Pao* 7-THE NEWS-Jun*/July, 1983
Thoughts From Tht Lnbovitchu Bchbe
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By Rabbi Ifooti Qroner
A Petition For G-d
Tuition for 1983’84
Tuition for 1983-84 will be $1650 for children in the 1st
through 6th grade, with a $300 discount for a second and
third child in the first through sixth grade, and $750 for
kindergarten.
Visit by Children from Greensboro Day School
On May 4 the second, third, and fourth graders from the
Greensboro Day School visited the Academy. They were
served a falafel lunch prepared by our children. After lunch
Marvin Bienstock, accompanied by his guitar, sang with the
children. The Charlotte children prepared a beautiful
“Shalom from NCHA” banner with all the children’s names
• which was presented along with “I Love Charlotte” stickers.
Last November our students visited the Greensboro school
and a number of students have been pals since that visit.
LagB’Omer
Lag B’Omer was celebrated with other children from the
community in the backyard of the home of Rabbi Yossi
Groner, with a cookout, basketball and stories about the
holiday.
Future Academy Students
This year three Academy parents had baby boys: Sue and
Bob Brodsky (last December), Mary and Les Gordan (April),
and Peggy and Elliott Gartner (May). We wish all three
families Mazel Tov.
Abby Hoffman Visits School
Abby Hoffman, adult activities coordinator of the Jewish
Community Center, delighted Hebrew Academy children
with a poetry program. Encouraging the children to think
“poetically,” Abby inspired children to write lovely poems
about spring.
Study of the Holocaust
Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoa) was the
stimulus for in-depth studies by the third, fourth and fifth
graders of the history of anti-Semitism, the Zionist move
ment, and the reactions of western countries to the
Holocaust. The following are samples of the children’s
writing in response to Yom Hashoa.
The Dream to be Free
It blinded him with freedom
That he didn’t have.
He wouldn’t move his bones
For he knew he would be killed from the gun shots.
— Ashley Widis - 3rd grade
The Holocaust Was...
The Holocaust was terrible.
The Holocaust was unbearable.
The Holocaust
Made people pay a high cost
For being different.
—Ruthie Abel • 3rd grade
Wishful Thinking
It’s a shame to say.
We will get killed.
I wish I could live through it.
Run away.
Away from this dreadful thing,
The Holocaust.
As awful as it may sound.
We’re living here underground.
The Holocaust.
They’re after us.
They’re going to kill us.
Because a madman had to have his way.
The Holocaust.
—Michelle Steiner - 3rd grade
“I doubt anyone will ever try this again because “The Jews
are one.”
—Stuart Gordan - 4th grade
Education is the right of
every person, and indeed, in
the United States and most
other countries, it has
become universal for all
children. Education, it is
conceded, is the means
wherewith an individual—
and the nation—progresses.
Because of its vital im
portance, education has not
been left to parents. The
state has very decisively
taken the matters into its
own hands and compels
every child of educable age
to go to school. The great
public school system in the
U.S. was set up to ensure
that every child receive the
best education the govern
ment can offer.
There is, however, one
component of schooling-
one very basic aspect—that
the public school does not of
fer. In the public school, a
child can find out anything
he or she wants to know
about science, mathematics,
languages or social studies.
But a child can not find out
about G-d who created him.
Not because the teacher is in
capable. But because it is
forbidden. The Creator of
the world is not allowed in
the classroom.
Not so long ago, this would
not have mattered. Parents
or grandparents were the
source of faith and belief in
G-d Who saw all and heard
all. Who ordained what is
good and what is bad, Who
rewarded and punished. This
belief was imbued in the
home, reinforced in one’s
surroundings, and seen
everywhere. And because of
this belief, people acted with
moral and ethical principles
demanded by the Creator of
all.
Times have changed, and
the home is no longer the
main source of information
for children. Parents are
unable or unwilling to teach
their children about G-d.
With this knowledge also
denied to them in school,
children are growing up wild
and lawless. With nothing to
dictate to them but their own
ego, there is no reason why
children should develop a
moral conscience. Social
mores are no match for the
unbridled ego, no answer
against “But I want to do
this!”
We must act, and act swift
ly. Not just for the sake of
the thousands of Jewish
children lost to their heritage
through no fault of their
own, but for the sake of all
children. For the sake of the
adults they will grow up to
be. And for the sake of the
society they will be the ones
to mold. If we want a society
comprised of productive
citizens, we had better look
to the proper education of
the children. From the seed
will grow the tree. We must
inculcate them with an
awareness of a higher Deity,
with the message that the
world has not been left unat
tended and that He who
made it still rules.
Just as the school system
has become the primary
vehicle for education, so too
can it become the vehicle for
education about that which
is most important of all, G-d.
A moment of silence. That
is all. A moment at the begin
ning of the school day, in
both parochial and public
school, in which children will
think about the Creator of
the world, will reflect that
there is a Supreme Being
Who is interested in his or
her actions.
Just a moment of silence at
the beginning of the day. But
what a difference it can make
to that day. No longer will it
be a day devoted only to the
acquisition of knowledge,
devoid of significant mean
ing. Now the student will
realize that the knowledge he
will learn, the skills he will
acquire, are not ends in
themselves, but tools
wherewith to lead a full and
productive life, to become a
good citizen of this great and
free land.
For this is a great land, a
country where every man
has the right to be free. A
country which was founded
on the ideals of justice and
freedom of religion. And this
is why a moment of silence
does not contradict the idea
of separation of state and
religions, or the Establish
ment Clause of the Constitu
tion of the U.S.A. The
reverse is true: It fits in
perfectly.
The authors of the
Declaration of Independence
and the Constitution of the
U.S.A. were men who believ
ed in G-d. They were
refugees from religious
persecution and, when foun
ding this country, sought to
ensure there would be no in
terference by the state in the
religious beliefs and prac
tices of its citizens. They
were not against religion or
belief in G-d. They were
against tyranny. They would
have readily endorsed a mo
ment of silence in which each
individual child is given the
opportunity to think of the
Creator of heaven and earth.
The citizens of the United
States have always had this
belief. Congress opens its
sessions with a prayer to G-
d, and the currency of the
U.S. bears the words “In G-d
we trust.”
If there is tyranny, if there
is discrimination, it is to be
found on the opposite side of
the coin. Every child has the
right to the best education he
or she can get. But children
who attend parochial schools
are subject to discrimina
tion. Transportation to and
from schools; text books
which are not religious in
nature; secular studies such
as mathematics, sciences,
language; health and
physical education pro
grams; diagnostic and
rehabilitative services;
psychological services—all
of these are non-religious in
nature. The government
funds these programs in
public schools. It is
discrimination not to do so in
non-public schools.
Education in the U.S.A.
and in other countries is at a
crisis point. It is the
children’s fate which is at
stake. They must be the ones
to act, to take the initiative
to secure their future. It is
their heartfelt cries which
will be heard in the
legislative halls.
Let the children,
thousands, hundreds of
thousands, millions of
children, sign petitions urg
ing the President of the
U.S.A. and members of Con
gress to (a) grant them this
moment of silence, and (b)
grant them the funds to sup
port their education and end
discrimination. The goal is
the same: To ensure that all
children receive their
rightful and full education.
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