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The Jewish day school and yeshiva  is the most ambitious project the American Jewish community has ever undertaken. We ask a small school, with a modest budget, to do what no other school in America attempts: to create a child who is fully fluent in two civilizations — America and Judaism — at the same time.

And for the most part, it works. But if we are truly honest, excellence still eludes us. We have good schools. We have even great schools. But we do not yet have a “system” of excellent schools. The question is: what would it take to get there?

Excellence Means Defining What We Are For

Most day schools try to be everything to everyone. They want to be academically elite like Harvard, religiously inspiring like a Lakewood yeshiva, warm and nurturing like a family, and affordable like public school. The result is often a school that is none of those things excellently.

An Excellent School knows What it Is.

Is your mission to produce talmidei chachamim who can learn Gemara independently for life? Then your measure of success is not how many kids get into Ivy League schools, but how many are still learning Daf Yomi at 30.

Is your mission to produce committed Modern Orthodox leaders who can navigate both worlds? Then your measure is not just religious observance, but whether graduates can live a fully halachic life while being doctors, lawyers, and artists in the broader world.

Is your mission to keep any Jewish child Jewish? Then your measure is Jewish marriage and Jewish engagement 20 years from now.

We cannot search for excellence until we decide what excellence really and truly looks like. Not every school should have the same definition — but every school must have........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)