April 2nd, 2024 was the last day of class in my 15 years of attending Jewish day school. At the time, it was difficult for me to appreciate everything I was gaining from that time while I was still experiencing it. Now that I’m more than a month past that day, I’ve been able to reflect just a bit about the benefits of my Jewish education. I’d like to share three realizations that I’ve had over the past month:
1. A Jewish day school education teaches you how to learn Jewish texts independently
My first realization came after my last day of class as I attempted to create my daily schedule. I needed to fit in studying for my AP exams, spending time with friends, and working on a project I’m required to present in order to graduate, along with many other activities. But the most important thing I wanted to ensure made it into my routine was Jewish learning. I started thinking about how lucky I am that I have the skills to learn independently. Attending Jewish day school has given me the superpower to choose a book, open it up, and read it. Even if I don’t understand what something means in my learning, school has also taught me what resources I need to help figure it out. A tiny fraction of a percentage point of the population has these abilities, and I feel incredibly lucky that Jewish day school has placed me in that group.
2. A Jewish day school education embeds Judaism into your daily life
As I continued to work on my daily routine, I had my next realization. In school, there was a piece of my schedule every day for Judaic classes, meaning that I didn’t go a single day in my 15 years of Jewish day school without studying our holy texts. I felt motivated to maintain time for Torah study in my schedule as I began my time out of school, but even so, it was still a challenge to fit everything I wanted to accomplish into the day. I never realized how much of a blessing it is that I never had to put an ounce of effort into setting aside time to learn for all of my years in Jewish day school. Judaism being in my schedule automatically was a priceless gift that I don’t appreciate enough.
3. A Jewish day school education gives you a diverse peer network for discussing a broad range of Jewish topics
My final realization arrived as I was beginning to learn some Navi on one of the first days after classes ended. I read something I found surprising and texted one of my friends to ask him what he thought. That was when I recognized how lucky I am that I have people to speak with about Jewish topics. For so many years, I have taken it for granted that all of my friends from school are also knowledgeable when it comes to concepts in Judaism. Whenever there’s a Jewish topic I want to discuss, I have a diverse network of peers to talk to who are already familiar with the subject. I could ask someone older than me or someone younger than me, someone with similar opinions or someone with different opinions, someone who is passionate about the same topics as me or someone who is passionate about different topics than me. This network is valuable not only for casual discussion, but also for more fundamental questions that come up in the future. And if my friends aren’t equipped to answer those kinds of questions, there are so many experienced teachers who I can contact, who also share a diverse array of backgrounds. I’m so grateful to have attended a Jewish day school that equipped me in this way.
I’m confident that there are so many more benefits to my time in Jewish day school that I will only come to understand in the years and decades to come, but just a month out of school so far, I already feel so appreciative for the investment my parents made 15 years ago.