The administration was furious that my father was teaching Torah values
The Sundays and Wednesdays that I attended “Talmud Torah” as a child were one of the highlights of my week. Less so for my parents, I expect, who would have preferred to leave me with the babysitter most of those times, but needs must. And Abba and Ema were needed for this kiruv project, even if they had to bring along some extra “students.”
Most unaffiliated Jewish parents saw the bar/bat mitzvah as the end of their Jewish education, not the start. But Talmud Torah was introduced as another option for post-bar/bat mitzvah kids. Parents had gotten used to sending their kids to Hebrew classes on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights; why not continue?
These were kids in public schools, and it was work to keep them focused. Ema taught about the Holocaust, along with an entire class about Jewish food and what could be learned from when and how we eat. Abba taught a slew of classes, everything from hashkafah and Pirkei Avos to the connections between Tanach and science fiction. Both my parents were popular, but Abba was particularly so.
When we would come along, we felt like celebrities. These big kids would cluster around us and ask us question after question. They couldn’t believe that preschoolers had the same basic knowledge they were receiving only now. Abba once brought three-year-old me and my five-year-old brother, Daniel, in for a dinnertime class. After we ate our sandwiches, Daniel and I sang a very loud bentshing together. The kids were in shock.
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