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Empowering
Through Studies

GAIL LICHTMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

iaspora Jewish communities are not
the only ones with Jewish educa-
tion problems. Israel's general (sec-
ular) public school system has never
been quite sure just how to approach
teaching Jewish studies. Caught between
the need to address diverse world views
and the traditional halachic approach to
Jewish studies, the general public schools
opted for limited studies in order to es-
cape the moral and educational conflicts
inherent in teaching this subject.
Now, a new program, designed to pre-
sent a pluralistic and not necessarily ha-
lachic approach to traditional Jewish
studies, is bringing the enrichment and
excitement ofJewish texts and sources to
Israeli high school teens in the general
public school system.
The program, developed by Elul, a non-
profit organization founded in 1989, aims
to create a pluralistic educational frame-
work for Jeivish studies to encourage di-
alogue and understanding between
religious and secular Jews. It combines
study of traditional Jewish sources with
modern Hebrew and Israeli texts, through
non-conventional batei midrash (houses
of learning).

D

In 1991, the Ministry appointed the
Shenhar Committee to undertake a three-
year study ofJewish studies in public ed-
ucation. "This was the first time that
Zionist, secular Israel was examining Jew-
ish studies and not leaving it to the Or-
thodox community," says Mr. Bar-Or,
Elul's co-director. "The committee rec-
ommended putting forth a revolutionary
idea — the non-Orthodox take responsi-
bility for Jewish education in their own
sector."
But this was easier said than done.
With no infrastructure and a shortage
of qualified teachers, the Ministry of Ed-
ucation turned to Elul to develop a pro-
gram.
Since the program's inception, 12 batei
midrash have been started in 12 different
high schools in the Jerusalem areas, with
nearly 500 students in grades 9 through
11 participating. Next year, Elul hopes to
be able to expand beyond the Jerusalem
area.
At the same time, Elul has embarked
on a teaching training program designed
to help teachers create interactive Jew-
ish study frameworks for their students.
Now in its second year, more than 40

teachers from 13 schools are taking part.
The teachers meet seven hours a week
to learn how to develop alternative meth-
ods of conveying Jewish texts to Israeli
youth. The program includes unique meet-
ings between religious and secular teach-
ers to enable them to compare methods of
instruction.
In addition, Elul has just started a cur-
riculum development project and has been
asked by the Ministry of Education to de-
velop a nation-wide curriculum for Jew-
ish studies.
The Experimental High School in
Jerusalem is one of the general public
schools which has opted for the belt
midrash program. Some 25 students,
-mainly in the 9th, 10th and 11th grades,
have chosen to spend an extra two hours
a week in school to study Jewish texts.
The learning is non-frontal: A theme is
selected and the group begins with a gen-
eral introduction to that theme. Sheets
are passed out with selected texts relat-
ing to the theme, which include both tra-
ditional Jewish sources, modern Hebrew
literature, psychology, world literature,
general philosophy, etc. The students then
divide up into their hauruta groups to ex-
plore the different texts, then return to
the group to discuss each group's insights
and ideas.
For Elul, the high school batei midrash
program is another successful link in its
outreach efforts, which also includes pro-
grams for new immigrants and Bezalel
Art Academy students, as well as the gen-
eral public. Elul believes that by making
the insights ofJewish learning available

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01 , 1° 11 ;illirea

to the mainstream of Israeli society, it will
be creating a common language for dia-
logue and understanding between all Jews
in Israel. ❑
WZPS

Eruv Campaigns
May Be The Last

London (JTA) — Both supporters and op-
ponents of the long-awaited "eruv" in
northwest London are preparing last-ditch
campaigns in the time before the local
council makes its decision.
Orthodox Jews are not permitted to
carry anything — even a key — outside
their private property on Shabbat. The
artificial boundary known as an eruv
turns otherwise public space into an ex-
tension of private space, making the act
of carrying possible.
The local council is set to rule on a re-
vised application for the eruv in the com-
ing weeks. The new application takes into
account recent road and building work.
Years have passed since the first for-
mal application to create an 11-mile eruv
in this neighborhood.
From the start, the eruv generated
fierce opposition, a good part of it from
non-Orthodox Jewish residents of the 6.5-
square-mile area that the eruv will en-
compass.
Most of the time, eruvim are created
without great fuss and difficulty. They ex-
ist in more than 130 cities worldwide and
in every major town in Israel.

For your Bat Mitzvah ...

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