El

At right, group of
Darchei Torah students:
"When we speak about
their education, we're
not just talking about
books; we're talking
about the kind of
people they will be."
Below: Principal Sara
Menucha Kahn.

her wit's end, she'll only say, 'I want to tell
you something that's really bothering me,
but I'm not going to mention any names.' "
Opponents of the school haven't been as
subtle. Some members of the Jewish com-
munity have been critical of Mrs. Kahn's
decision to start another day school when
the other two local Orthodox yeshivas --
Beth Yehudah and Akiva — consistently
face financial difficulties. The Lubavitch
also have a day school in Farmington Hills.
Detroit, the critics say, cannot afford an-
other Orthodox yeshiva.
Yet they said the same thing when in
1964 parents broke from Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah to form Yeshivat Akiva.
Others oppose the school for reasons of al
tifrosh min ha-tzibur, Rabbi Hillel's direc-
tive in Pirke Avot not to separate oneself
from the community. By setting standards
higher than Yeshiva Beth Yehudah
—specifically the rule against television
viewing — Darchei Torah is splitting the
community ideologically, they say.
Using the Talmud, Maimonides addressed
the issue of businesses and schools in close
proximity. Established business owners
who find serious competition from new
businesses often have recourse to challenge
the new establishment M a beit din, Jewish
court of law, he said.
But schools have no such option. The
Talmud states that children are entitled to
the best possible education, Maimonides
said. Thus, even when a new yeshiva locates
directly next to an established one, the first

28

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1991

school's administrators have no just cause
for complaint.
Another criticism leveled at Darchei
Torah is that it is drawing students away
from Beth Yehudah and Bais Yaacov. Some
say this has hurt Beth Yehudah, but several
yeshiva parents disagree.
"Darchei Torah presents a real challenge
to Beth Yehudah, and that is good," said
one parent with students at Beth Yehuda.
"It meant classes improved for my chil-
dren."
Darchei Torah parents are sensitive to
remarks about the school's place in the
community. But they say that plenty of
students exist to fill all local Orthodox day
schools, and that having choices is a
positive force in the community.
"As a social worker, one of the most im-
portant things I tell clients is that they have
options," said Sue Faitler. As to whether
Detroit can afford another day school, "You
can find the dollars to support what you
want," she said.
Mrs. Kahn does not discuss critics' com-
ments about Darchei Torah, saying simply
that she is the kind of person raised to do
what she thinks is right, "And starting
Darchei Torah was the right thing to do."
A native of New York, Mrs. Kahn was the
daughter of parents who believed strongly
in "doing for all kinds of Jewish causes."
Because there was no day school in Mon-
ticello, N.Y., where they were raising their
family, Mrs. Kahn's parents started their
own.

A graduate of Yavneh Seminary, a teach-
ing academy in Cleveland, Ohio, Mrs. Kahn
holds a master's degree in special education.
She came to Detroit with her husband, a
native of St. Paul, Minn. Her first job here
was teaching learning disabled students at
UHS. Earlier, she held positions in New York,
teaching both first grade and special
education.
In 1984, Mrs. Kahn opened Darchei
Torah, with herself as principal and her
husband, David, as director of the boys'
department. She designed the school accor-
ding to what she would like for her own
children. "That's how I plan my curriculum
day by day," she said.
Today, Mrs. Kahn teaches second-grade
boys and first-grade girls. She also coor-
dinates the school's English program.
The classrooms at Darchei Torah are fill-
ed with bright signs made of construction
paper. The posters advise students against
loshon hora and show young men and wo-
men praying and studying Torah. In one
room where girls meet, student-made
penguins are decorated with poems.
In Darchei Torah's Jewish education pro-
gram, children give tzedakah daily; many of
the tzedakah boxes are handmade by the
students and decorated with bright colors
and glitter.
The children's relationship with their in-
structors is close, Mrs. Kahn said.
"Our teachers are very dedicated and
devoted," she said. "They spend hours out-
side the class talking to parents and work-