Cultures and Contexts of Jewish Education

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiv

   PDF

2. Pre-Modern Jewish Education

   • Barry Chazan, Robert Chazan, Benjamin M. Jacobs

   Pages 1-30

3. The Crisis of Modernity

   • Barry Chazan, Robert Chazan, Benjamin M. Jacobs

   Pages 31-58

4. America: Contexts and Cultures

   • Barry Chazan, Robert Chazan, Benjamin M. Jacobs

   Pages 59-82

5. The Culture of American Jewish Schooling

   • Barry Chazan, Robert Chazan, Benjamin M. Jacobs

   Pages 83-115

6. The Counterculture of American Jewish Education

   • Barry Chazan, Robert Chazan, Benjamin M. Jacobs

   Pages 117-140

7. Back Matter

   Pages 141-159

   PDF

This book examines the history of Jewish education from the Biblical period to the present. It traces how Jews have formally and informally transmitted their culture and worldview over the years, with particular attention to the shift from premodernity to modernity and to the unique opportunities and challenges of contemporary American Jewish education. Its authors combine historical background and insight with educational expertise to provide a robust portrait of the cultures and contexts of Jewish education and address possibilities for the future.  


        

• Jewish history
• Biblical period to present
• pedagogy
• Hebrew bible
• theology

“I recommend this work as an important and landmark study on the social and political history of Jewish education, particularly in an American context. … it is successful not only in conveying the cultures and contexts of a particularly Jewish education but also, by implication, many of the shared cultures and contexts of religious education in the American context, influenced as it is by the twin realities of religious freedom and the separation of Church and State.” (Amy Lindeman Allen, Religious Education, Vol. 114 (5), 2019)

“The slim Cultures and Contexts of Jewish Education offers the reader an excellent concise review of Jewish history from the Bible to the present. … All interested in developing richer language and more robust analytic tools for considering the challenges of contemporary Jewish education will benefit from reading this slim book.” (Menachem Hecht, Bookjed Digest 164, listserv.biu.ac.il, Vol. 164, 2017)  

“Tough-minded and unflinchingly realistic--yet visionary, strategic, and hopeful--this engaging volume brings together the experience and ideas of the authors in a broad account of the past, present, and future of Jewish education.” (Lee S. Shulman, President Emeritus of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Charles E. Ducommun Professor Emeritus of Education, Stanford University, USA)

“Armed with a vast knowledge of Jewish history and the social sciences, the authors illuminate both present-day contours and future directions of the Jewish school. This is a book to be read by Jewish educators, professionals, and laypeople alike, and will wisely guide and illuminate the educational tasks of the Jewish community for the decade to come.” (David Ellenson, Director, Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, Brandeis University, USA)

“This original book combines a useful and economical tour of Jewish history with an important history of Jewish education in the United States. A critical contribution.” (Riv-Ellen Prell, Professor Emerita of American Studies, University of Minnesota, USA )

• Hebrew University of Jerusalem Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, Chicago, USA

  Barry Chazan

• New York University, New York, USA

  Robert Chazan

• The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

  Benjamin M. Jacobs

Barry Chazan is Professor Emeritus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, and Professor of Education at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Learning and Leadership, USA.

Robert Chazan is S.H. and Helen R. Scheuer Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies and in the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University, USA.



Benjamin M. Jacobs is Visiting Associate Professor in the Experiential Education and Jewish Cultural Arts program at The George Washington University, USA.

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