Take a class and explore how Jewish history and culture continue to shape your life and the times in which we live. Throughout the year, YIVO offers courses in Yiddish and Jewish history and culture, both in-person and online.
History of Jewish Schooling in America [My Jewish Learning]
Jewish education in America, from colonial times to today. Jewish education has been used both for Americanization and for preserving European Jewish culture and tradition. It has been the source of controversy and debate over the relationship between religious and secular education. [Full article available via link]
Soviet Yiddish-Language Schools [YIVO Encyclopedia]
During World War I, politically progressive elements among Polish Jewish refugees in Russia, together with local leaders, established a number of schools in which Yiddish was the language of instruction. In 1914, Russian law, which had previously prohibited Yiddish-language schools, was changed to legalize such institutions. The number of schools increased rapidly, and textbooks and pedagogical manuals began to appear. [Full article available via link]
The Yeshiva before 1800 [YIVO Encyclopedia]
The yeshiva in Eastern Europe in the early modern period trained young men to study formative texts and traditions, especially the Babylonian Talmud, the commentaries on it, and the legal decisions that depended on it. In Eastern Europe in this period, the term yeshiva (Heb., more properly yeshivah, from the root yshb, “to sit”) referred not only to the institution but also to everyone who studied Torah in the community and was thereby dependent, in one way or another, on the head of the yeshiva—including lomdim (adult Torah scholars who received a stipend from the community) as well as students at various levels: ne‘arim (boys) and baḥurim (young men). [Full article available via link]
The Yeshiva after 1800 [YIVO Encyclopedia]
With the decline of the yeshiva as an institution, by the nineteenth century the traditional East European Jewish locale for full-time advanced study of Talmud by youths and young men (unmarried or recently married and living with parents-in-law—a practice known as kest) was the bet midrash (Yid., besmedresh). A bet midrash was a communal study house that functioned also as a synagogue and a place for study by local residents before or after prayers, individually or in ḥevrot (khevres; adult study groups led by a teacher). The full-time students were independent and chose the texts they studied, almost always from among the tractates of the Babylonian Talmud, as well as the method of study (in depth or on more of a broad-scope basis, for example). There were no admission tests and no formal assessment of progress, nor teachers or formal supervisors. Students were generally safe from conscription, when it existed. [Full article available via link]
Education of Jewish Girls in the United States [Jewish Women's Archive]
The development of the Jewish Sunday School movement, pioneered by Rebecca Gratz in the mid-nineteenth century, dramatically expanded access to Jewish education for girls as well as boys. The influx of East European Jewish immigrants in the late nineteenth century prompted the establishment of new Jewish educational institutions. Most of these children received secular educations in public schools and Jewish educations in supplementary programs, but Jewish day schools have also been an important educational resource for both girls and boys.
Argentina: Jewish Education [Jewish Women's Archive]
The first Jewish schools in Argentina were established in the late nineteenth century in Jewish agricultural settlements. By the early twentieth century, Argentina saw the establishment of modern, secular schools offering co-educational, secular study of Jewish culture. In the 1930s, the first religious schools opened for girls.
Association for Jewish Studies
The Association for Jewish Studies (AJS) was founded in 1969 by a small group of scholars seeking a forum for exploring methodological and pedagogical issues in the new field of Jewish Studies. Since its founding, the AJS has grown into the largest learned society and professional organization representing Jewish Studies scholars worldwide. As a constituent organization of the American Council of Learned Societies, the Association for Jewish Studies represents the field in the larger arena of the academic study of the humanities and social sciences in North America.
Association of Jewish Libraries
The Association of Jewish Libraries is the leading authority of Judaic librarianship. If you are new to us, we encourage you to take your time to explore our website and get to know us. If you are already familiar with us, use this site as a resource to learn more about Judaic librarianship.
Includes Encyclopaedia Judaica, Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, English-Yiddish Dictionary, and more!
The Sephardic Studies Digital Collection [University of Washington]
The Sephardic Studies Digital Collection at the University of Washington serves as a bulwark against the loss of culture, language, and history. Includes biblical commentaries, community publications, and school textbooks.
Yiddish Book Center's Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library
The National Yiddish Book Center is a non-profit organization working to rescue Yiddish books and share their content with the world. More than 10,000 of our titles are now available free-of-charge through the Open Content Alliance.