Jewish Education Isn’t a Luxury. It’s Our Lifeline.
“How Jewish Day Schools Build Identity, Defend Tradition, and Secure the Future of the Jewish People”
By Stephen M. Flatow
A jingle from the old Robert Hall commercials used to signal the start of the school year: “School bells ring and children sing/It’s back to Robert Hall again…” For many American Jewish families, the bigger question today is not where to buy school clothes—but where to send their kids for an education that nurtures both mind and soul.
In 1979, when my daughter Alisa was ready to start kindergarten, we were faced with that exact dilemma. Like many parents, I assumed public school was the default. But Alisa had other ideas. At age 4, she boldly declared she was going to yeshiva with her friend Becky. That moment marked the beginning of a journey—not just for Alisa, but for our entire family.
We enrolled her in the Hebrew Youth Academy of Essex County (now JKHA). What followed was not simply an education, but a lifelong foundation of Jewish identity, values, and love for Israel.
Today, amid rising antisemitism, campus hostility toward Jews, and an increasingly confused moral climate, Jewish day schools and yeshivot are more critical than ever. These institutions don’t just teach knowledge—they transmit identity. They offer our children a strong, structured environment where Torah values aren’t just taught—they’re lived.
Rabbi Dr. Wallace Greene put it well: these schools provide “the spiritual and intellectual infrastructure that a Jewish child needs to thrive in a secular world.”
Yet critics often raise the issue of cost. And yes, it’s real. But if we say Jewish continuity matters, we must act like it does. That means prioritizing Jewish education in our philanthropy, our communal budgets, and our family choices.
Day school is not only about knowing Hebrew or holidays. It’s about creating Jews who understand that their identity is a sacred inheritance—not a cultural artifact. It’s about ensuring that our children know how to live as Jews, not just remember Jews.
When Alisa was tragically murdered at age 20 in a 1995 Iranian-sponsored terrorist attack, her short life stood as a testament to what deep Jewish education can build: a young woman who loved Torah, loved Israel, and was proud to be a Jew. Her legacy continues every time a Jewish child walks into a yeshiva classroom and says, like she did, “I’m going to Jewish school.”
The question every parent should be asking isn’t whether Jewish day school is worth the cost.
It’s: How can we afford not to send them?
Stephen M. Flatow
#JewishEducation
