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1999
18 Detroit Jewish News
ward shift of the school, nonetheless
praises Gross for his approachability.
"I can work with him because he's
open to new ideas and has the capacity
to say 'We disagree on x, y and z, but
so what, let's work together anyway.'"
Rabbi Steven Weil of Young Israel
of Oak Park praised Gross for
improving the school and described
him as centrist Orthodox.
"A lot of kids in my congregation
are at Akiva," Weil said. "I know what
the attitude was four years ago, two
years ago and now, and it's a different
world, reflected in their attitude
toward life, Judaism and how they
treat each other."
Weil dismissed the idea that Gross
has moved Akiva to the right and said
that Akiva's enrollment has suffered
because, while many Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah graduates settle in Detroit,
Akiva's graduates tend to move to the
East Coast or Israel.
Dr. Philip Goldmeier, a member of
Akiva's executive committee who has
three young children at Akiva, said
Akiva's philosophy has not changed at
all. "We haven't moved to the right or
left, but are headed down the same
path," he said.
Goldmeier added that "My wife
and I are very, happy with Akiva, and
I don't think anyone would describe
the two of us as right wing."
Executive Committee Member
Janis Roszler, who describes herself
"as modern Orthodox as they
come," characterizes Akiva as "very
open philosophically." She notes
that she runs a speakers' program
that brings non-Orthodox Jews into
the school and encourages visitors to
speak freely about their backgrounds
and beliefs.
Roszler said the separate prayer
services for girls, which some critics
see as a symptom of encroaching
ultra-Orthodoxy, is actually a femi-
nist initiative. Because Orthodox
women are not permitted to lead
services or sing in mixed settings,
the gender-separated services enable
girls to participate more fully in reli-
gious life.
"If anything, this is more liberal,"
said Roszler. Its been so wonderful
for my daughters who hadn't been
that interested in davening (praying)
before. Now they run to it."
Acknowledging that a large number
of children left her daughter's class
after eighth grade, Roszler said that
some families never planned to con-
tinue their child's Jewish day school
education through high school.
"Some people are interested only in
grammar school day school education
and their long-term plan was to send
their children to public high schools,"
she said. "If a community high school
evolves, I'm sure that 100 percent of
the Hillel [Day School] students
won't be going on to it."
As for those students who trans-
ferred to out-of-state yeshivot, Roszler
sees them as evidence that Akiva is still
a centrist institution. "The ones who
went to out-of-state schools are the
ones who wanted a more right-wing
environment, and Akiva wasn't right-
wing enough for them," she said.
Looking to the Future
Akiva's difficulties come at a time
when interest in — and funds available
to — Jewish day high school education
is rising throughout North America.
Increasingly, experts are saying that
Jewish high schools play a key role in
producing committed and knowledge-
able Jewish adults.
According to a 1992 study of
8,000 day school graduates conduct-
ed by Yeshiva University's Schiff,
intermarriage is extremely rare
among graduates of Jewish day high
schools. That's particularly so for
those who come from observant
households and follow up high
school — as most Orthodox high
school grads do. — with a year of
study in Israel.
For Schiff, the successful Jewish
high school should offer intensive
religious text study and a religious
environment, but also strong secular
academics.
"It has to provide a measure of
excellence in all general studies and be
as good or better than the best public
and private schools in the neighbor-
hood," he said.
The AJC's Bayme noted that, even
if imperfect or moving to the right,
modern Orthodox Jewish high
schools fulfill a critical role in preserv-
ing a Jewish future.
"In the overall context of efforts to
secure Jewish continuity, the most
important are geared toward adoles-
cents and this is where modern
Orthodox high schools are the jewel
of the system," said Bayme. He added
that it is the success of modern
Orthodox schools that has inspired
the current surge in Conservative and
community high schools.
Ultimately, what it boils down to
for Akiva is a vicious cycle, notes for-
ROAD AHEAD on page 20