Here Is Our Education discussion

Hi. I'm the moderator of this group. I'm a wife and mother in the Stoliner community. I'm also a baalas teshuva, so I've never lost my taste for secular reading. I've been a member of Goodreads since 2007, and I'm looking forward to meeting other Jews who are serious about self-education. May Hashem help this group to be a success.

Hi

My name is Amos, and I'm kind of a heretic...so I will let somebody else introduce me, the great Isaac Bashevis Singer,...as his words are mine:
My feeling of religion is a feeling of rebellion. I even play with the idea of creating (for myself) a religion of protest. I often say to myself that God wants us to protest. He has had enough of those
who praise Him all the time and bless Him for all His cruelties to man and animals.
...If I could, I would picket the Almighty with a sign: "Unfair to Life." (p.115-116)

Conversations with Isaac Bashevis Singer: Isaac Bashevis Singer and Richard Burgin, 1985

Hello all,

My name is Michael, I grew up in the chasidish school system, with little secular education.
My entry to the world of literature came when I was abt 23, a friend introduced me to Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends, which whetted my for more, and led me to visit the library for the first time in my life in the quest of books.

I've since read many book, but I know I have barely scratched the surface of what there is out there. This group is a good venue to share and discuss books and ideas, and I hope it will be valuable and interesting to all members.

Please, gentlemen, go right ahead and start adding books to the threads!

Hi, I'm Leora. I love reading books. Fortunately, my Jewish day school did not discourage me from reading all sorts of books (in fact, boring ones like A Separate Peace were encouraged).

I find I like to read a lot of Jewish history books. My brother-in-law reads similar books; he was reading a biography of Jabotinsky that I am looking forward to borrowing. I devoured The Prime Ministers, and I suffered through finishing a Margaret Atwood book (because I thought I should read it so I could relate to other women - that didn't work). I wish I could read Agnon in Hebrew.

Hi, I'm Denise. I love reading books on Jewish and general topics. I'm a librarian who is a member of my sisterhood's book club. We just discussed "Triangle" by Katherine Weber last night. I recommend it. This book is fiction, and centers around the life story of a woman who was the last living survivor of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Co. in NYC.
Unfortunately I don't read as much as I would like; work and family responsibilities come into play. My role here will probably be to recommend new books (not that I've read them!)

Please, folks, go right ahead and create folders and discussions with your book recommendations.

Hi, I'm Rivka.

My parents are both baalei teshuva. They are also both academics. So I grew up frum, but in a house where normal dinner conversation included such things as basic explanations of string theory, discussions of local, national, and international politics, and other such topics. As well as the "how was school" and "how was your day" sorts of things my friends discussed at their dinner tables.

Not too surprisingly, I became a teacher and then an educational administrator. And I read voraciously and omnivorously.

Oh, and my father's maternal grandmother worked at the Triangle factory at the time of the fire. Fortunately, she was sick and did not go into work that day.

my father's maternal grandmother worked at the Triangle factory at the time of the fire. Fortunately, she was sick and did not go into work that day.
Wow, Rivka, that is quite something. Like the people who didn't go to work on 9-11 (or planned to come late).

It is indeed. Had she gone, I almost certainly would not be here, as my grandmother was born several years later. So unless she had somehow managed to be one of the very few survivors . . . .

Hashgacha!

Absolutely!

Rivka: thanks for your post. The past is still with us.

Hi, I'm Elise. All four of my grandparents emigrated to the US from Eastern Europe when they were young, and slacked on religious observation in favor of assimilation, so while I was raised in a Jewish household with an unshakable certitude about my ethnicity, I was never given a formal religious education. I have self-educated -- took courses in Holocaust and Jewish Studies back in the early 1970's when such courses were scarce and continued studying after graduation.

My Jewish education took a sharp upturn 35 years ago when I married my husband, a Sabra child of Holocaust survivors, born in 1951 in the newly-established state of Israel. I'm fairly fluent in Hebrew and involved in our local Jewish community. While we are not strict observers, we have provided our sons with Hebrew day school educations, they have married Jewish women, and we look forward to grandchildren who will hopefully remain within the faith.

I look forward to being part of this group wherein we can share ideas and learn from each other. Thanks for the invitation.
Naim meod! נעים מאוד

Hi, I'm Tzipora.
I was raised mostly secular in a town with a very small Jewish community. I had a spiritual awakening of sorts in my mid teens and at one point even briefly considered becoming Catholic! I eventually picked a university almost entirely based on my desire to be part of a larger Jewish community and was a Middle East Studies major with minors in Jewish Studies and Hebrew. I unfortunately never did get to finish my degree due developing several interrelated and severe chronic illnesses. If not for that I had hoped to make Aliyah and get a masters degree in Israel in Middle East Politics or something of that nature. I love Middle East cultures and politics in general but especially Israel.

I guess I would say Jewishly, I'm kind of "Conservadox". The shul in my hometown was Conservative so that was my earliest exposure to Judaism and for awhile, before I got so sick I was leaning BT. The Jewish community I was living in had a lot of young adult programming and events that were largely lead by Frum rabbis with the Partners in Torah program and one particularly charismatic and brilliant rabbi in particular had quite an impact on me and no doubt many others. then I got sick and it got harder to be a part of the community and my faith and beliefs were certainly rattled. So I'm not totally sure where I stand now religiously but know Judaism is such an essential part of who I am and something I feel empty without. I'm currently back in my hometown and the shuls in the area went reform which doesn't appeal to me personally but I've been trying to find ways to reconnect with Judaism in ways that work for me even though my health is poor and all.

Anyway, being ill means I have a lot of time to read. I've always loved learning and in some ways think it's been a blessing that for various reasons growing up I didn't attend a lot of school. I didn't have my love of learning drilled out of me the way so many others I know seem to have. I've always been primarily self taught though. My parents are both retired educators and I was the kind of kid who would read textbooks for fun that my parents would bring me! I read widely and voraciously and always have.

Glad to be part of this group too. :)

So glad to see this group staying active when I go away!

Hi Everyone, I'm Abigail. I've been through a varied collection of schools (I started in a very modern and co-ed yeshiva day school as a child and then over the years the schools I chose became progressively "frummer"). I've lived in Israel as a preteen, then as a college student, and then a newlywed, and I'm used to moving around a lot.
My husband studied in a Kollel for Rabbinic training for the first 8 or 9 years we were married and now he's finishing up his Masters to become a PA (Physician Assistant). I'm a librarian and I enjoy reading, but my interests have become significantly less academic than they were in my youth and I'm basically in the process of uneducating myself. Maybe ya'll will inspire me back on the path of reclaiming my brain:)

I'm so glad you joined! I was afraid the group would end after a week.

Kressel wrote: "I'm so glad you joined! I was afraid the group would end after a week."
I think the monthly book read is a great way to keep things going. Maybe survey the group and see what kinds of things people would want to read and discuss? I imagine a book like Excellent Sheep or something that reexamines the educational system might be a good jump start.

Hmm. Interesting choice. And the author himself was raised frum and left, which he mentions in the book.

Oh- I didn't realize that. I've only read a few random GR reviews for it. Well, something to consider!

Kressel, I love the idea of this club so I really do hope it keeps up. I tend to go in streaks with social media but actual meaningful conversation and book discusion is always enjoyable. It looks like I currently read about 50% non fiction too (though I've been on a kick where when I buy books or drop by the library that seems to be all I grab!). So anyway point being I'm looking forward to seeing how the group develops and glad you started it.

Thanks!