Fifty Years of Vibrant Jewish Life…The Power of Jewish Day Schools
I’ve always been one to remember dates and never miss a major milestone, and this month is a meaningful one for me.
Fifty years ago, my parents – Elaine and Barry Semer – did something that changed our family forever, and I like to think they changed Jewish history in their own small way.
In September 1976, they enrolled me as a first grader in the Solomon Schechter Day School of Metropolitan Chicago.
For many Jewish families, this is standard. For us, it was the opposite, and I hope today’s young Jewish parents are open to the lesson the Semers learned over the last half century ago about the life-changing role of Jewish day schools.
Research shows the lasting impact of Jewish day schools. Prizmah, an organization that supports Jewish day schools, has found that alumni have stronger Jewish identity, greater communal engagement, and stronger connections to Israel. The schools often become an anchor not just for the students, but for whole families, connecting them to Jewish learning, rituals, and communal life.
But the true impact can be understood most clearly from the unique but similar anecdotes and stories from those who attended, and those who sent their children. Here’s ours.
At the time my parents met and married, their main connection to Judaism was that they were both Jewish. A win, for sure, but…no affiliation. No practice. Nothing that tied them to Jewish life or community.
Something changed in the ensuing years that they’ve never really explained to me.
Somehow, they found their way to North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, in Highland Park, where we had settled. They became active members – we became regulars at Shabbat services, and I attended the nursery school.
But when it came time for kindergarten, I was enrolled in John F. Kennedy School – directly behind our house – where I recall a perfectly comfortable existence. I was pumped that I would be allowed to ride my bicycle to school as a first grader in the fall.
Then the bomb dropped.
I don’t remember when or where I learned about it, but I remember clearly the dastardly act: my parents were transferring me to Schechter. (Legend has it that the straw that broke the camel’s back at Kennedy School was McDonalds being served on Passover.) I would be leaving a school named for one of America’s beloved presidents to attend one named for a rabbi with a funny name. In the following months, I dreaded learning Hebrew and other “Jewish stuff.”
Three years later, my sister Naomi became a Schechter kindergartener and we were “all in.”
This was the beginning of a journey for our family with a destination none of us could have imagined. Certainly not the six-year-old me, but fifty years later, the middle-aged me understands quite clearly the impact it had – and will continue to have.
As we moved through Schechter, special teachers helped us grow in both general and Jewish studies, from studying the Constitution with Mrs. Rabinowitz, and Hebrew language and Jewish subjects with Giveret Eselevsky. We also learned to love Jewish music with Mrs. Ebstein, and how to pray and read Torah with Dr. Weintraub. (Note: names of great teachers omitted for the sake of brevity.)
Just as important, we formed lifelong friendships with classmates and their families, while my parents became deeply involved in school leadership.
From there, it was on to high school at the Ida Crown Jewish Academy where the learning deepened, and we encountered even more memorable teachers and mentors.
What we learned in school was brought home, and our family grew in Jewish practice and commitment. Our parents actually learned from us – an experience many families have when they make the switch to Jewish day school.
We became involved in the community in many other areas. Summers were spent at Camp Young Judaea Midwest and, during the year, I grew in profound ways as part of United Synagogue Youth.
Where has all this led us?
Fast forward to today: my wife, Simone (whose Jewish story up to the time we met was very different than mine) and I have been deeply involved in the Jewish community. I’ve served as a synagogue president, and we’re passionate about many other Jewish organizations and causes.
Our children, all day school graduates who have studied in Israel, are committed to Jewish life in different ways, as well. Our eldest son has served for many years in the Israel Defense Forces and is building a piece of our family’s future in our homeland.
I like to think that collectively, we and our children have made a difference. And, our ability to engage in and impact the Jewish world around us was fueled by all that we learned and experienced at our Jewish day schools.
Simone and I are now grandparents, and bursting with hope that this new generation of our family will continue building on what my parents started.
I can’t leave out that Naomi is beginning her 28th year as a teacher at SAR Academy in New York (which all our kids attended) and has helped inspire a new generation (or two) of Jewish learners and thinkers.
These thoughts have been on my mind for years, and, on the 50th anniversary of my foray into Jewish day school, I’m ready to share them with others. Partially this is an ode to my parents, for the incredible gift they gave me. More urgently, there is a need to tell the 2020s versions of the 1970s Semers how important Jewish day school is to the students, the families, and the Jewish community as a whole.
I hope they’ll consider doing what my parents did. It may not be simple, but the potential upside for them and their future generations is staggering.
They should speak to current day school parents or their rabbis, and visit their local day school to see the magic that happens there every day.
But today, I’ll use this opportunity to express my gratitude – hakarat hatov – to those who changed the trajectory of a Jewish family 50 years ago. History has proven that you got this right.
Thank you Mom and Dad.
Thank you teachers.
Thank you Jewish day schools.