Jewish Philosophy and Jewish Education

There has long been a debate over the question of what is Jewish art. Is it
any art prepared or performed by a Jewish artist, or art on a Jewish subject
by any artist? The same question has been asked about Jewish philosophy
and that accounts for the fact that in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
Jewish philosophy and Mahshevet Yisrael are entirely separate; the former is
part of the philosophy department and the latter--of Jewish studies. We do
not need to obtain that degree of sophistication here, but it may explain why
so few attempts have been made to describe a singularly Jewish philosophy
of education as opposed to the adaptation to Jewish schools of general
philosophies of education. [If you are curious, Google Dewey and Jewish
education, for example.]
Rosenak, Berkowitz and Alexander are Jewish philosophers in both senses,
since they have chosen to address issues that are particular to Jews. Rosenak
addresses Jewish education directly, Alexander somewhat indirectly (as an
important part of a larger study of postmodernism) and Berowitz even more
circuitously (as a byproduct of a study of the relationship between religious
and secular knowledge). The common denominator among these three
selections is their attempt to situate traditional Jewish education within the
context of modernity.
Rosenak:
Rosenaks piece introduces the subject from a philosophical perspective,
describing the difference between analytic and normative philosophies.
The former, as its name implies, appears to be concerned with more of the
technical aspects of philosophy, particularly matters of terminology. If we
were to raise the question, Who is an educated Jew today?, it would have
us analyze the concepts of Jewish education, its moral dimensions and the
relationship between education and indoctrination. The latter (of which
Rosenak is the foremost representative today) focuses on more of the actual
problems faced by Jewish educators, offers observations based on the
application of philosophical principles enunciated by classical philosophers of
Judaism and translated their insights into contemporary terms.
In his major work on Jewish education, a book entitled Commandments and
Concerns, Rosenak distinguishes between two approaches to Jewish
education:
1. The normative-ideational (hence, Commandments), which knows
what the truth
is, what good is, and aims to impart such knowledge and inculcate
such behaviors as will enable the student to grasp hold of and
practice that goodness and truth;

2. The deliberative-inductive (Concerns), which begins with the

learner and asks how he or she can be taught to interact
successfully with, and to understand, other people and the world.
If you recognize the influence of Traditional education on the former and
that of Progressive education on the latter, then you have successfully
followed the earlier readings in Dewey, etc., and are ready to continue into
the realm of the History of Jewish education that follows.
Berkowitz:
The distinction between knowledge in the realm of religion and knowledge in
the realm of science lies at the heart of modern and contemporary modern
Orthodox Jewish education, and has found expression in such ideologies as
torah im derekh eretz and torah umadda.
At this time, it will suffice to take note of the fact that at every crucial
juncture in Jewish intellectual history there have been reliable and
responsible spokesmen (Saadiah, Rambam, Maharal, Rema, etc.) who have
endorsed the encounter between tradition and contemporary science and
wisdom and on whom we may rely in formulating our contemporary views.
We will return to this subject in Unit Eight: Jewish Education from the
Enlightenment to Today.
Alexander:
Given the naturally conservative tendency of education, in general, and
coupled with the naturally conservative tendency of Orthodoxy, it is not
surprising that many of the consequences and ramifications of
postmodernism have not yet been felt in our day school education.
Therefore, I offer this selection from Hanan Alexanders book, Reclaiming
Goodness, primarily as a way of gaining a philosophical insight into a
problem that is only now being articulated (the lack of spirituality) and whose
resolution awaits research and experimentation.
As you now enter the series of 6 sessions that are devoted primarily to the
history of Jewish education, I would urge you to keep some of these
philosophical distinctions in mind, particularly those between Traditional:
Progressive and Normative: Deliberative.