What Does a Literate Jew Know?
Given the fact that I was schooled in Jewish institutions through high school, attended Jewish camps, youth groups, experiential learning programs, etc….and then went straight into the field of Jewish education upon graduating college, I would happily admit this Jewish ed is something that is on my mind on a fairly regular basis.
Jewschool being a venue for alternative views and culture, I find that we do not discuss alternatives within Jewish education all that often. I know as a fact that our contributors represent a remarkably broad and diverse set of experiences and educational backgrounds, and our commentors as well, even if we are always arguing with one another (hopefully for a higher cause).
That being said, I am hoping to see a conversation happen here in some comments.
Where am I going with this?
If you were to take an education course at JTS, odds are that you would end up reading the work of one Eric Hirsch at some point. A mainstream educational thinker, Hirsch is well known for his writing on cultural literacy in his aptly titled work “Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs To Know”. Later on, a 65 page list was written, encompassing what Hirsch believed all ‘literate’ Americans should know.
While certainly well-intentioned, you could say that it’s just a little bit elitist, but that’s another story.
The question that I submit to you, Jewschool readers, is this……well, look up, it’s in the title of the post, I think you can figure it out for yourself. But when we are thinking about Jewish education, can we actually come up with a list of what all Jews should know and understand?
What are the most important things? Is is knowledge of sacred texts? Understanding of history and culture?
Do they need to speak Hebrew and/or Yiddish? What are the most important skills, values and customs? How to daven? How to lead davening? How to read Torah? How to lift a Torah?
Do we all agree on Shabbat? Tikkun Olam? How about Bundism? Is it important that we teach about Bundism?
The questions I just asked above are off the top of my head, but think about how many more could be asked.
Three thousand years of history, experience, thinking and writing has provided us with a near infinite set of options when considering what we want to pass on. Since each of us seemingly has a different orientation towards what Judaism is or should be, we will all have different ideas about “What a Literate Jew Knows”.
For example, here’s a piece of Judaic Trivial Pursuit that I randomly happen to know: anybody ever heard of Shuadit?.
But I digress.
I would love to hear from all of you, since I think this is a critical question, one for which the answers may need to continuously change. Perhaps we can use this thread to create a curriculum that reflects a truly diverse cross section of the Jewish community.
Let’s hear it!
Shabbos.
Whether people like it or not, American Judaism is still a synagogue-centric religion. So at a minimum a Jew should be able to follow a Shabbat/Yom Tov service.
Beyond that, basic knowledge of the Biblical narrative and Jewish History(ancient to modern) would give a common language to all Jews.
Then I would suggest a better knowledge of Hebrew. After that I would begin to go more in depth into topics that interest the individual
Coming from a liberal perspective, in my mind the most basic Jewish Literacy List should have two goals:
1) Enabling the literate Jew to choose and live his/her own level of observance.
2) Enabling the literate Jew to converse with and respect those who are more literate or traditionally observant.
Some examples of things that I think should be on the list are:
Basic rules of kashrut A literate Jew–even one who doesn’t choose to keep kosher–should at least know that milk and meat are traditionally kept separate, that fish is parve, that certain animals are kosher and others aren’t, that the way it is killed matters, etc. You don’t need to know all the intracacies of modern OU-style kashrut, but you need to know a bit about what it is–and why others observe it.
Basic rules of Shabbat Same thing goes for Shabbat.
Basic structure of tefilah One of my personal joys in being Jewish is the ability to walk into almost any synagogue in the world and at least roughly follow the tefilot. In my opinion, one of the travesties of liberal Judaism is that in making services fresher and more creative (endeavors I support), the liberal movements have accidentally produced a generation of Jews who are unaware of the basic structure that is common to pretty much all tefilot. Of course I’d also ask that “traditional” Jews learn that not everybody everywhere has always prayed the way they do today.
The narrative of Genesis and Exodus (if not the whole Torah) Judaism all comes back to the Torah. Even if we don’t manage to master every word, we should all know the basic stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the Exodus, Sinai, etc.
Of course these things are just examples of the most basic things. For another level of detail, the table of contents of existing books can be an aid (and Amazon makes it easy to view them). See books like Judaism for Dummies, Idiot’s Guide to Judaism, or (lo and behold, such a book exists) Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History.
All jews should know that Tikun Olam is not synonoymous with left wing social policy
What did he have on his list and how detailed was it?
Hirsch’s list was a secular one, and over 65 pages long. It can be found in most libraries.
Forget Hirsch, what goes on our list?
Its such an interesting question, one that I think about all the time as a faculty memeber at a Jewish high school. I’ll get back to you after more pondering.
Great topic. As a remedial Jew myself, I’m currently trying to figure this out too. A few sources I have found helpful:
-Torah, Plaut commentary (I was raised Reform, your mileage may vary)
-Harold Kushner “To Life” – nice intro to basic practices like Shabbat and holidays
-Joseph Telushkin, “The Book of Jewish Values” – A year-long guide on ethics and values, using Talmud and other midrash
-Anita Diamant, “How to Be a Jewish Parent” – because you can’t explain it to your kids if you don’t know it yourself
OK, so I guess this means I think one should at least be familiar with the Torah, with Shabbat practices and holidays, and Jewish ethics. Pretty basic stuff, but I’ve been surprised how much was either new to me or that I’d forgotten this many years after my Confirmation. I know I have a long way to go.
Anyone familiar with the Me’ah class? Would its curriculum be appropriate to this list?
Ellis Rivkin, The Shaping of Jewish History Required Reading. No way to understand the text outside of historical context. He must be read, as well as Yeheskel Kaufman. Between the two of them, your minds will be blown away. Rivkin in particular is Brilliant. The starting point.
Kayla,
If I may challenge you, what about people who identify strongly as secular and cultural Jews?
Put yourself in those shoes, would you still place the same importance on these books?
Noble question indeed, though I doubt you will get an answer that is applicable for all Jews (however diverse this group here is, it is still relatively cohesive in some of its characters (e.g. English & computer literate; probably working hard but not mired in a daily struggle for survival etc.)
I am too far removed from the daily practice to quote books and paragraphs, concepts and mitzvas, but I dare say that if one really wants to hold on to what Judaism is about, than an element of humane ethics, and compassion, and creativity, should be included. You probably know the following story:
When a non-Jew approached Rabbi Hillel, among the leading figures of the Talmud, and asked him to define the essence of Judaism while standing on one foot, he answered: “What is hateful unto you, don’t do unto your neighbor. All the rest is commentary, now, Zil & Gmor (go and study.)â€
Notice that the neighbor does not have to be Jewish either… There are many people who might be incredibly learned and scholarly in the ins and outs of this that and the other in the Jewish ‘cupboard’, and still behave like hoodlums when it comes to non-Jewish human beings (or even non-religious Jews).
Just a thought while we go on compiling lists… And in the words of one (non-Jewish) proverb: One may cast into the river a ton of thoughts and cling to an ounce of practice.
if there’s anything newi could add to this conversation, I’d say its including the creative, and often secular, contributions of non-European Jewry to world civilization as a whole. Ammiel Alcalay has a lot of wriitng on this. – some writers for fodder- yitzhaq shami, samir naqqash, shmuel trigano, albert cohen, albert memmi…
I think the challenge is to get adults to have an adult relationship to judaism, not a stunted relationship. Meaning–don’t be 30 years old with a 13 year old’s relationship to G-d.
Books I found priceless:
Telushkin’s Jewish Literacy and Jewish Wisdom.
Anita Daimant’s Choosing a Jewish Life and Living a Jewish Life.
The Everyday Handbook for Jewish Living.
Alef isn’t Tough (gotta learn some Hebrew.)
Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism
How to get more out of being Jewish, even if you…
The Sabbath
I bring this list to the table as a convert. These were the texts I used, along with 30-40 other books over the course of the year.
Mostly, I think people need to start doing Jewish. Do that you might learn. It isn’t learn that you might do. Just get out there and Do Jewish, the literacy will come with it, if led properly.
Why are all the suggestions for 20th/21st century works. No offense to Rabbi Telushkin etc…, but what about going “old school”? How’s the Prophets, Tractate Berachot (first tractate of the Babylonian Talmud), Maimonidies’ Guide for the Perplexed, Moses Mendelsohn’s Jerusalem, Gershom Scholem’s Sabbatai Sevi, Rabbi Kook’s Orot (there’s an english translation).
My gut tells me if even 15% of Jews in the world today actually read these 6 volumes, things would look a lot different. Connecting to Mobius’s post on the rise of indivudalism, im sure a certain amount of Jewish literacy would be the foundation of legitamcy for the post-denomination “movement”.
First a literate Jew must be able to read the Tanakh and Talmud. in the Original. All the rest, I believe, comes from this: Yiddish for the Bund, Ladino for the Spaniards – but the basic texts are Hebrew and Babylonian Aramaic. Not knowing Hebrew, being a yehudi dover Anglit, is almost as bad as being a goy dover Ivrit.
without a knowledge of the real historical timetable, of when everything was compiled and by whom, you have a pile of stuff that lies.
so fine.
so ignore history.
think blind obedience and a vengeful punishing god who could be Hitler’s partner. That;s where the idea of Holocaust as punishment comes from and that is repulsive, repugnant and a lie all by itself, based by “talmedei chachamim” in the post war period.
ugh.
that is not God. Study history first, read Rivkin and then read the Tanach. Then, suddenly it all makes sense.
hey, so he wrote in the mid-20th century, at least he wasn’t full of hatred for the “other”
Never knew that reading Historical timetables counted as “Jewish” literacy. Everybody should know history.
AG
While I think avi is on to something, I would be slightly less machmir (strict) and suggest topical knowledge in addition to specific texts. A couple of questions:
1) Concerning hirsch’s list, is it what should every American Jew know or just Jew? I think
I prefer the idea of every American Jew. I am writing from an ashkenazi centered position providing ashkenazi centered ideas. In that regard, I am expanding on what Amit was saying (i think) that a level of specializion might be required.
2) Is this a literacy they achieve on their own or is there teaching involved? I ask because many classical texts need to be taught, while many books quoted so far are english easy-readers. I don’t want to put a value on one versus the other, I think much of literacy is topical knowledge rather than direct experience with a specific text.
In creating this list, What do Jews need to be able to talk about? (my thoughts will range from specific texts to general topics that need to be tightened)
Knowledge of the five books of Torah is essential (I would argue it is essential to participate in modern discourse, I am always surprised at how well secular christian writers evoke the Torah/ Old Testament in literature or philosophy and wonder how many readers simply miss it).
Judaism was a sacrificial religion and Jerusalem (after Josiah) was the center of the cult.
This has been lost in liberal Judaism and its connection to the holiday cycle and prayer is central to the experience. And the destruction of he temple!
The first perek of mishna brachot
It gives a good understanding of how prayer became fixed but also how the Rabbis work and how rabbinic text works. That being said, I love Talmud and think more people should learn it.
As a driven leaf – Milton Steinberg (i think is his last name)
elaborates on the rabbinic experience through fun fiction
something about the Medieval experience
Brother’s Ashkenazi – I.J. Singer
Great long story about the transformation of European Jewery from shtetle folk through the haskallah. It covers everything from socialism -> zionism -> Anti-semitism.
What about the shoah, Israel?
There is so much, aaghh! I think for me, texts that draw together a bunch of ideas, that point to the Jewish condition during a certain time period are great. I dont need to know everything about the French Revolution because Tale of Two Cities is enough. I also obviously respond to literature.
The other thing I want to put out there, maybe on the advanced track, is Paul Ricouer on Biblical Hermenuetics.
For everyone reading this blog who has read modern Jewish philosophy, read Ricouer. He is seminal. He clearly influences Levinas, Greenberg, Neil Gillman, and others. Moreover, he seems to catch what 21st century Jews want (aside from the fringe) which is intellectual curriosity and Religious Integrity. Oh, and he is a French Protestant.
Cant wait to hear more discussion!
don’t be 30 years old with a 13 year old’s relationship to G-d.
What’s that supposed to mean?
While I think avi is on to something, I would be slightly less machmir (strict) and suggest topical knowledge in addition to specific texts. A couple of questions:
1) Concerning hirsch’s list, is it what should every American Jew know or just Jew? I think
I prefer the idea of every American Jew. I am writing from an ashkenazi centered position providing ashkenazi centered ideas. In that regard, I am expanding on what Amit was saying (i think) that a level of specializion might be required.
2) Is this a literacy they achieve on their own or is there teaching involved? I ask because many classical texts need to be taught, while many books quoted so far are english easy-readers. I don’t want to put a value on one versus the other, I think much of literacy is topical knowledge rather than direct experience with a specific text.
In creating this list, What do Jews need to be able to talk about? (my thoughts will range from specific texts to general topics that need to be tightened)
Knowledge of the five books of Torah is essential (I would argue it is essential to participate in modern discourse, I am always surprised at how well secular christian writers evoke the Torah/ Old Testament in literature or philosophy and wonder how many readers simply miss it).
Judaism was a sacrificial religion and Jerusalem (after Josiah) was the center of the cult.
This has been lost in liberal Judaism and its connection to the holiday cycle and prayer is central to the experience. And the destruction of he temple!
The first perek of mishna brachot
It gives a good understanding of how prayer became fixed but also how the Rabbis work and how rabbinic text works. That being said, I love Talmud and think more people should learn it.
As a driven leaf – Milton Steinberg (i think is his last name)
elaborates on the rabbinic experience through fun fiction
something about the Medieval experience
Brother’s Ashkenazi – I.J. Singer
Great long story about the transformation of European Jewery from shtetle folk through the haskallah. It covers everything from socialism -> zionism -> Anti-semitism.
What about the shoah, Israel?
There is so much, aaghh! I think for me, texts that draw together a bunch of ideas, that point to the Jewish condition during a certain time period are great. I dont need to know everything about the French Revolution because Tale of Two Cities is enough. I also obviously respond to literature.
The other thing I want to put out there, maybe on the advanced track, is Paul Ricouer on Biblical Hermenuetics.
For everyone reading this blog who has read modern Jewish philosophy, read Ricouer. He is seminal. He clearly influences Levinas, Greenberg, Neil Gillman, and others. Moreover, he seems to catch what 21st century Jews want (aside from the fringe) which is intellectual curriosity and Religious Integrity. Oh, and he is a French Protestant.
“…almost as bad as being a goy dover Ivrit.”
Didn’t know that was necessarily bad.
Years ago, while I was on the faculty of HUC-JIR and teaching education courses, I was intrigued by Hirsch’s theory–even though I disagreed with it. (One can’t learn a list of terms and then become literate. The list emerges from one’s experience with it.) Nevertheless, Ron Isaacs and I endeavored to apply Hirsch’s theory (and even did several workshops with it, using, Billy Joel’s “We Didnt Start the Fire” as an analogy to what we were trying to do but from the perspective of American culture. Our work evolved into a book called ” A Glossary of Jewish Life” published by Jason Aronson and came out well before any other attempts to apply “literacy” to Jewish education. While it is probably not in print, since Jason Aronson is not publishing Judaica any longer, it should be available in many libraries. I would welcome reactions and feednback to our attempt.
Many people stop their Jewish learning at their bar/bat mitzvah. They stop developing their relationship with G-d. They hit a wall. Then they have kids, realize they need to teach their kids about Judaism and G-d and pick up where they left off–at the age of 13.
It isn’t really a judgement, just something I’ve seen in my community. Many adults are stunted religiously or spiritually. In making a literate Jew, one will grow in their relationship to G-d.
Does a literate Jew have to have a relationship to God?
The Jewish spiritual and ethnic enterprise includes diverse areas of knowledge and experience, including:
* Some notion of the relationships of G*d, Torah and Israel
* A familiarity with the contents of Torah and other essential texts
* An awareness of the outline of Jewish history
* A familiarity with the annual holiday cycle
* Some experience with the central life-cycle events
* A familiarity with synagogue spiritual activities
* A connection with Jewish community life
* Some facility with Hebrew
* Some commitment to Jewish continuity
* Some internalization of Jewish thought processes and values as reflected in Jewish texts, history and spiritual activities
Jewish literacy imples some knowledge/experience/facility/internalization of stuff within these categories.
However, I would suggest that if one were to expand each item this bulleted list to a sub-list of “essential stuff,” that list which would tell us more about the knowledge and orientation of the list’s author than about some objective standard of Jewish literacy.
Ellis Rivkin’s The Shaping of Jewish History is hardly a time table. It is far from a timetable. what it is illuminating, almost an epiphany. One of the most important books on Jewish history ever.
I’m with Avi that it’s all about the classics. Contemporary works are good, but there’s no single contemporary work that is absolutely essential. I would include the Tanach, Mishnah, siddur, and a representative sample of the Gemara, all with enough accompanying information to put them in context.
I agree with Leah that contemporary Judaism is best learned experientially by being part of a living Jewish community. This is why Jewish education is bound to fail if the parents are dropping the kids off at Hebrew school or day school but aren’t modeling Jewish life.
Balaam-
I do think a literate Jew would have a relationship to God.
Doesn’t mean that he would be religious, but a literate jew would have explored the God stuff and decided yes or no to the relationship. That in itself, is a relationship–even if it doesn’t result in an… um… active partnership.
I think that reading up and opting out is choosing a relationship as much as opting in.
But I hate the words opting in and opting out, but can’t think of a more fitting description right now.
Well,
It’s a question of whether or not the notion of having a relationship with God preassumes the belief in God’s existence.
For example, secular humanist rabbis would probably scoff at the notion that a literate Jew must have a relationship with God.
It’s not a matter of a list of specific texts or concepts. The literate Jew needs to exist in a relationship of questioning and dialogue (hevruta) with the texts that make up Jewish tradition. For me, this does imply mastery of Hebrew (but one could make a case for all that can be done in translation nowadays). Hillel taught the prospective convert that you can abstract valuable ideals from Jewish tradition, but you cannot stop the process of learning, interpreting, and re-interpreting. This is how I teach my students in a pluralistic community high school.
The god character is a pretty big part of the biblical/jewish narrative, however that voice is being related to, it seems to me silly to describe judaism without some relationship to that figure. The gnostic options are compelling sometimes.
I like themicah’s response above…the list should include things that allow us to understand the mores and practices of our fellow Jews of differing levels of observance. Growing up Reform, I really knew little to nothing about Orthodox Judaism. I can remember being a little confused even at Bar Mitzvahs held at Conservative synagogues.
I wasn’t trying to advocate Telushkin over reading the Talmud certainly – just that Telushkin’s work might be a good entry point before approaching historical texts. As someone who has been more secular/cultural, Jewish ethics and values are what have drawn me back into reaffiliation with a synagogue. One may not have to believe in the divine, but you can read commentary on, say, tzedakah and adapt your actions based on the collective wisdom found in the Tanakh, Talmud, or other writings. It’s the “people of the Book” thing – read the reasoned arguments of our ancestors and learn from their experiences. I’ll leave the arguments as to whether you should also eat like them, dress like them and abide by their contemporary social norms for another day!
Actually, I wish my Sunday school classes had covered the Talmud in greater detail. Even more, I wish that I had learned that Judaism encourages discussion and interpretation. I somehow came away from my Confirmation class thinking it was all so much dogma, and that I had to believe specific notions of G-d and the divine in order to be Jewish.
OK, add to my list:
-how to follow services (tefilah)
-similarities and differences between branches of Judaism
Have to think about this some more…
yashar koach to balaam’s donkey for asking such great questions. and lots of love to ‘themicah’ — that’s pretty close to my philosophy as well. keep the ideas coming!
Ok, two people writing with a liberal perspective have used the phrase so far, so I’m going to jump in:
The concept of “levels of observance” (in which Orthodox Jews are “more observant” and liberal Jews are “less observant”) has no place in liberal Judaism. A literate and confident liberal Judaism has to see itself as authentic and “observant” on its own terms, and must not see another form of Judaism as on a higher “level”.
(Kayla and Themicah, if you meant that Orthodox Jews are at a lower “level of observance” than liberal Jews, then I retract this comment, though I still wouldn’t make such a blanket statement about all Orthodox Jews.)
I eat bagels and read the NYTimes on Sunday mornings. What, you want I should do something more?
2 points and 1 question – i think literacy requires knowing hebrew (ok, amit, and aramaic). it’s something of a contraction in terms to depend on english translations for literacy. and agrees.
also, the comments here again highlight how we can’t agree on who we are, and therefore can’t agree on what is literacy.
does being literate mean being conversant? then it simply might depend on who you’re talking to – knowing shared assumptions and common points of reference might make one conversant.
oops – can someone tell what i did wrong with that URL?
Balaam’s Donkey writes:
If I may challenge you, what about people who identify strongly as secular and cultural Jews?
Put yourself in those shoes, would you still place the same importance on these books?
Bialik and Agnon knew the classic Jewish texts inside and out. If it was good enough for them, it should be good enough for today’s cultural Jews.
Bart: Akira, my good man, when do we break block of ice with our heads?
Akira: First, you must fill you head with wisdom, then you can hit ice with it.
–The Simpsons
Just so that y’all don’t have to reinvent the wheel, here are some important resources. The Lookstein Center at Bar Ilan University has a lot of resources on Jewish Education for all levels: http://www.lookstein.org/home.htm
Joseph Telushkin wrote a book called Jewish Literacy: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688085067
Sh’ma has done a number of issues on various facets of Jewish education:
http://www.shma.com/april_06/archive.phtml
http://www.shma.com/Feb04/index.htm
http://www.shma.com/May01/index.htm
http://www.shma.com/oct00/index.htm
In reference to this question: “Does a literate Jew have to have a relationship to God?”
Oy, God Forbid.
Telushkin got his idea for Jewish Literacy from E.D. Hirsch’s work (which he sat down and read enthusisastically in one sitting). Obviously if all Jews were well versed in Gemara the Jewish world would be a different place. Actually the reason for the invention of the Daf Yomi cycle was that people were worried that if a Jew met another Jew on the street, they would have what to talk about. Anyhow I happend to be working on a seminar paper on this exact topic at the Hebrew University compare non-Orthodox setters of standards for what a Jew should know in the United States versus Israel. It still proves true time and time again that in the Diaspora the emphasis inevitably falls back on being able to follow the siddur (this means decoding the words – not necessarily deeper understanding). In Israel we have our own problems, but if I had to compare I’d say that a great majority of Israeli Jews are Jewishly literate. The challenge, as BZ put it, that the generation of Bialik, Agnon and Achad Ha’am who had the past 3000 years of Jewish creativity and contribution at their fingertips is not the case as much for modern Hebrew writers. But hey, b’sofo shel davar, at least their writing in Hebrew.
BZ, good point. “Levels of observance” isn’t the right term. Sorry if that offended anyone. Just meant that we could all do well to understand similarities and differences amongst Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Humanistic, et al. practices. And actually the Kushner book I mentioned earlier takes a stab at explaining this.
This thread is certainly creating a great reading list for me…thanks to all who’ve commented so far.
Very true. I probably should have said “styles” of observance. It’s amazing how hard it is to shake out all those little biases we have built into the language we use to discuss abstract concepts. I actually proofread my original post a couple times specifically to ferret out this kind of semantic slip, but I guess I missed this one. Thanks for catching it.
themicah wrote: I probably should have said “styles†of observance.
FWIW, I usually refer to “flavors” of Judaism.
Keep in mind that for Hirsch literacy has an instrumental value. That is, he was really asking “What does every American need to know *in order to participate in the culture*. So if you’re asking the Hirsch question about Judaism, behind that is the question of whether there is a single Jewish “civilizaition” (no, I’m not trying to be Kaplanian here) in which all Jews (should) participate. I’m not sure about the answer to that one. My Zeide (z”l) was a Bundist from Warsaw, and though he’d had a yeshiva background I’m not sure he felt any sense that he was somehow sharing the culture of a kabbalist in Tzfat, or that it was valuable that he had once read the same books as that kabbalist. What you need to be “literate” depends on what you want to do with that literacy.
For Hirsch, also, literacy means “pieces of information you gotta know”, not “attitudes towards the culture you gotta have”. I think the question of belief in/relationship to God is more of “what is the life of a Jew” rather than “what knowledge does that life require”
As to Amit’s suggestion…I love gemara; it’s a central part of my identity as a Jew. But I’m not sure what it means to define cultural literacy in such a way that excludes virtually all women and many – if not most – men from the time the Talmud was published on.