4 | AUGUST 24 • 2023
PURELY COMMENTARY
column
It’s Not Only Children Who Will Be
Returning to Classrooms this Fall
I
t’s August, and our inboxes
are already beginning to
clutter with countless emails
about back-to-school sales,
while at the same time the
educators and parents among
us are working
on preparing
and transitioning
students back
into their
classrooms. But
while we typically
think about the
back-to-school
season as one for children,
one of the most interesting
emerging trends is the growing
number of Jewish adults who
will also be returning to text-
based and classroom learning
over the next few weeks.
Adults are seeing continuous
learning not only as a way
to connect with and explore
our rich tradition, including
Torah, Talmud and philosophy,
but also as an opportunity
to engage in an enriching
atmosphere of discussions
and experiences that foster
connectedness and build
community.
We are seeing more learners
from a wider range of ages
coming together. Perhaps what
is most interesting is that in
the post-COVID era, more
and more of these learners
are choosing to do so in the
classroom rather than from
self-paced options. While the
pandemic fostered innovation
in the education environment,
we are seeing even stronger
interest from learners returning
to the classroom and away from
Zoom fatigue.
As educators, we always
believed that bringing students
of any age together created a
more stimulating and dynamic
environment for learning.
Nothing compares to the
sharing of opinions, questions
and general discussion that
takes place between everyone
in the classroom — and the
statistics are proving it.
A Talmudic commentary
(Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot
63b) on a curious verse in the
book of Deuteronomy makes
this point clearly:
“When Moses took leave
of Israel on his last day in this
world, he said: ‘Keep silence
[hasket] and hear Israel; this
day you have become a people
unto the Lord your God’”
(Deuteronomy 27:9).
The Talmud interprets
the word hasket in this verse
homiletically, as an acronym
of the words as, make, and kat,
group. Form [asu] many groups
[kitot] and study Torah, for the
Torah is only acquired through
study in a group.
While many of these
“groups” can meet in person at
Jewish centers, synagogues and
Jewish Community Centers, we
also see even more significant
growth in interest within the
immersive travel and learning
experiences like those offered
by the Melton School of Adult
Jewish Learning.
These trips, curated to
develop the most impactful
learning opportunity, enable
adults to experience the
history and culture of Jewish
communities around the world,
using their experiences on the
ground to facilitate a better
understanding of the context
of different time periods and
sages, and the customs and
culture of Jews from different
regional backgrounds.
The learning opportunities
these kinds of trips provide
are second to none, and the
community they build among
participants transcends city,
state and sometimes even
continental borders.
Teacher and First Lady Dr.
Jill Biden once told a group
of educators at a lecture she
gave at Stanford University
in 2018: “Education teaches
us compassion and kindness,
connection to others. Education
doesn’t just make us smarter. It
makes us whole.
”
Education is in the eye of
the beholder. For some of the
children going back to school
this season, it will take years for
them to fully appreciate what
they learned in the classroom
from both the teacher and their
classmates. For most adults
though, appreciation of their
in-person learning experience
is immediate because in
essence, for many, learning as
part of a motivated group and
a community is the key reason
for their decision to take the
course.
Rabbi Morey Schwartz, Ed.D., is the
international director of the Melton
School of Adult Jewish Learning.
PIXABAY
Rabbi Morey
Schwartz
JNS.org