“There is divine beauty in learning just as there is human beauty in tolerance” (Elie Wiesel).
EDUCATION HAS ALWAYS been a deeply held value in Judaism. The Talmud teaches that children should begin school at 6, never be treated harshly, that older students should mentor younger ones, and no child should be kept from their studies by other duties. One teacher should have no more than 25 students.
Because of the emphasis on education, according to a Pew study, Jews are better educated than any other major religious group in the world, with an average of 13.4 years of schooling and a majority going on to higher education.
“If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one-quarter of one percent of the human race … Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of … but he has always been heard of … His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine and abstruse learning are very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers” (Mark Twain).
And still today, though Jews represent less than 0.20 percent of the world’s population, they represent 22.4 percent of all Nobel laureates.
This illustrates the Jewish tradition of encouraging questioning, challenging and exploring new ideas which creates curiosity and a wish to pursue more knowledge.
Education, reading widely and understanding various points of view are key to an enlightened society. The more all our children are able to experience other perspectives, the more empathy they gain for others.
Recently, states and school districts across the country have begun an unprecedented assault on broad-based curricula in our schools, and the availability of a wide range of books from different perspectives.
Children are losing the chance to learn about not only other worlds, but about themselves.
These campaigns are attacking books and course studies which deal with subjects like racism, sexism and LBGTQ issues — all topics our children need to understand in order to develop a balanced view of life.
“Everywhere, the books targeted are mostly written by and about people of color and LGBTQ individuals,” according to analyses conducted by the American Library Association and PEN America.
The claims that these books are available to children at inappropriate ages do not recognize that there are already strict guidelines established by national library associations making sure books are presented to proper age groups.
“This is a state-sponsored purging of ideas and identities that has no precedent in the United States of America,” said John Chrastka, EveryLibrary’s executive director. “We’re witnessing the silencing of stories and the suppressing of information [that will make] the next generation less able to function in society.”
These campaigns ignore children who live in families with same sex parents, implying that somehow there is something inherently wrong with their family dynamics.
Banning books dealing with racism tells a child of color they shouldn’t learn the history of prejudice that they personally experience every day.
Keeping students from the content of these perspectives prevents classmates from gaining empathy about their fellow students’ lives.
The Jewish approach to not banning certain knowledge is reflected by Isaac Assimov: “Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.”
To Jewish parents, an important concern about these campaigns is the religious basis for the opposition’s views. Members state they are following God’s laws, basing their viewpoint on a white, evangelical Christian theology, ignoring the vast majority of other religious views.
One group said, “We consider this our ministry and calling.”
Our public schools are in danger of becoming controlled by one small religious group, something which flagrantly violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of the separation of church and state.
Since Jewish tradition encourages an open exploration of ideas, as do most other faith traditions, preventing children access to these perspectives is a violation of our religious freedom.
Judy Blume illustrates her Jewish upbringing in her words: “Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.”
May we gain the God-given wisdom to make sure all our children have the gift of an education that will produce thoughtful, open-minded citizens. And may all our homes reflect Elie Wiesel’s words, “I do not recall a Jewish home without a book on the table.”
Kein yehi ratzon … may it be God’s will. Shalom.
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Issues of Faith is a rotating column by religious leaders on the North Olympic Peninsula. Suzanne DeBey is a lay leader of the Port Angeles Jewish community. Her email is debeyfam@olympus.net.
