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| Image for illustration purposes (Jerusalem Post) |
To
review the basic elements of this case, after discovering that certain Chasidic
schools refused to offer their students any formal education in Limudei Chol (secular studies),
NYSED reinforced its ‘substantially equivalent to public school’ requirements to
give it some teeth. They implemented substantial penalties – including shutting down schools that failed to comply.
The court ruled that the NYSED indeed has the right to mandate educational standards - but that the obligation to do so devolves on the parents, not the schools. So that the Chasidic schools that refused to comply could not be penalized or closed. They will have the right to continue to function with an exclusively religious curriculum devoid of any Limudei Chol. It is the parents that could be penalized
I wish I could say that it is win for education since the bottom line is that these children would - one way or another - be getting a decent Limudei Chol education outside of the school. (They could be home schooled for example.)
The problem with this ruling is that it is a practical impossibility to enforce. The idea of NYSED having enough staff to investigate every single parent that sends their child to one of those Chasidic schools is unrealistic in the extreme. It is one thing to investigate a school for not ‘toeing the line’ it is another to investigate every single parent that sends their children to schools like that.
This ruling is a prescription for continued illiteracy among a large and growing segment of Orthodox Jewry.
I don’t know how many times I have said this. But it bears repeating in this context. The idea that this is only about assuring that this community has a viable financial future by getting an education that will enable better paying jobs is only one part of the problem. True - this community does fairly well in that department. That Chasidim are woefully ignorant of the kind of knowledge most of the rest of us take for granted does not have as great an impact on their ability to earn a living as one might think.
But
even though that is the case, there is not a doubt in my mind that the
opportunities for better incomes overall would be enhanced by a formal education in
Limudei Chol. That is simple common sense. But even without that (as I have also said many times) the idea that
a large and growing segment of observant Jews who are
the most visibly Jewish - and tout themselves as the most religious Jews among us
can barely put two sentences together on paper without gross spelling and grammatical errors is not a Kiddush HaShem.
True the Chasidic community is often admired for their sense of kindness to others (Chesed), their commitment to family; to their religious values; and their joyous lifestyles. But admiring them for that does not take away being viewed as ignorant as well. That is what their illiteracy - when exposed - does.
Why they do not consider this important is a question only they, or more precisely – their leadership can answer. But these are facts that I do not think anyone can dispute. Nor can anyone dispute the fact that they are being denied the full panoply of job opportunities that a decent secular education would provide. Nor can (nor should) anyone dispute their being viewed as ignorant – even if they are admired for other reasons.
Agudah seems ambivalent about the court’s decision On the one hand they have succeeded in protecting religious schools that refuse to teach any Limudei Chol. But they are disappointed that the ‘substantial requirements’ have been sustained. So as I indicated this is a defacto win based on the simple logistics of enforcement - even if it isn’t a win in theory.
Yes it is a win - a win for continued illiteracy and ignorance among the fastest growing segment of Orthodox Judaism.