What happens when you ask a room full of Jewish people to finish the following sentence: “The thing that is challenging about being Jewish…”?

Living Jewishly did just that, and this episode is the last of a three-part series exploring the discussion that followed.

The question about whether it is necessary to educate Jewish children in Jewish schools is a long-standing one — and one that has sparked many lively debates.

Is a religious education a requirement when it comes to raising children who will remain faithful, stay and marry within the community, and commit to raising their children within the faith?

Or can Jewish children thrive and develop (and maintain) a strong relationship to their faith even when enrolled in public school?

Or does the debate over schooling ignore the most important factor — what happens in the home?

The truth is that Jewish children who remain connected to their culture tend to grow up in households that celebrate their Jewishness through traditions and ritual.

Jewish schools certainly do a wonderful job passing down the fundamental rudiments of Jewish education — but perhaps schools should be a supplement to the Jewish experience they have at home.

Find out how Rabbi Yossi Sapirman and Dr. Elliot Malamet advise parents to approach their children’s cultural and religious education in this episode of the Living Jewishly podcast.

“Rabbi Yossi and I believe very strongly that for many years, a generation not of kids, but of parents, were neglected in terms of the Jewish education.”

— Dr. Elliot Malamet

This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌

• Whether sending your child to an expensive Jewish day school will really make a difference in their spiritual growth and engagement in Jewish life
• Why it is so important to attend shul for the right reasons, rather than the wrong ones
• How choosing the wrong JCC or shul for your family can actually create an obstacle for your children to fully embrace their faith