Life of North American Jewry in Review

An unusually large crowd attended the annual meeting of the Board of Jewish Education held at the Standard Club here.

Rabbi Gerson B. Levi read a statement on the “Importance of a School System in the Life of a Jewish Community” in which he pointed out that the central effort of the Board of Jewish Education to create a school system would give opportunities for Jewish education to all.

Dr. Robert Spnnenschein, president of Sinai Congregation, discussed the question “What the Community Can Do to Help the Schools of the Congregations.” He said that the policy of the board is “to act as an educational agency to all groups of Jews here by giving in some instances financial subsidy help and supervision. It does not impose any one type of Judaism or any one program on all schools affiliated. It supplements the work of Jewish education done by Chicago Jewry through undertaking those necessary activities without which a school system is impossible, but which no single congregation can undertake, namely, teachers’ training, secondary education and the improvement of texts and methods. There are now affiliated with the Board thirty-six elementary schools, ten of which are orthodox Talmud Torahs; eight conservative Sunday Schools, four reform Hebrew schools and six reform Sunday schools. More than 7,000 children are instructed.

TEACHES INSTRUCTORS

Rabbi Felix A Levy spoke on “The Problem of Teachers’ Training and Adult Education.” To the College of Jewish Studies graduates of the Hebrew High School branches come for training as Hebrew teachers and the various reform and conservative congregations send their young men and women to it for training as Sunday School teachers, Dr. Levy said. The college offers twenty-nine courses. The total registration is 470 including the university courses which the college conducts in cooperation with the University of Chicago.

Mrs. Moses L. Purvin, member of the Public Library Board of the City of Chicago, read a paper on “What Shall We Do for the Unschooled Jewish Youth?” The board, she said, conducts Jewish Youth Leagues in eigh Chicago puplic high schools. It also guides the educational activities of such organizations as Young Judea, Avukah, Junior Hadassah and other Jewish groups. The Keren Ami is a group of boys and girls from the elementary Jewish schools who gather every three months to discuss Jewish current affairs and to decide how the money which is raised among the children in the schools every week for Jewish purposes shall be distributed among various Jewish funds. The extension department of the board has helped in conducting large mass affairs for the Jewish youth of Chicago, such as Jewish Youth Field Day last summer and with the help of the college is offering a course on “Jewish Moverments in Modern Society.”

Dr. Alexander M. Dushkin, directing Jewish educational work in Chicago, discussed problems which have been discussed heatedly during the past year here. When its 8,000 contributors were asked by the Jewish Charities to indicate into what channels they wanted their contributions used, only 1,560 replied, about 20 per cent. Of the total About half designated their contributions were for charity, the other half said that while they wanted part of their contributions to be used for Jewish education they left the amount so designated up to the directors of the Jewish Charities. A few decided that their contributions were to go for Jewish education.