Jewish Education and American Jewish Education, Part III

Abstract

This is the last in a series of articles exploring the history of Jewish Education magazine, later known as the Journal of Jewish Education, with a particular emphasis on its intersection with the history of American Jewish education and, more generally, American Jewish life. Major themes and issues that preoccupied the magazine's editors and writers are isolated and analyzed as to how their discourse sheds light on their individual aims, values and philosophical outlooks, as well their collective efforts at educational reform. Particular attention is paid to how Benderly's disciples sought to reinterpret their mentor's vision in a changing American Jewish environment and why this vision was, at best, only partially realized. Jonathan Krasner is Assistant Professor of American Jewish History at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. 1The author would like to thank Samuel Dinin, Gil Graff, Carol Ingall, Cherie Kohler-Fox, Sara Lee, Alvin Schiff, Susan Shevitz, and Jonathan Woocher for their willingness to share their memories and offer their perspectives on American Jewish education in the twentieth century. He would also like to thank Jonathan Sarna, Carol Ingall, and Michael Zeldin for reading earlier drafts of the articles in this series and providing invaluable comments and suggestions.