jew in the City)

How antisemitic - or even anti Chasidic is the State of New York? Not very.  Probably not at all. But you wouldn’t know that with all the ink that has been spilled blasting NYSED (New York State Education Department) for insisting that non public schools offer a curriculum substantially equivalent to public schools. And penalizing schools that don't. 

Some of the largest Chasidic groups in New York (like Satmar) do not offer any formal secular  education to their  students. Orthodox advocacy groups like the Agudah are near apoplectic over this -. seeing it as little more than anti Chasidic bias.  That NYSED’s  motivation might be assure all of New York’s youth gets an education in the basics that would allow them to function as responsible and productive citizens – does not seem to occur to their defenders. Instead they say that these Chasidim are responsible and productive without it and don’t need it. That NYSED doesn't acknowledge what is so obvious to them can only be because of an inherent bias against Chasidm by New York State officials. keeps insisting that these schools teach a core curriculum is because of anti Chasidc bias.

Are they right? I don't think so. What just happened to Rachel (Ruchie) Freier tends to show the opposite - as reported on CBS:

It's an inspirational story about a mother, grandmother, and founder of a nonprofit. Now, the Brooklyn woman just added New York State Supreme Court judge to her resume.

Acting Judge Rachel Freier is believed to be the first Hasidic woman to hold the role, and it's not the first time she has broken barriers.

Freier, who friends call "Ruchie," showed CBS2 the judge's robe she wears with honor. It sits in the same office as her Jewish prayer book.

"I try to pray three times a day," Freier said.

Freier says it's prayer, support from her family and community, including dozens of rabbis, and hard work that first earned her the honor of being elected as a Civil Court judge in 2016. Now, she has been chosen by her supervisors to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Religious leaders believe she is the first Hasidic woman to hold the role.

 So much for anti Chasidc bias.

Obviously, Mrs. Freier was the beneficiary of a secular education. (As are - I believe - most Chasidi girls. It is the boys that are short changed.) What should be taken form this is that there is no bias against Chasidim. Just bias against ignorance and illiteracy.  

With all the pride Mrs. Freier legitimately takes in all her many achievements, I doubt that she would be seen as any kind of role model by the leaders of Satmar type Chasidus. My guess is that at best they would ignore her and at worst they would be critical of her immersion into the outside world instead of sticking to her legitimate roles as full time wife and mother. Certainly nothing to celebrate! I wonder whether any of the Chasidic publications even mentioned Mrs. Freier or her story.

I’ve said this many times. Ruchie Freier is a role model for us all, Chasid or not. She chose not to simply carry out her duties as a wife and mother. Which I am sure she has done with flying colors. She chose to achieve greatness both at home and in her career. And make a Kiddush Hashem in the process. Proving that when it comes to finding the best person for the job as a New York state Supreme Court Justice - she was not only NOT passed over because of her beliefs or how strictly she observes her religious obligations. She was chosen for the job based on merit. She earned that appointment. That Jewish ethics that she says help guide her decisions may have even been seen as a plus.

It’s just too bad Mrs. Freier's successes will change anything. The people screaming the loudest advocating for the right of Chasidim to remain ignorant of basic subjects like the English language have themselves had that education and beyond. An education that has enabled them to advocate for something they would never want for their own children to educated. Is there anyone that does not see the irony in that?!

In essence they are arguing that as a matter of the religious freedom the constitution guarantees -  Chasidim have the right to keep their children ignorant of basic subjects like the English language. And that Chasidim are at least as productive s people educated in public schools and therefore do not need that kind of education.

Maybe that’s true. But as I have always maintained, having the right to remain ignorant is not a right that should be defended. Besides, is a government that tries to expand opportunities by virtue of mandating a better education really something to fight against?