Jewish education
Jewish education refers to the teaching and transmission of Judaism through religious texts, values and traditions that are being passed down from generations. For Jews, education has played a significant role from ancient time that began by learning at home. Over time Jewish education has developed into a more formal setting like cheder and yeshiva specifically where study has become a part of daily life and cultural identity. In today's society Jewish education has taken many forms from day schools, Hebrew schools and adult learning. There remains a strong emphasis on continuing Jewish education to allow connecting to individuals to help adapt to needs and values of a more modernized Jewish life.
History
Jewish education has been valued since the birth of Judaism. In the Hebrew Bible Abraham is lauded for instructing his offspring in God's ways. One of the basic duties of Jewish parents is to provide for the instruction of their children as set forth in the first paragraph of the Shema Yisrael prayer: "Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and your gates". Additionally, children are advised to seek the instruction of their parents: "Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy father, and he will declare unto thee, thine elders, and they will tell thee". The Book of Proverbs also contains many verses related to education: "My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your mind retain my commandments; For they will bestow on you length of days, years of life and well-being".Elementary school learning was considered compulsory by Simeon ben Shetah in 75 BCE and by Joshua ben Gamla in 64 CE. The education of older boys and men in a beit midrash can be traced back to the period of the Second Temple. The Talmud, states that children should begin school at six, and should not be kept from education by other tasks.
According to Judah ben Tema, "At five years the age is reached for studying Mikra, at ten for studying the Mishnah, at thirteen for fulfilling the mitzvoth, at fifteen for studying Talmud". Mikra refers to the written Torah, Mishnah refers to the complementary oral Torah and Talmud refers to comprehension of the oral and written law's unity and contemplation of the laws. The term "Talmud" used here is a method of study and is not to be confused by the later compilations by the same name. In keeping with this tradition, Jews established their own schools or hired private tutors for their children until the end of the 18th century. Schools were housed in annexes or separate buildings close to the synagogue.
Rabban Gamaliel, the son of Rabbi Judah Hanasi said that the study of the Torah is excellent when combined with Derech Eretz, worldly occupation, for toil in them both keeps sin out of one's mind; But Torah which is not combined with a worldly occupation, in the end comes to be neglected and becomes the cause of sin.
Formality of Jewish Education
Sex segregation
Jewish education has traditionally included sex segregation, in which boys and girls were often taught separately to help reflect different educational expectations. Jewish boys received instruction in Hebrew and later the Talmud, with study usually occurring in settings such as the cheder or yeshiva. Girls' education was more heavily focused on practical skills and religious practices to help support their family. During the early 20th century, these social and education expectations changed, which opened many opportunities for girls. Formal Jewish schools were established, which allowed for a more formal approach to religious and general studies. Depending on the specific branch of Judaism, there are now different approaches to teaching girls and boys. In many Orthodox communities, gender-segregated education is seen as a way to create learning environments that reduce social stress and provide more help to students' religious development. These schools also want to reduce the amount of distraction that happens between girls and boys during adolescent years.Primary schooling
The Talmud attributes the institution of formal Jewish education to the first century sage Joshua ben Gamla. Prior to this, parents taught their children informally. Ben Gamla instituted schools in every town and made education compulsory from the age of 6 or 7. The Talmud attaches great importance to the "Tinokot shel beth Rabban", stating that the world continues to exist for their learning and that even for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, classes are not to be interrupted.Yeshiva
In ancient times, Jewish learning often took place in small groups where students gathered around a teacher or rabbi to study and discuss religious teachings. These early study circles focused mainly on the Torah and the oral traditions that were passed down long before they were written into the Mishnah. Students learned by asking questions, debating ideas, and listening to interpretations, creating a learning style centered on discussion. Local communities supported this kind of study, encouraging young people who showed interest or ability to continue learning. Over time, these informal gatherings developed into more organized schools that would eventually become the early foundations of the yeshiva.Antiquity
In Mishnaic and Talmudic times young men were attached to a beth din, where they sat in three rows and progressed as their fellow students were elevated to sit on the court.After the formal court system was abolished, yeshivot became the main places for Torah study. The Talmud itself was composed largely in the yeshivot of Sura and Pumbedita in Babylonia, and the leading sages of the generation taught there.
Until the 19th century, young men generally studied under the local rabbi, who was allocated funds by the Jewish community to maintain a number of students. The Hasidic masters and the Lithuanian rabbi Chaim Volozhin both founded centralised yeshivot; see Yeshiva#History.
Modernity
Yeshivot have remained of central importance in the Orthodox community to this day. Presently, there are numerous yeshivot - particularly in the US and Israel, but, in general, wherever there is an established Orthodox community. The idea of Yeshivas have always been popular in Orthodox communities in modern times.Currently, the largest Yeshiva organization in the US is Yeshiva University, which is in New York City. It offers both religious and secular degrees, as is also the case for many other yeshivas both in Israel and the US. In Israel, the largest yeshiva is Mir Yeshiva. In the 20th century, Hesder and Modern Orthodox yeshivot were also founded. In all of these communities, yeshiva study is common, with young men spending several years post high school studying Torah. In the Haredi / Hasidic communities, their study often spans decades.
In October 2022 the Israel Democracy Institute was able to compile a 200-page bibliography of research on Israeli Haredim. Many people in Haredi communities believe that this was a targeted attack, since the bibliography was seen as obsessive by many. Some believe this idea gained traction due to the New York Times article "In Hasidic Enclaves, Failing Private Schools Flush with Public Money," which was written by Eliza Shapiro and Brian M. Rosenthal. The criticism of the article expressed that if this was to happen in the US they would not have more than a page or two on a study.
Education researchers have discussed how contemporary Orthodox Jewish education addresses challenges posed by contradictions between rabbinic literature and external historical sources. Five key tools have been identified—exclusion, allegorization, synthesis, accommodation, and rejection—that educators can use to reconcile these discrepancies while maintaining respect for tradition and intellectual integrity. The choice of method depends on the educational context, audience, and school culture, with strictly Orthodox settings favoring exclusion or allegorization to preserve rabbinic authority, and Modern Orthodox or academic environments being more open to synthesis, accommodation, or even rejection of certain claims. This line of research stresses the importance of balancing the Jewish value of seeking truth with communal norms, enabling educators to navigate complex historical questions in a way that strengthens students' faith and critical thinking. Such an approach can be a valuable resource for understanding how Orthodox Jewish education engages with historical and theological challenges in the modern era.
There have been many changes in the yeshivas due to the advancement of technology. This includes the use of online libraries of Torah studies, which became popular during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic as many yeshivas were forced to pivot online. This created a new model of Torah study that blends traditional and modern traditions. The funding of these modern schools rely on donations, which means that yeshivas do not have a strong stable financial stability. Non-orthodox streams have yeshivot also, although these are intended for Rabbinic preparation. Their syllabi similarly depart from the traditional ideals.
Secular education emphasis
In the 21st century, critics in both the United States and Israel have protested that Haredi and Hasidic yeshivas are teaching religious studies to the exclusion of secular subjects such as mathematics and science. This Haredi aversion to secular studies manifests differently in Israel and outside Israel.In America, some yeshivas of Haredi, but non-Hasidic identity, offer state-compliant secular education curriculums. For example, Yeshiva Torah Vodaas runs a "NYS Board of Regents certified High School" with a contemporary curriculum "in compliance with the latest Common Core standards."
American Hasidic yeshivas, from elementary to high school levels, have a long history of shying away from all but the most rudimentary exposure to secular studies. For example, when several decades ago Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam of the Bobov Hasidic dynasty was met with intensified calls for higher-level secular education from Hasidic parents of Bobov-affiliated yeshivas, Halberstam rejected their pleas and stated that on principle he would not compromise "even if it means that I will have no more than one student." Critics such as Naftuli Moster have worked to promote the adoption of national or state standards on secular subjects by such yeshivas.
A New York Times investigation into the quality of education in the more than 100 all-boys schools across Brooklyn and the lower Hudson Valley in 2022 revealed that the schools generally taught only rudimentary English and math and no science or history, while receiving more than $1 billion in government money in the previous four-year period. The NYT investigation alleged that the current secular curriculum in most New York Hasidic boys' schools exists for children between the ages of 8 and 12 only and consists of reading and math, four days a week, often for 90 minutes a day, and only after a full day of religious lessons. English teachers are often not fluent in the language themselves, and there have been anecdotes of students correcting their teachers on the spelling of words such as 'math', misspelled as 'mathe'. Select schools do provide more robust syllabi which include science and social studies, and interactive learning programs such as fairs and spelling bees.
Richard Bamberger, a spokesman for Hasidic schools, and J. Erik Connolly, a Chicago lawyer representing Hasidic schools, denied claims by the NYT and others that graduates of the schools were unable to speak or write in English. Echoing Hasidic leaders, they quoted data showing that Jewish schools in general perform well on standardized tests for high school students. NYT reporters countered that these results almost entirely reflect the performance of students at non-Hasidic schools; most Hasidic schools do not administer state standardized tests at all, but in 2019 some did give these exams, and 99% of the thousands of Hasidic boys who took them, failed, in contrast to 49% of all New Yorkers who passed. Additionally, accounts of almost three dozen then-current and former teachers across the state's Hasidic yeshivas, including in those schools that do not administer standardized test, revealed that most of the thousands of boys whom they had taught had left school without learning to speak English fluently, let alone read or write at grade level; in regards to math, most could add and subtract, some could also multiply and divide, but few could do more.
Following the NYT reporting, concerns were raised by some local politicians as to the standard of secular education provided. Particular criticism followed accounts of corporal punishment in the schools.
Despite these apparent short-comings, there has been research that suggests that a traditional Yeshiva education can be an indicator of later success in law school, whether that relationship is causal or merely correlative remains a matter of debate.
The educational philosophy of Hasidic and most non-Hasidic Haredi yeshivas in Israel is largely similar to that of their American counterparts, i.e. opposed to secular studies, no path to attaining a Bagrut certificate. As of 2017, percentage of Haredi girls taking matriculation exams was 51%, since Orthodox yeshivot mostly ignore core subjects. About 8 percent of Haredi students pass the exam. Miriam Ben-Peretz, professor emeritus of education at the University of Haifa, and winner of the 2006 Israel Prize notes: "More and more Israeli students don't have any foundation of knowledge, any basics — not in math, not in English, not in general...things have to change." Some Israelis who have been educated in Haredi yeshivas have established Out for Change, an organization seeking to sue the government for alleged failure to enforce Israel's law for compulsory education. There is a similar organization in America called YAFFED.